Day 1 - Grunewald

After a farewell espresso in Kreuzberg, we hop on the U-Bahn to the S-Bahn, westward towards the Grunewald, the giant woody park that borders Berlin's southwest edge. The E11 is due west from the Grunewald train station, past a cluster of Schrebergarten plots with little houses. (Deb lived in one of these for few months when she was a student here -- shhh, it's not really allowed! See http://www.schrebergarten-portal.de)

There are lots of trails running through Grunewald, and the signs and blazes are often missing, so it's easy to get a little lost -- but a nice place to do it. Just south of Teufelsberg (a small man-made mountain of WWII rubble from the bombing of Berlin) we join the E11 at Teufelsee, a beloved clothing-optional swimming hole, dodging the many mighty breasts and schlongs. Just a bit further along is the Grunewald Tower, built in 1897 in honor of the first Kaiser Wilhelm.

It's a great viewpoint, and a good lunch spot. From here the path follows the Höhen Havel Weg (Havel High Trail) through the beautiful, peaceful semi-wilderness along the east shore of the Havel down to the bottom of Grunewald. We pass the waterside attractions (swimming beach, sailing school, and yacht club) and continue through the small communities of Nikolassee and Wannsee. Technically we're still in the city of Berlin, but these quiet leafy streets seem a world apart. 

We'd hoped to make it to Potsdam today, but Deb can sniff rain in the air, and so the hotel at the Wannsee train station is our spot for the night. We dodge the wet weather with vegetables and schnitzel and our new favorite wine, Grauer Bergunder.  

We dose off to the sound of the S-Bahn outside our window.

Funny to think we could have just taken the train here -- but then we would have missed the lovely Grunewald!