Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [129]
Return to beginning of chapter
Orientation & Information
Buckow is surrounded by five lakes, the largest being the Schermützelsee. Stop by the tourist office ( 575 00; www.amt-maerkische-schweiz.de; Sebastian-Kneipp-Weg 1; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri year-round, 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-2pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar) for general maps and information or the Besucherzentrum Schweizer Haus ( 158 41; Lindenstrasse 33; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri year-round, 10am-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) for details about the nature park.
Return to beginning of chapter
Sights & Activities
The Brecht-Weigel-Haus ( 467; Bertolt-Brecht-Strasse 30; adult/concession €3/2; 1-5pm Wed-Fri, 1-6pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct, 10am-noon & 1-4pm Wed-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun Nov-Mar) is where the couple summered from 1952 to 1955. Exhibits include photographs, documents and original furnishings as well as the covered wagon first used in the 1949 premiere of Mother Courage. In the fine gardens are copper tablets engraved with Brecht poems. En route to the house, via Ringstrasse and Bertolt-Brecht-Strasse, you’ll pass plenty more posh prewar villas.
There’s some good walking around here. Stop by the tourist office for advice and maps. In summer you can hire rowing boats or go on a cruise on the Schermützelsee with Seetours ( 232; Bertolt-Brecht-Strasse 11; tours adult/child €6/3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct).
Return to beginning of chapter
Sleeping & Eating
A Kurtaxe (resort tax) of €1 per person per night is added to hotel bills.
DJH hostel ( 286; www.jh-buckow.de, in German; Berliner Strasse 36; dm under/over 26yr €14.50/17.50; ) The local hostel is close to the train station and the Weisser See and can accommodate up to 106 people in rooms sleeping two to eight.
Hotel Bergschlösschen ( 573 12; www.bergschloesschen.com, in German; Königstrasse 38; s €55, d €75-85; ) It may resemble the house from Psycho, but you’d be mad (ha ha!) to complain about the upstairs views from this excellent hillside hotel. Rooms are spacious and have balconies and there’s even a sauna for civilised pampering.
Stobbermühle ( 668 33; www.stobbermuehle.de, in German; Wriezener Strasse 2; s €54, d €78-88, apt €88-198, breakfast €11; ) This romantic hotel has charmingly decorated rooms and apartments, some with whirlpool tubs and kitchenettes. The restaurant (mains €9.50 to €18.50; open 11am to midnight) does creative things with classic German dishes; pork tenderloin paired with avocado-tomato salad, gorgonzola sauce and polenta is a typical offering.
Fischerkehle ( 374; Fischerberg 7; mains €9-18; 11am-7pm May-Sep, 11am-5pm Oct-Apr; ) This popular historic restaurant with a big terrace overlooking the Schermützelsee specialises in locally caught fish and game.
Return to beginning of chapter
Getting There & Away
Buckow does not have a train station but there’s handy hourly train/bus service leaving from U-Bahn and S-Bahn station Berlin-Lichtenberg. Hop on a train to Müncheberg, then change to bus 928 (€6.30, one hour) or, if it’s running, to the Buckower Kleinbahn ( 575 78; www.buckower-kleinbahn.de; adult/child €2.50/2; Sat & Sun May-Sep), a nostalgic electric train. Drivers should follow the B1 to Müncheberg, then steer north towards Buckow via Waldsieversdorf.
Return to beginning of chapter
FRANKFURT AN DER ODER
0335 / pop 60,500
Germany’s ‘other’ Frankfurt, 90km east of Berlin, was practically wiped off the map in the final days of WWII and never recovered its one-time grandeur as a medieval trading centre and university town. It didn’t help that the city was split in two after the war, with the eastern suburb across the Oder River becoming the Polish town of Słubice. The GDR era imposed a decidedly unflattering Stalinist look, but still, the scenic river setting, a few architectural gems and the proximity to Poland (cheap vodka and cigarettes, for all you hedonists) are all good reasons for a stopover.