66 Seen Weg: the long weekend

Day 10: from Hangelsberg to Bad Saarow

It’s ascension day, the weather is perfect and everyone has a day off. The means lots of people are out and about. Some put up whole camps along the canal for an afternoon of fishing. Others are out for a walk or a bike ride. And some just come past shouting, loud music playing from speakers, a few beer in their hand. It’s 11 AM. I’m walking about 26 km to Bad Saarow via Fürstenwalde.

I started this day in Hangelsberg, where I found the Spree river naturally meandering through the landscape. Some people were boarding canoes and it made me think of living in this area and how nice it would be to take the time to get out into nature on the weekends. I walked through meadows along the Spree, but then had to follow the Spree cycle path for a while.

Near the Grosse Tränke I went back into the field and walked past a big group of fishermen who seemed to be busier with the party than with the fish. Only yesterday I saw a group of people being broken up by the police on a little beach. Corona. I wonder if all the groups I see here can keep celebrating their long weekend. A bit further, along the Oder-Spree canal, people are fishing more peacefully.

Then I am back on the bike path again and many, many people come towards me on bikes. A lot of them are celebrating loudly, as if a bunch of football supporters is heading my way. I largely ignore them and walk into Fürstenwalde. Wow! The first houses I see are very close to the Spree, with a beautiful park in front of them and benches overlooking the water. I take a small detour into the town, to admire the old city hall and the church. In the 14th century this was the seat of the bishop.

When I leave Fürstenwalde behind I have to walk through a somewhat more boring area. There is some forest, but nothing spectacular and then a long, very straight road. I have to take the underpass underneath the highway to reach the next attraction: the Rauener Berge. It’s a huge, hilly forest and it seemed to have a lot of little roads. Where a lot of the forests I’d walked through were pretty straight, with trees seemingly planted in rows, this was more natural. And the paths were naturally confusing as well!

My mapped showed a straight line, but I was definitely not walking straight. I passed a wooden hut and then turned right, then left again, up some stairs and ended up at the Steinerner Tisch. A bit later I would see the Markgrafensteine. This granite stone used to be about 300 cubic meters big. In the early 19th century it was cut to make some art out of it. In front of the Altes Museum in Berlin you can find a huge bowl that is made out of this stone. The Steinerner Tisch was cut out of some leftover pieces the artist had. It’s hard to imagine just how big this boulder was, since the remaining part is still pretty impressive.

In the forest the signs are terrible! I don’t know where to go and realise I’m on the wrong path past the Markgrafensteine. With my map and my google maps location, I figure I need to be a little higher in the forest. So I head back and find my path. A quick sidetrack brings me to another attraction: the viewing tower. You can climb up this 40 meters high tower and enjoy the view high above the trees. Seeing the surrounding lakes, fields and windmills is quite impressive.

I’ve nearly reached Bad Saarow, but I still need to find my way out of this forest. On my way out 2 other people ask me for directions. One is a dad who left his family to scout how far the tower is. He tells me it’s too far for his little kids to reach and complains about the bad signage. Then he powerwalks back to his family to bring them the news. A bit later I meet a couple who wants to know if they are on the right track. The friendly man starts a conversation and notices my accent. He tells me he’s from the larger area, but has never visited here. His wife adds: “Corona is getting us places at least.”

I exit the forest at Petersdorf, a very cute village, and then continue to Bad Saarow. This town is famous for the spa. Just like in Fürstenwalde I see big houses with big gardens where robot lawn mowers do their work. Since I don’t have money to spare for a spa (if they are even open), I hop back on the train and treat myself to a face mask back home. Then I bake a cake. No need for a fancy spa today.