Cornelia Brelowski: Berlin in April – waterways, unlimited

TEXT & PHOTOS: CORNELIA BRELOWSKI

There are various ways to explore Berlin in spring, and some of them might truly broaden your perspective.

Have you ever experienced that one magic week when within 5 days the whole city pops into flower and green? Even without the climate change, the Berlin micro climate around springtime has always been this kind of crazy. “From boots to flip-flops” is the motto when temps rise from minus degrees to 15-18ºC overnight. This effect often takes hold around Easter, which sadly a lot of residents miss simply because they have taken the family on a two weeks holiday. For visitors and the remaining citizens however, this is often the best time to venture outside. It can be wonderfully quiet in the city around Easter, always given that you dare to step off the trodden path, which sometimes merely means trying out an unknown side street or park, that part of the wall path you have as yet missed, or: the waterways.

Boat rides on the river Spree become newly popular at this time of year, when you can enjoy your beer and Currywurst on deck again, instead of sitting inside with a limited view. Same as the wall path (Mauerweg to the Berliner), the Spree boat tours and river cruises show the city from a completely different angle – away from the hustle of the tourist bus and with the added bonus of fresh air and comparative peace. There are both short and long cruises available. A compact inner city tour starting from Hackescher Markt will feature German and English guides pointing out the sights (the offer also includes audio guides in Russian, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish and Hebrew), and will only take one hour tops.

Boat cruise, Berlin government district: Federal Chancellery. Photo: visitberlin, Pierre Adenis

For a slightly higher fee, you can book the 2h15min cruises encompassing most of the city, take a tour on the huge Tegel lake, the world heritage tour from Wannsee to Potsdam – or even leave the city completely behind to enjoy the picturesque waterscape of the Havel lakes. The compact Solar Boat meanwhile offers atmospheric inner city tours at sundown. And then, there are the restaurant ships. In truth, the options to experience Berlin from the water are endless and there is something for everyone, and each budget.

What’s so special about seeing Berlin from the water, you may ask. Well, it allows you not only to tick off the usual sights in comfortable peace, but also to detect the different layers of history and architecture, which in their sum make the city what it is. A different and undiluted perspective draws different conclusions, allows for individual contemplation and may even lead to some new revelations, as you serenely slide by the cornerstones of city culture. And here, the term cornerstones refers to both the picturesque and the not-so-picturesque ones. In Berlin especially, with its atmosphere of constant erosion and construction, be sure to detect something old and something new – in any case something exciting – with each bend of the river.