Day 13: from Leibsch to Halbe
I was the only one left in the bus when it arrived in Leibsch. I said goodbye to the storks and started my walk to Halbe. It started with a very pretty road of concrete slabs on the side of the Spree-Dahme canal. On both sides of me the grasses and flowers grew tall. I saw a few cranes flying over and an eagle was soaring in the sky. In the distance the houses and farms slowly disappeared. Today I would find many of these long straight stretches.
The main attraction was the Köthener Heideseen. There are a few small lakes near the small town Köthen. They are surrounded by forest and were pretty quiet today. The only people I saw were fishermen, since there are a lot of designated fishing spots. My guidebook recommended a detour to a viewing tower if the weather was good. It was nice, but somewhat cloudy. I decided to go anyway. I climbed up a hill without knowing for sure I was on the right track. There were no signs to this tower! When I found it, I had it all to myself. From the top you could see all over the Spreewald and the relatively flat landscape. A huge white dome was sticking out, a tropical swimming pool.
When I got out of this area a very long straight road began. First I walked down a logging road and then next to the canal. I can’t get used to these straight bits. I just keep speeding up until my feet hurt. The view can be nice, but it is pretty much the same all the time and when you just go straight for several kilometers it just doesn’t feel like you’re moving at all. My straight road was interrupted by the town Märkisch Buchholz and then pretty much continued again afterwards, on the way to Halbe.
The forest was mostly pine forest, with many logging roads crossing it. For the majority I walked on very clear paths or roads, wide enough for cars. One short bit went through the spookiest forest. The pines just had branches but no needles. It would have been the perfect scene for a horror movie, especially since the branches came very close to the path. But nothing happened. A bit further I encountered a strange wurmlike snake (or snakelike wurm) right on my path. It made me wonder how many I’d almost stepped on. If I hadn’t looked down I would have!
A bit further were two groups of workers. The second one tried to be funny. “Hey, come here. I can teach you what to do so you can work.” After a short exchange and some “Ha ha” I continued again. I was now nearly in Halbe. Today’s walk was little shorter than other days, but enhanced by the detour to the tower. Strange to think there are only 4 days left!
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