I am definitely having a dysfunctional relationship with Berliner Wanderclub. They are just too minimalistic with information for my limited brain capacity. Or perhaps it is just that it is only when I start interacting with people that life turns strange.
At least the other walking groups bother to mention the expected end time of the walk, and whether it might be a good idea to bring a packed lunch. Just so that everything is pretty much spoon-fed when I try to imagine how the day will go.
So according to the programme, today’s walk would be about 13 km, and would include eating at either Loretta or Schützen-Wirtin, both of which are near Wannsee S-Bahn Station – the end of the walk. With a 13 km walk, I imagined that by eating was meant lunch. There was no mention of a lengthy lunch break along the way. Sounded good to me.
What actually happened was that it turned out that the expected end time of the walk was 17.00 hrs (!!!!??????). With a 9.00 hrs start, that would make eight hours for a 13 km walk. That is not wandern. It is not even Schlentern. Also, there did not seem to be any general recollection of the mention of the two above restaurants, and they were not mentioned at all during the walk. Moreover, about four km from Wannsee, there was a long and boring break and it turned out everybody had brought a packed lunch! How did they know??
Conclusion: Focus on the other walking groups where it is clearer what is going to happen. Or better still: go solo. Which is what I did when after a great length of time nobody showed any signs of ever wanting to finish the walk, I left and went to Wannsee where I had lunch at Loretta, just the way I had originally thought, except the street-level restaurant was closed, so I went to the Biergarten upstairs.
Now, a word on that – Loretta’s beer garden is a very nice location, but the food will undermine your health (apart from one item – baked potato with vegan kidney bean chili and guacamole). And as for the coffee – don’t get me started. Walking closer to the S-Bahn Station, I discovered Corsini, which, as far as I could see, has the same kind of prices but a much better choice of food – fresher, tastier, healthier, and real coffee, so that is something to remember for next time I am in that area.
Anyway, I enjoyed the walking, and took a few photos.
Almost back home, walking through Besselpark, I discovered that they have stopped watering and mowing those boring lawns, so perhaps Berlin is finally entering the 21st century, climate-protection-wise.
Some native plants (or weeds as some people still call them) have already appeared, of their own choosing, needing much less water, and no fertilizers. Hooray! I hope it stays that way, even in the unlikely event that we get what is considered enough rain to go back to boring lawns again.
