Having completed the first two sections of the Berlin Wall Trail, I felt it was time to do the final part, the Northwest third. Originally I was going to continue the clockwise direction from Potsdam, but since my tracking app wants me to buy the Brandenburg map starting there, I decided to wait for my second visit, and start the app at home in Berlin. (Again, it's not web3, but you can zoom in nicely to take a look at the map directly, right here.)
A Mid-Summer Evening Ride
Normally I wouldn't dream of going for a long bike ride on Friday afternoon after work. But being only five days away from the Summer solstice, when it doesn't start getting dark until 10 p.m. I thought it would be a fun way to appreciate the long evenings. The only drop of imperfection was the 20% chance of rain the weather forecast was predicting. But when I left the house at 3:30 the sun was shining bright in the sky. I crossed my fingers it would stay like this.
At first I rode out to the same spot on the Wall Trail that's closest to my house, from where I headed North instead South this time. Only a few minutes later, the trail turned West on its zig-zaggy path, where the inner-German border used to separate families and lives. Today, of course none of that was visible any more. Even the trail itself was so well integrated into the countryside that it was hard to imagine the fortification this place used to have.
A Wet Omen for More to Come
I was riding through the town of Glienicke, when a sudden shower started pouring down on me. Luckily I happened to be under some large trees, so I stopped under one to wait for it to stop. No more than ten minutes later, I was on my way again. Now the air was hot and humid, and steam kept rising up from the ground, the trees, and my own shirt, fogging up my glasses. But the sun was out, and I knew that if this was all the rain I'm in for, it was going to be a very pleasant ride. But little did I know...
The Indirect Scenic Way
Unlike on Berlin's Southern edge, up here the Wall didn't go straight around the city, but kept taking turns around villages, putting them either in the capitalist West or the communist East. While Glienicke was East, Frohnau was firmly in Western hands. Stolpe again was in the East, and Heiligensee once more in the West. Thus, my ride kept taking loops and turns, instead of going straight around the city. I didn't really mind this, even though this entire section of the trail was supposed to be almost 80 km long.
Just as on the Southern part of the trail, there were numerous information sign about the types of border installations that used to be here, or certain victims of the Wall, who were murdered nearby. At one point, as I was entering Berlin once again, coming from Stolpe, they even had a piece of the Wall standing as a sole historical marker, still (or again?) covered in graffiti.
Memories of the Death Strip
Crossing more sections of forest and fields, I finally reached the Havel, one of the major waterways in the area, to which even the Spree, Berlin's famous city river, looks benign. This was the part I needed to keep stopping to glance at my phone for the exact way of the Wall trail (yellow line) as the Wall itself (red line) stretched across the river... not literally, of course, but that's where the political division line (blue line) ran across. Both shores were highly fortified, so any public access was unthinkable, making me feel strangely fortunate to be able to cycle through there without problems.
Today the entire place looks as peaceful and recreational as you could imagine. Recreational boats are moored in marinas, old geezers are dangling their fishing lines in the water, while teens hang out on bridges listening to German Hip-Hop. There are picturesque stops to rest on literally every corner, way more than I wanted to stop.
At one place I even passed by an old guard tower, converted into a museum with a café (or a café with a museum!) and who knows, I may even go back to take a look at it. For now, a picture should suffice of a place that used to be fearsome and serious, and has turned into something quirky and fun. Can you imagine this happening to any border of your choice, that keeps you from going where you want to go? You should, because this is precisely what should (and I believe is going to) happen to all borders. May they be damned!
Once I passed by the district of Spandau, I saw a more artistic looking monument, reminding us of the bridge to its neighboring Schönwalde, which was off limits to users more than a decade before the Wall was built. Again, by now nothing can be seen of this severe limitation to free movement. And for some weird reason, I really like the symbol of the two spheres symbolizing precisely that: the free, unlimited movement of people and things. Very neat.
Can't Control the Weather - Can't Even Predict It
Since this was about half of the way, I thought I should find a nice place to sit down to eat my sandwich, which was originally supposed to be my lunch, along with the beer I had taken along as a pick-me-up. But instead of a bench, I passed by more fantastic scenery, with a sky so wild, it was almost unreal. Of course, I knew the reality such a heavy looking blue-grey cloud could potentially unload on me, especially since the wind was coming right from that direction. So I kept on riding, not even trying to think too much about it, or anything else.
Eventually I found a nice place to sit down for a break, not far from another info sign of the historical place I was riding through. Not that I needed an extra reminder, but it was cool to see the humongous letters above the comparatively tiny marker that yes, you're entering the country's capital. Anyway, I got to enjoy my food and drink in the sunshine. Then I got back on my bike, trying to see if I could make it to the ferry in time.
Trying to stay as close to the original Wall as possible, the trail includes a ride on the ferry from Kladow to Wannsee. I was actually in Kladow, and needed to simply ride down to the ferry dock, when the rain finally started dripping. My first instinct was to look for a tree to stand under, coupled with wanting to take some pics of the impressive buildings around me. Neither idea worked out properly. My wet screen made any settings near impossible, and pretty soon the rain was so strong that the tree didn't offer much protection at all.
To make things worse, I even missed my ferry, so I had no other choice but to find another way to Potsdam, where a hot shower was waiting for me, and hopefully something nice for dinner. My sister is a great cook and an even better host, so I was not disappointed in that regard. I just had to get there.
From the docks of Kladow I took the straight route West to Krapnitz, of course through the pouring rain. Worse yet, were the light conditions! You could not feel the slightest bit of the Summer solstice, as darkness had descended on me after 8:30. Good thing I had my lights with me, fully charged. In Krampnitz I was rewarded with a moment of broken cloud cover to see a glimpse of the sunset, though it kept raining relentlessly.
Eventually I found the road going through Neu Fahrland, which I took out of Potsdam on my last visit. From here it was a straight shot down to my sister's place... even though it was a long one. By the time I reached her place, I was completely beat, thoroughly soaked, and hungry enough to eat the large load of rice noodles with broccoli and tuna she made me. (No, it was not a horse, but maybe the next best thing.)
On my way back I took the direct route, via Wannsee, Grunewald, along the Ku-Dam, the Tiergarten park to Brandenburg Gate, then towards Nordbahnhof, Mauerpark, and Pankow, from where I knew the way to my district of Französisch Buchholz by heart. It was a crazy ride, but certainly worth it.