Day 95 20th May 2017
So started late and decided to just get out of the city for a while and Mel had discovered in her own inimitable style that in Berlin there was one of the Top 10 Trolley Car Rides in the World which went to a place called Schmockwitz. So in her continuing search for cheap sightseeing tours she decided that our activity for the day was to ride the Number 68.
Well for a tram ride it has to be said that the Number 68 has a very picturesque route firstly taking us across the city and then running along the Lake Langer See and beautiful bright green forest until it reaches its terminus. The problem with the ride is that you sees glimpses of what might be and arriving at Schmockwitz (which sits between four lakes and sounds idyllic) becomes the destination where all will be revealed. On arriving there one assumes that you will be able to settle by the lake eating bratwurst and and I am sure it is if you own a lakeside property and have access to a deck where you can sit with a G and T.That is before you hop on your yacht to go to one of the small islands in the lake.However if you are a simple tourist using a cheap tram ticket it isn’t all that it is cracked up to be :-).So the photo above is probably the highpoint of the ride which was taken from the bridge outside Schmockwitz.
So back on the tram and heading for Kopenick which had from all reports a very nice “old town” section. This turned out to be true and we had a leisurely stroll around the back streets.
We happened upon the “Restauration Zur Gardestube” which was apparently the oldest pub in town and it had a very quaint atmosphere with photos of how the town used to be.It was full of bric a brac and had developed a theme around an event that occurred in 1906.Apparently a shoemaker named Wilhelm Voigt had impersonated a military man, rounded up some locals as soldiers and arrested the mayor and cashier and then absconded with four hundred and forty thousand marks.The restaurant has actors that recreate this event every Wednesday.The Gardestube
After a typical Berlin lunch of curry-wurst and rissoles washed down by beer we walked back to the station to return to Berlin only to discover that Mel’s wallet had gone missing.We backtracked to the restaurant but alas no luck.We returned to Berlin and went through the process of cancelling the cards.
