Grunewald

Grün = green

Wald = forest

Grunewald = green forest

der Berg/ die Berge = mountain/ mountains

Jack and I spent a good part of today hiking and strolling in Grunewald. Grunewald is a huge forest in the west of Berlin that is known for strolling, naked lake swimming, mountain biking, kite flying, and Teufelsberg. Since we have been having such wonderful weather (Sorry, America. It's 50s and mostly sunny here), Jack and I decided to go hiking. Jack was here when he was in Berlin a few years ago, and loved this area because of how peaceful it is, and he was not wrong.

We started the day bright and chipper. Jack was like a boy opening presents on Christmas day, sitting on the S-Bahn with a big smile and bouncing with anticipation to get to our destination. When we got there, we spoke (auf Deutsch, natürlich!) of all of the people that were walking, biking, strolling, horseback riding, and skateboarding. There were so many people! Germans love being outside, and this is just another further example of how they enjoy the outdoors. 

Off in the distance was one of the few Berge in Berlin, which is where Jack wanted us to sit and enjoy a picnic lunch. Drachenberg, the name of the mountain, actually has a very interesting history. Berlin is naturally flat. This mountain is man-made. What is under the land to make it a Berg? Debris from WWII. This mountain is literally made of metal, bomb pieces, and other debris that had no where to go after the war. Drachenberg is one of the highest points in Berlin, and kite flyers come here to fly kites while others picnic and sit in meditation. We had to hike up to the top, which proved to be difficult, as we are not longer accustomed to hills it seems, and were very out of breath and tired when we got to the top. This is where we picnicked admired the view.

Afterwards, we hiked a little higher up to Teufelsberg, a tower that Americans used to spy on East Germany/the Soviets during the Cold War. You're not allowed to walk to the tower (not safe), but we walked around it, dodging bikers huffing their way up and down the Berg. We walked by what Jack calls "The Naked Lake", where many people lounge and swim in the nude. Lucky for us, it's still too cold for nakedness, and our eyes are still untainted :)

Teufelsberg: Source
And yes, I do realize what this looks like......

Views from Drachenberg

We continued our walk along dirt footpaths, taking us around the forest. It was nice to be in nature for a change, rather than the hustle and bustle of city life. Time went by slower, more smiles and friendly "Hallo!"s were made, and even wildlife was spotted. We have noticed that other than birds, very little (if any) wildlife can be found in Berlin. No squirrels, no chipmunks, no bunnies. It's strange. But, we did manage to see a red squirrel with a mohawk of some sort. This red squirrel is my Big Foot...the few times I have seen one, I never am able to capture a clear picture. One day, I hope to take a picture of this red mohawked creature. 

We ended the day tired, exhausted, but content. While cloudy, the weather was in the low 50s and enjoyable to walk in. Hopefully, we can come back on a clear day and provide some more pictures. Hope you all enjoyed your weekends :)