A short walk from the Müggelsee to the Langer See in Berlin
The last time I visited the Müggelsee lake was about a year ago. I took my bike for a ride to the Seebad Friedrichshagen for a swim in the lake. This time I spent the afternoon walking from S-bahn station Friedrichshagen through the Müggelberge towards the Langer See lake. I caught the tram back at the end of line 62 in the Wendenschloßstraße. All in all I ended up walking about 11-12 km and enjoyed a beautiful view over the city and the lakes from the viewing tower in the forest. A perfect excursion on a very hot afternoon!
Friedrichshagen really surprised me. Mind you, I didn’t know anything about it, but coming off the S-bahn I immediately liked the place. Through the main street, which is full of ice cream places and bakeries, past the old brewery, I walked towards the lake. This seems to be a very nice livable area, with many options for recreation and still pretty close to the city. Unfortunately I also got the impression it’s probably not the cheapest part of Berlin’s suburbs.
At the lake you have an incredible view and there’s a small paved area with benches to relax and enjoy it. Once you’ve gone through the Spreetunnel you are in the forest. There are some views of the lake, but mostly you walk in a forested and thus shaded area, which in August has a lot of little flies! There are some free bathing areas and there is a sailing club. I followed the path all the way to the Rübezahl holiday park. You can stay here, but there is also a lovely beer garden right at the water.
I could have walked along the Müggelsee a lot longer, but my walk took me away from this water, towards another: the much smaller Teufelsee. I entered the forest called Müggelberge. I passed a playground and noticed many educational routes for families. A boardwalk runs on one side of the Teufelsee, or the devil’s lake. No clue where the name comes from, as it didn’t look particularly threatening. It’s very small but with beautiful waterlilies and there was nobody around.
From here it’s a short climb up the hill over a long staircase towards the Müggelturm, a lookout tower. There was still a bit of construction going on as they’re improving the facilities. There is a big restaurant with a huge terrace where you can take in the view of the surrounding forest. But for the best views you pay 4 euro to climb the tower. I stared over the Müggelsee and the boats on the Langer See. On one side you could see all the way to the city and I could clearly make out landmarks like the TV-tower and the spy station on the Teufelsberg. What really appealed to me in this view was the amount of green I saw so close to the city!
I walked down on the other side of the hill to the shores of the Langer See. Again I found a spot I have to get back to. Closer to the houses there is a bathing beach that you need to pay for, but in the forest you can find many small places where you can access the water. People had brought picnic blankets, floaties and books and enjoyed the water in their own little corners. It was a really satisfying afternoon.
A swan at the shore of the Müggelsee 
A ship’s coming in at the beergarden Rübezahl 
The small Teufelssee 
The landscape around the lake 
Pretty pretty for something called the devil’s lake 
The tower also had a huge outdoor terrace 
The view of Berlin with the TV tower 
Walking along the Langer See