Excursions as described in the book

Once again, our daughter has given us an inspiring book. 'Into the Green - Excursions with the Berlin S-Bahn'. We took advantage of the first three sunny days in 2019 to complete some tours.

Through this, we discover areas that only permanent tourists like us see. The average Berliner usually only knows their own neighborhood. Short-term tourists focus on a three-kilometer radius around the Brandenburg Gate.

On the other hand, Frohnau feels like it's 30 S-Bahn stations away. Apart from the residents, only hardcore lovers of 1920s garden city architecture come here. The S-Bahn station itself is also very nice, not just because of the confessional seating benches. Birkenwerder is another two stations further into Brandenburg. Clara Zetkin lived here from 1929 to 1932, appropriately near the Red Bridge.

Naturally, the main attraction here is the beautiful landscape with its wonderful hiking trails, which often follow or intersect with the Berlin Wall Trail. We often walk for hours without encountering anyone.

It's quite different on our Sunday walk. We hike around the Rummelsburg Bay together with a large part of the 3.6 million inhabitants. This used to be an industrial area until the fall of the Berlin Wall, and afterwards an industrial wasteland. For the past 25 years, apartments have been built in an area where no one used to live. For about five years now, there has been a fight against gentrification and for open spaces. This fight is primarily carried out by people who occupy parts of the bay with dilapidated, completely littered boats. The boats have no water supply or sewage system, and they pollute the area where 'The Legend of Paul and Paula' was filmed.

At the Rummelsburg S-Bahn depot, we see a combined elevator and transverse train for the first time, which takes us across the tracks to our platform. This could be an attraction if you could see the slightest bit from the inside.