Day 3 - Seven Peaks, and more!

[The title of this post is borrowed from the excellent book Wanderungen durch Brandenburg by Manfred Reschke, which has been our primary reference for this hike so far. Unfortunately only about the first half of our planned route is in Brandenburg, so we'll be left to our own devices in Saxony and the Czech Republic.]

A full 12 hours of sleep to recharge our exhausted backs and legs. Back on the trail at 9am. Soon we're delayed by train traffic - guess those distant trains we were hearing last night weren't so distant after all. The trail has its own railroad crossing!

Other than the trains, the forest is quiet and peaceful. Plenty of deer blinds but no hunters (or any other folks) or deer (or any other beasts.)

Our first peak is Grosser Ravensberg, not as tall actually as Kleiner Ravensberg but having a more spacious peak, large enough for a small forestry school. 

Then we're sent down and under the autobahn toward the town of Saarmund, looking forward to a nice lunch. Surprise, the trail has been rerouted and now goes through the Saarmund model plane airfield instead. No life here either - man, animal, or machine - just a few benches and a list of approved radio control frequencies.

Our second mountain, Eichberg, is very sandy, covered in scrub oaks and heather. Reschke informs us that this is typical Brandenburger geology -- "Sand, Seen, und Heide" meaning sand, lakes and.. Heide is usually translated as "heath" but it's something like a meadow or prairie. 

Seems this geology does not encourage springs and small streams, because there aren't any. Which is too bad, because that's what we like to drink. The lakes are still and are heavily used for recreation so their water is not too appealing. We have a filter pump, but still, yech. So where do German hikers get their water?

We pass over our five remaining peaks, each a little less impressive than the last, all shorter than 100 meters. They're pretty though, and a good workout since they don't bother with switchbacks.

We're so low on water now that we can't camp, so we push on to the next town, Blankensee, a very old and charming village. Among other delights, it has undoubtedly the most charming public toilet building I've ever seen:

This is a tiny place, and the bakery - the only store in town - closes just as we arrive. Following the village signs, we inquire with the bee keeper for lodging, who sends us on to her nephew, the fish smoker. He's installed a couple of very nice apartments over his shop, and luckily one is free. It doesn't smell like fish at all, and the tap water is delicious.