Back in October, I was supposed to go to a week-long holiday in northern Germany, yet I had to cancel that because Berlin became a risk area and therefore travel became complicated. So I stayed at home, and instead I tackled Berlin's green trails one by one. Trail 4 was one of them.
Trail 4 starts in Alt-Lübars, which is a rather rural area north of the city, on the border with Brandenburg. Back when there was a Berlin Wall dividing the city into two parts, this was a corner of West Berlin. I was here a couple of times before, first when I completed the Berlin Wall Trail in 2013, and at least one more time after that, as it is after all an interesting destination for a day trip.
Berlin has plenty of these little villages on its outskirts, where there is a small village centre, complete with its own church. Lübars actually was not part of Berlin, and only incorporated into the city in 1920. And during the Cold War, this area of West Berlin is rather remote. It was remote enough to be featured in Patricia Highsmith's novel
The Boy Who Followed Ripley. I remember reading that book remarking that I found it interesting that an area I was familiar with played an important role in the book.
The trail slowly moves away from the village, and at first it follows a sandy trail that would eventually connect it to the Berlin Wall Trail. It traces the path of the Berlin Wall Trail pretty much on its entirety, all the way to Mauerpark in Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin.
It passes by a local cemetery, the Friedhof Pankow. Back then, Tegel Airport was still operating, so it was a bizarre moment to see all these aeroplanes flying into the airport, when down here on the ground we're all admonished to limit our travel.
As I slowly eased into the city, I stumbled upon some bizarre sculpture.
And then at the end, it was Prenzlauer Berg as I knew it. It was a Sunday, and so there were quite a few people milling around. From there, I took public transportation in order to head home.
