Day 7 - Hello Spreewald

Late start from hotel in Buchholz, good breakfast. We head out of town on the canal that connects the Dahme River to the vast waterways of the Spreewald. The Dahme is significantly lower, so there's a nice little artificial cascade:

Instead of a lock to raise and lower boats, there's a small boat trailer on rails that runs between the upper and lower levels:

The Spreewald consists of the Spree River (the same river that flows right through the middle of Berlin), dozens of tributaries, and small lakes, all connected by man-made canals. It's known as the "Venice of Brandenburg" because business here has traditionally been done mainly by small rowboat, though these days there are many canoes as well -- and for the tourists, kayak rentals and even gondola rides. The flat landscape and scenic canalways are also popular with cyclists. Most of the walking paths are also bike paths.

There's still the occasional hill that passes for a berg though -- we enjoy the view from the tower atop Wehlaberg:

The little village of Groß Wasserburg greets us with a hand-knitted welcome pillar:

But we push on, crossing many arms of the Spree and finally the main Spree (Hauptspree) on our way to Schlepzig, a tourist haven in the heart of the Spreewald. We dine on local wild game accompanied by our new favorite red wine, Dornfelder. Our hotel room overlooks the canalway, right alongside our trail. We rest well-positioned for tomorrow's hike, more Spreewald to come.