A weekend getaway location in the East of Germany (near to Leipzig, Berlin, Dresden and the Western border of Poland), Spreewald was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1991 and is perhaps best known for the pickles that come from the region, the famous Spreewald gurkens so sought after in the movie "Goodbye Lenin"
We stayed at the pet friendly Hotel am Spreebogen in the city of Burg, with two dogs in two separate rooms (us with our small Mini Schnauzer and our friends with their large Boerboel). We paid an extra 10€ per dog per night and a nice-sized breakfast buffet was included in the room price. Dogs were allowed in all areas of the hotel (lobby/lounge and wintergarten/green room which doubles as the restaurant). Each of the rooms on the main floor of the hotel has a private door to the outside grounds which is ideal for letting your dog out in the morning and night.
Walking
There is not much forested area in Burg, but we took the dogs for a very nice walk along some of the smaller canals from the hotel to the city center of Burg along the bike path. Upon leaving the property of the hotel simply turn right onto Ringchausee street and follow the path straight to the village center of Burg. On this walk, you will pass many fenced in properties with dogs and/or other livestock as well as some farms with unfenced free-ranging chickens.
Once you get to the village center of Burg, Ringchausee becomes Bahnhofstrasse. Along Bahnhofstrasse and then left on Hauptstrasse, there are a few curio shops where you can buy Spreewald souvenirs, pickles and of course a nice warm cup of gluhwein which can be enjoyed by the Burg dam. Not very much is open on the weekends, but the Dreissig cafe, located at the beginning of the village center (Bahnhofstrasse 15), was open on both Saturday and Sunday when we were there.
Just past the Burg dam is the Spreewaldmuehle GmbH ("A" on map). Just across the street from the muehle (mill) is where you can start a very nice forested walk. You walk along the canal, past the fork in the waters until you reach the metal sheet bridge. At the bridge veer left onto the dirt road to Penkeweg street. At Penkeweg go left and follow the street until the Penkeweg/Penkeweg crossing, across from the school. Once again go left along the "new" Penkeweg dirt road. At the next Penkeweg/Penkeweg crossing go right and walk along the shady path until Byhlegurher Strasse. Turning left on Byhlegurher Strasse and following the bike path brings you back to the starting point at the muehle. We kept our dog offleash on the majority of this walk, but be weary that there are wild animals (deer) and domestic farm animals (cows, chicken, geese, sheep) all around, so if your dog is not fully trained it would be advisable to keep them on leash so not to anger the locals.
To get to Hotel am Spreebogen, take the Deutsche Bahn to the village of Vetschau and then take the 38 bus to the "Burg Hotel Zum Spreewald" stop (make sure to tell the bus driver where you are going so he stops for you!). The stop is a short (UNsidewalked) walk (~100m) to the hotel (continuing in the direction of the bus route). The bus costs 2€ per person and we were not charged for the dogs although in principle each dog should pay a child's fare unless they are in a travel case.
No comments:
Post a Comment