Who the heck is Paul Gerhardt? After all, I hiked 140 kilometres of a trail that bears his name, so I supposed at some point I should know. Well, now that I have completed the entire Paul-Gerhardt-Weg, I have an idea who he is.
Paul Gerhardt was a hymn writer. He lived from 1607 to 1676, and the Paul-Gerhardt-Weg links several towns that have significance regarding Paul Gerhardt. As you know, this trail starts in Berlin and heads southeast, and eventually it ends in Lübben, which is the town I found myself in now that I have finished this trail. And I have to say, there's definitely a sense of accomplishment when one finishes a trail.
I had a lot of motivation to finish this trail. Unlike the previous legs, I was so motivated to do this leg, that I woke up early and made sure that I was able to catch the train that connects me to the bus that goes to the starting point just once every two hours. So by 6:00 I was having breakfast, and by 7:30 I was out the door. And by 10:04, I was in Schlepzig, standing in front of the village church, which you can see above.
This trail is right smack in the middle of the Spreewald, and therefore there's plenty of water in this trail. Even in Schlepzig, I already saw canals, not to mention that there are a few very old buildings I saw in this village.
The Spree is the river that also runs in Berlin, which eventually flows into the Havel, and then into the Elbe. Here, the Spree is very quiet, and there are several little lakes that are somewhat linked together. I hiked alongside them as I made my way south, towards Lübben.
Eventually, I entered Lübben, and I already saw the pink-coloured gymnasium with an interesting clock tower.
Inside Lübben, there are still canals. In fact, one can rent boats and explore this area. But this time, I was on land, not on water. At some point I reached the centre of town, and saw some interesting statues, as well as a very aged distance marker, indicating the distance of various towns using time. Berlin, for example, is indicated as being 18 hours away.
And then I saw the church, the Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche, where Paul Gerhardt preached as an archdeacon until his death. It is a small church, but very pretty inside. When I was there, it was empty, except for a few other visitors like me.
So this ends the Paul-Gerhardt-Weg. I am so glad to have finished it. Now I need to find another trail to tackle. In the meantime, I made my way back to Lübben Station from where I caught a train back to Berlin.
