Lesson learned: bring mosquito spray

Every day we learn something new. One day I learn about action research, the next I learn about mosquitoes… the hard way! I started counting my mosquito bites, but it’s no use, I keep losing track. The back of my legs provided a tasty snack for several dozens of mosquitoes, the front coming in a close second for the tough guys who didn’t mind biting through my leggings. As I’m trying not to constantly scratch my legs I have flashbacks of the swarms of tiny creatures we found in the forest. For a mosquito the creatures were actually fairly big and they were ferocious. Hiking became an awkward dance that looked like waacking, waving my hands around my head and body, slapping my legs to provide some rhythm and kill a few. Now it’s all I can think about, but the hike was actually really nice.

I’d been meaning to do this hike near Templin, which I found in one of my hiking books. So this time I posted my plan in our company’s hiking channel and committed. I got a few reactions, ranging from ‘too long for me’ to ‘yes, let’s do it’. So on Saturday morning I met up with 4 colleagues and took the train to Templin Stadt. It would be a relatively hot day, but there was a nice breeze to cool it down. From the train station we walked straight to the edge of the Templiner See and followed the shoreline.

We missed the old town center, but the houses at the edge of the lake looked very nice! They stood on a hill, with beautiful gardens leading down to the water. Some had a private jetty with a small boat. We admired the gardens and suddenly say a miniature train set. There was a panel with buttons and of course I couldn’t resist to press them. Two of them worked and set the train in motion, along with a cable car that soared up to the house. It was absolutely amazing! A sign said it was made by a creative grandpa and kudos to him, it was fantastic.

Even though we followed the shoreline, we only saw the lake at times. The forest surrounding the water was pretty thick and when we diverted to the Gleuensee we actually followed a paved cycling path for a while without seeing any water. At the northern edge of the lake we crossed a campground that led us back to the lake. At the very tip of the lake a few fishermen sat under the shade of a party tent. There was a small jetty and my stomach was rumbling, so we sat down, enjoyed the sun, the breeze and the view and had something to eat. A whole bunch of snacks came out of our backpacks.

The next part of the route was super scenic. Well, first we had to follow the road for a short while, but then we hugged the shoreline and really got the most amazing views. The path went gently up and down. The trees were leaning towards the water and some had fallen over. The water was calm, apart from the one tourist boat coming through, showing the reflection of the clouds.

At Fährkrug there is an intersection. For a shorter hike you can follow a trail along the Templiner See back to town. We said goodbye to one hiker here, but not before having a drink at the hotel. It looked like a pretty cool place, right on the lake, with a sauna building, kayaks and plenty of space. The service was a bit odd, or just German, but it was nice to have a break. Only when we started walking again I noticed there was a huge stretched out campground hugging the lake. The path we followed went through the campground until it went deeper into the forest.

Maybe it was my imagination, but the mosquitoes seemed to multiply and get much worse here. It was annoying us so much that we decided not to go all the way to the Zaarsee lake, but follow the road for a while and get into the forest again near the train line. I wish we hadn’t. I was a walking all you can eat buffet. I have never felt this wanted. Because of that the hike seemed never-ending and I really wasn’t enjoying it anymore. Our speed increased significantly and I barely noticed the Lübbesee when we passed it at the end. I was in mosquito-kill mode. So when we finally hit some concrete again, away from the forest and all its little creatures, I couldn’t be happier. It had been a great day, but I was ready to go home. Next time, I’ll bring bug spray, and perhaps one of those zapper tennis rackets.