I have never been so badly prepared for an excursion as this one.
I had made a last minute decision to do this tour on Komoot today. But since the weather looked as if it could turn either way, I was waiting for it to brighten up just a little bit.
When I finally left, I was ridiculously unprepared, so for various reasons, the walk was cut even shorter.
As it was still grey and drizzle when I left home, I did not expect relentless sunshine and clouds that were always everywhere but between the sun and me, so I did not apply sunscreen, nor did I bring sunglasses, let alone a hat. Of course with not much in the way of shade from big trees in that kind of landscape, that in itself put a damper on the amount of time I was able to spend there.
Also, even more idiotically, I forgot to put a battery in my camera so had to make do with my phone for photos.
And finally, I forgot to bring a power bank. With my non-existent orientation skills, I am always afraid of getting lost, and if my phone runs out of battery (which of course it does much quicker when I take a lot of photos with it ….), I am f……
Still, I hugely enjoyed the walk, and would definitely like to go back and walk further and spend more time there. And since I now know what blooming heather as far as the eye can see and in all directions looks like, it does not have to be this time of year.
A couple of bonus tips: Take the regional train to Bernau (that really takes no time at all) and bus 900 to Schönow church. From there, it is just a short walk.
There are no toilets, and also no really great options (for women) to go “al fresco”, so make sure to go before boarding the bus in Bernau, which is also the last chance to find something to eat and drink if you have not brought your own. There is a “restaurant” – Alter Dorfkrug – by the church in Schönow, but their opening hours are prohibitive. I did have a cup of the worst coffee ever there, but I saw no evidence of any food being served. However, it did look as if they had good beer.
And finally, leave the road either well before the cemetery, or just after the cemetery. Some maps make it look as if you can exit through the back of the cemetery, but I learned the hard way that that is not possible.
