Needles and pine cones

To most people growing up in Berlin, going to Brandenburg is no big deal. Many frequently visit their parents or other relatives who live in small towns scattered around the beast-city. For most others, with its numerous lakes and rivers, Brandenburg constitutes a refuge from Berlin’s non-air conditioned summer heat. Because many of Brandenburg’s towns are reachable by public transport, they often feel more like a dreamy green extension of Berlin than a separate and secluded region. That is also why many of its beaches feel like a can of sardines, or as we say in Russian, a place where no apple can fall. For those with access to cars, seeking out places unreachable by trains or buses becomes a new form of summer sport.

I feel lucky. I had the opportunity go to my little place of refuge by regional train in just 20 minutes from Berlin and to experience the silence of its forests, fields, and lakes in a little private home belonging to friends with very little other people in sight except for my fairy-like daughter.

After not leaving Berlin for eighteen months due to COVID related restrictions, these 20 minutes out into a new experience felt no less exciting than a 6 hours flight to another country.