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Help with weekend trip to countryside from Berlin

We will be in Berlin in early July. We'd like to find charming place in the countryside for 2-3 days where we can walk/bike. And where we don't need to have a car.
Spreewald looks lovely, but comments in travel forums are that one day is enough.

Posted by
95 posts

I would head to the mid-range mountains. National Park Saxon Switzerland, Erzgebirge or Harz mountains would be my choices. All of them fit your criteria. Most scenic is Saxon Switzerland IMO. One of Germany's most popular biking trails, Elbe river cycling trail, goes right through.

Posted by
898 posts

another option, from NY Times (Sept 2019) - Escaping Berlin for the Watery Wonders of the German Outdoors

On a warm spring morning in April, my partner and I took the train to Lübbenau for the first time after more than a year of living in Berlin. Over the next few months, I returned to the area twice, seeking the same rush I had felt on my first day trip there: a sudden certitude in the superiority of nature over the routines and vices of city life. In other words, a breath of fresh air.
On that first visit, we followed our fellow passengers off the train at the Lübbenau station, feeling sartorially unprepared in our jeans and sneakers, and cut through the town to the kayak rental shop. For visitors to the area, Lübbenau — like other Spreewald towns, such as Lübben and Burg — serves a primarily utilitarian purpose: a place to rent kayaks and bikes, or book accommodations and tours.

Posted by
13 posts

Thank you for your suggestions. I checked and see comments that the Spreewald area can get very hot in summer. Comments were that a/c was missed.
Where in Saxon Switzerland would you suggest we pick a base? we will not have a car.

Posted by
3009 posts

Spreewald mentioned already. So I like to introduce Bad Saarow which is a very renowned recreation area since last 20s - good hideaway for 2-3 days. After GDR completely built up again. Also very charming is Mecklenburg Lake District.

Also Berlin has very nice walking & biking places, e.g. Köpenicker Forst, Tegeler Forst or famous Grunewald.

Other nice plaes you will find in an article about Berlin and surrounding recreation areas (German).

Another source of information is Brandenburg Tourism biking page with some good options.

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