One Wednesday in September, I took another day off. The weather was sunny, and given that this year's summer wasn't really warm but rather wet, I took the opportunity to get out and about when Indian summer arrived. I wanted to continue the E11, which I have been slowly working on. The last time I hiked this trail it took me to Neuhardenberg, so I woke up early and headed there to continue it.
Neuhardenberg feels like a black hole. You would not want to be there for a long time. Back in June, when I was there the first time, I had to take a bus from the town's bus station to get home. There were alcoholics hanging out by the bus station. They wouldn't mind you, but they're just there. And then in September, when I took the bus to get there to pick up where I left off, somehow the alcoholics were still there. Again, doing nothing, just watching the buses come and the world pass by. I immediately ventured away from the bus station and picked up the trail.
The E11 at this point enters the Naturpark Märkische Schweiz, which is another black hole, but this time it's a positive thing. It's a black hole because there's no phone signal, and that means it can be slightly tricky if you need navigation devices. The E11 isn't the most well-maintained trail, so yes, there were some times where I relied on my phone to point me to the right direction. But unfortunately, there isn't a phone signal. So it is definitely a good thing that I had an offline copy of the map that I was using, and therefore I was all set. As you can see in the photos above, this is an area with plenty of hiking trails, so there were a few intersections that I had to watch out for.
The area is also very diverse, as there are wide open spaces as well as little lakes left and right. It is definitely one of the more picturesque sections of the E11 (so far), as it provides interesting landscapes to the hikers passing by.
After about 18 kilometres, I have reached the edge of Buckow, which is a town right in the middle of the nature park. There are a few waterways and bridges that I passed by along the way.
Buckow is a pretty little place. There is a small town centre with some cafes and restaurants, and a pretty little church. It takes just about half an hour to explore the centre, but otherwise the good thing is that there is a bus station, which I eventually used, which took me to a train station. And from there, I made my way back to Berlin. Buckow isn't feeling like a black hole, as the buses also arrive during the weekends. So perhaps I'd pick this trail up again one weekend when the weather is good.
