Wiesenburg

Sometimes travel plans don't work out as expected, and yet they are still enjoyable. My boy was out of town this weekend, so I had to entertain myself. I've been thinking about taking day trips on the train using the cheap weekend tickets, but the budget part of my brain always says "it's the same cost for two people" and so I don't go.

I woke up Saturday with the idea to do something by train, but I didn't know what. I pulled out my guidebooks for inspiration, but found nothing.I then remembered a little booklet we bought a few months ago with information about towns all over northeastern Germany. I pulled it out and found a town that was on the RE (regional train) that leaves from the small station near me. The town had a schloss, so of course I wanted to go.

I didn't plan as much as I usually do because my internet was down and I didn't want to waste the  data on my phone. But, maybe I should have wasted my data because when I got off the train I was in the middle of nowhere. The train station was 2.5km from town.

Two kilometers isn't far, I know that. But, I didn't want to walk somewhere and have to walk back to the same place. I frantically searched on my phone and realized there were no buses to get to/from town or back to Berlin. The only option was the train.  I actually debated just waiting for the return train and going back one station. But then I smartened up and started walking. Germany's a safe country and I can walk through the woods alone, if I want to.

This bike path (it's part of a larger circuit, to Bad Belzig) has art installations along the way.

 

This branch is so large it needs support.

Oh, look, I've finally entered the town.

The Schloss. I should mention that I go to these schlosses and walk around the grounds, but I never actually enter them.

Another schloss kitty.

When I finally made it to town (which was greatly slowed by my photography), I spent at least ten minutes staring at the maps and information plotting what to do next. I discovered that there was a Rufbus, which means you call them to tell them to pick you up. It ran twice a day on the weekend between Wiesenburg and Bad Belzig, but not for three hours, and you had to call an hour before the scheduled pick up. I debated staying in town and taking the bus later so I could explore Bad Belzig, which was part of my general plan for the day.

I should also mention that if someone had been selling bikes, I would have totally bought one just so I could bike to Bad Belzig and make things easier on myself.  But, there was no bike shop nearby.

I debated walking to Borne (under the N in F L A M I N G, in the middle of the map) and then taking the bus from there. Borne was over an hour away by walking, and then it was another hour and a bit to Bad Belzig. I debated walking all the way to Bad Belzig. The bike route with the art installations is the yellow line.

I've wanted to do more hiking and exploring, so this seemed like a good time and option. But then I realized I wasn't prepared. I was wearing stupid flipflops instead of proper shoes.  The ground was not level so my toes were already hurting. I also didn't really pack a lunch or sufficient water for a two/three hour trek. And most importantly, I didn't like having no other travel options. If I started the journey and then needed to stop, I wouldn't be able to. Also, no one knew where I was. 

So, rational thought turned me around. I walked back to the train station I came from, but I planned a different route.

There was supposed to be another path here somewhere... I had my phone out and was trying to figure if my gps was just off by a few feet or what had happened to the path. And then I realized that the slightly flattened patch of grass was the path. I was a little nervous as I started - I didn't want to walk 1km and then find a fence and have to turn back. I also have a fear of being yelled at for trespassing. There was barely a path the entire way, but I kept going and it was really peaceful and pretty.

I arrived at this field, and the train tracks were right there. I was still about 750m from the station, but I had well over an hour until the train (which runs every two hours on weekends...), so I sat on a bench and read for a while. The schloss was visible far in the distance, and in the hour I sat there, no one passed. I was just me and the crickets and birds.

I arrived at the station and the train was 10 minutes late. The tracks were behind a fence that was opened about two minutes before the train arrived. I guess we can't be trusted to stay on the platform. The train ride home was the worst part of the day because it was full of football fans who kept singing their team songs. But I had a good day.  I think I'll go back eventually and make the trek to Bad Belzig, hopefully with company.