The main attraction
were the terraced gardens below the ornate Sanssouci Palace, the
Chinese House, and the massive New Palace at the western edge of the
park. As we were flaking from the unaccustomed heat, we returned to the
van and rather than visit the other parks and palaces in the area, we
drove through heavy late afternoon traffic to Werder, where we
found a space at the busy stellplatz beside the Havel river.
New Palace lamp standard
Chinese House close-up
We decided to head south east, initially through commuter towns
for Berlin, with huge bike parks at their railway stations, then across
flat wooded countryside to Lübben in Spreewald, an area of lakes
and canals in the former region of Lusatia, where Sorbian, a Slavic
language, is still spoken. There we
found the large stellplatz outside the campsite and near to the town
centre, which was quite touristy, offering trips in punts and shops
selling the local speciality of pickled gherkins. We encountered
a problem in this area using ATM's for cash withdrawals where use
of Visa cards was limited to small amounts, up to €50,
and high
commission. Luckily we found a Commerzbank where a helpful assistant
was able to override the No Visa cards sign on the ATM to draw out a
sensible
amount.
Continuing south east, we diverted to the new Excursio
visitor centre at Welzow, in an area where extensive lignite (brown
coal) open cast mining has been carried out for many years.
The guide explained about the mines and showed us where the
viewing platforms were. With my engineering background I couldn't
resist going to look at the world's largest moving structure - the 500
metres long F60 overburden conveyor. I'm not convinced about the
effect on the environment, or economics of the massive effort needed to
extract a narrow seam of coal for the power stations situated
nearby, followed by restoration of the sites, often providing new
leisure lakes. Nearby another disused F60 is now a visitor
attraction.
From there it was a short drive to the small spa
town of Bad Muskau, on the border with Poland. After booking in at the
small campsite at Pension Muhle, quite near the town, we walked to the
centre and the impressive and recently restored "new" schloss,
situated in the English style Fürst-Pückler Park, which spans the border
with Poland. We decided to have a non driving day and walked to the
park for a joint German - Polish Parkfest, with food stalls
and displays by traditional Sorbian folk dancers. We walked over the
bridge into Leknica, Poland to be met by a large selection of market
stalls selling cigarettes, garden plants and ornaments, and many other
cheap products; a popular destination judging by the
crowds there. In the afternoon, for a rest we took a trip on the
restored narrow gauge Waldeisenbahn steam railway to the town of
Weißwasser and back.
Polish folk dancers
Waldeisenbahn steam locomotive
The next day we visited the nearby town of Kromlau, famous for its
rhododendron gardens, although they had mainly finished flowering at the
end of May. However there was another event to tempt us, a display
of Ault-timers - vintage vehicles with plenty of Wartburg, BMW and
Trabant cars among the older tractors and an amazing hearse.
Basalt rock bridge at Kromlau