Weekend Trip

After being in Potsdam for the women’s retreat weekend, I felt it may be a good idea for the entire family to break up the Berlin routine by going on a weekend adventure out of town of our own.

Dave surprised us all and planned an overnight trip somewhere. He picked up the rental car on Saturday morning and came to the apartment to pick us and our bags up.

{silly faces}

{first time using a car in over two months – besides taxis}

We headed south of the city and landed between Berlin and Dresden (old GDR country) at a cabin in the country.

{our cabin surrounded by an apple grove – our host invited us to pick as many apples as we’d like}

{with a trampoline}{a little pond}{giant chess set}{tree house}

{sandbox and swing set}

Pretty much a paradise for two “city kids”.

Inside, there was a loft bed for the boys, reminiscent of Little House in the Prairie, that they adored.

{boys’ loft bed}

{You are my morning sun}

Dave and I spent some time relaxing in the sun on the front deck while the boys played.

Afterwards, we headed to Lübbenau to go for a ride on a punting boat. Very Mary Poppins of us, though instead of the Themes, we were on the Hauptspree.

The Spreewald area is known for its Gurken (cucumbers and pickled cucumbers) as well as Horseradish. While waiting for the boat to leave, I bought some local Ingwer Honig (ginger honey) and Gurken and Rhubarb radlers (2% alcohol fruity beers).

Ben liked the rhubarb Radler and felt like quite the dude drinking a sip or two with his daddy.

While arriving in Lehde, we rode right through a festival celebrating the area’s heritage.

http://www.spreewald-lehde.de/cms/front_content.php

{my recording}

{Dave’s version}

Party animals in rural Deutschland!

We them toured the open-air museum. With its three old-Wendish farmhouses, it offers a glimpse of how Spreewald residents lived in the 19th century.

{Isaac climbing the chicken coop}{romping in the hay}

{“milking” the cow}

{ca 1775}

{They sure we’re shorter back in the 18th and 19th centuries}

A quick ride back, brought us to town for a cozy dinner and an early bedtime for the boys – they were tuckered out.

The next morning, Ben and I headed out from the cabin to take a walk in the adjoining woods, which was next to a lake.

This was followed by some more time in the sand box for the boys while Dave and I finished with the packing.

We then headed to the town of Cottbus, near the Polish border. The city, of around 100,000 people, is 900 years old with a 500 year old university.

{smoking fish}

After lunch, we stumbled across a festival in the town square.

And walked by an orthodox synagogue, housed in a former church. Dave noticed a mezuzah at the door and we got curious.

We then climbed the 131 steps up to the top of the town tower.

Afterwards, we headed to Schloss (castle) Branitz. Since it was a nice day out and we figured the boys wouldn’t be interested in some old fancy mansion, we opted instead to simply tour the gardens.

{this one was taken by Ben}

{Did you notice the pyramid?}

After a two hour drive to Berlin, Dave dropped the boys and I off at the apartment, then he gassed up, cleaned out and returned the rental car.

A great weekend away. The boys want to go back next week!