We get it, Berlin has gotten boring without the clubs, concerts, and festivals that you are usually on to get yourself busy during the summer. Since corona has made us re-appreciate time spend outside and in nature, we thought about quenching your thirst for nature and giving you guys some ideas what to do on your weekends, in order to get out of Berlin and do something new and exciting. Stay tuned!
Escape to Spreewald and stay Overnight in a Cabin
From Berlin, it only takes you an hour and a 23€ Berlin Brandenburg Ticket to get to the beautiful Spreewald. A place with a lusciously green, calm forest and endless canals, that call you to explore them on a Kanu. Your destination is a tiny place called Lübbenau, that is where your Spreewald adventure begins. Are you ready to start rowing? You can rent a boat from Bootsverleih Franke from 6€ an hour and go off to explore the waterways. A trip to Spreewald is the easiest and fastest way to escape Berlin and have a little adventure. The best getaway experience is pairing the visit with a stay in one of the wooden cabins there that you find on Airbnb. Immersive nature adventure – here we come!
photo: J.H. Janßen (CC by SA)
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Discover Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland, close to Dresden, is always worth the journey. Lucky for us Berliners, it is only one and a half hours away! Whether you want to reach it by car or by train over Dresden, your starting point for your adventure will always be either Rathen, Wehlen, Königsstein or Pirna. From there you can walk or take public transport to reach all of the beautiful impressive spots that make Saxon Switzerland so famous. The gorgeous Bastei in the jagged mountains, the 700 fairytale steps called “Schwedenlöcher”, the impressive mountain range “Schrammsteine” and the majestic castle Königstein. Let’s go!
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Hinking in Harz National Park
In the very heart of Germany, there is another serene area that outdoorsy people love and city people like me have only heard about: the Harz National Park. There are countless hiking trails to do and a diverse landscape to take in. Come and see the famous Bodetal, with its magical jagged mountains and dense forest or walk in the footsteps of Goethe on the Goethe trail all the way to the enormous Brocken. Stay in a Hostel in Altenau or Osterode and hike your way into the forest from there.
photo: ArtMechanic (CC by SA)
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Camping by Far-Off Lakes
Who doesn’t love waking up in the summer and being able to directly plunge into cool, calm waters outside of their bedroom? That’s what I love about camping by lakes, it’s the ultimate immersive nature experience to wake up and have the wild world just outside of your tent. Since the usual lakes in Berlin are absolutely overcrowded this summer, it’s better to go a little farther out. We have found, that the gorgeously blue Bernsteinsee or Tonsee are far off, serene, and offer camping directly by the lake for you to jump right in. Prices for a tent a night start at 7,50€. Off we go!
photo: iHeartBerlin
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A Weekend on the Beach on Hiddensee
A small island in the shape of a seahorse, in the baltic sea, without cars, wide luscious greens and a white sand beach that goes on for miles, facing the open ocean – that’s what you will find when you are going to Hiddensee. Take the train to Stralsund from Berlin and take the ferry to Hiddensee from there. Cabs will take you to the port from the train station in just 10 minutes. On the island, there are three little villages – Kloster, Vitte, and Neuendorf. All equally charming and easy to reach by bike, that you can rent for 5€ a day. Starting in Kloster, you can hike all the way up the coast to the beautiful lighthouse, enjoy the view high up over the ocean and end the day with dinner in one of the restaurants by the port. The beach by Neuendorf is really wild still and not many tourists make their way there, so feel free to come and skinny dip!
photo: Katha, Pixabay.
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Do a Tour of Germany’s Beautiful Old Castles
We are now moving further south for the last part of our article. There are plenty of majestic castles that have been preserved all around Germany for hundreds of years, most of them may be unknown to you. If you got a car and a free weekend, you can make your way down to Füssen, stay in an Airbnb and visit the famous Burg Neuschwanstein and the nearby Burg Hohenschwangau on the same day. Since the castles are spread all over Germany, you can pick your favorites and make the move!
photo: Pixabay.
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Visit Berchtesgaden National Park
Moving even further south, we are reaching the true nature gems that Germany has to offer. If you are feeling more like seeing a gorgeous mountain range, wide deep blue mountain lakes and hike through raw majestic nature for hours, you gotta invest some time and money and come all the way down to the southeast part of Germany. Down in the Berchtesgaden National Park are plenty of hiking trails to discover. Enjoy the gorgeous Königssee at the foot of the mountains, the boat tours are the best way to enjoy the full view onto the mountains.
photo: Polly
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Hike at Zugspitze and See the Eibsee
For the mountain goats among us, who are in for a true mountain hike and thrilling heights, you have to have been to the Zugspitze at least once in your time in Germany. With its 2.962m, the Zugspitze is the highest mountain in Germany. If you are not one of the experienced hikers, you can also take a cable car all the way to the top. The big plus: Find the beautiful Eibsee just where the cable cars take off. Make sure to stop and take in the full view of the gorgeous lake right in front of the Zugspitze.
photo: Pixelteufel
