Berlin – Part 8 – Last Day – Paulinenaue

Throughout our week in Berlin, our home base was Kerstin and Janine’s home in Paulinenaue, a small municipality in Brandenburger, about 50 km from Berlin (as the crow flies). The quiet serenity in this pastoral setting was a welcome relief after the bustling traffic and crowds of the city.

By far, the highlight of each day was Janine’s amazing breakfast: fresh local eggs, a wide variety of tasty German cold meats and cheeses, baskets overflowing with a fun assortment of hot fresh rolls, 3-4 jars of different fruit jams (my favourite was the pumpkin marmalade, André’s was the home-made raspberry) and a big jar of Nudossi – a delicious East-German version of a chocolate-hazelnut spread (with a whopping 36% hazelnut content – compared to the 13% in the popular American version). Breakfast was a delightful feast, all courtesy of Janine. We will forever remember with great fondness our wonderful Janine-breakfasts!

And every morning, on our drive into the city (or surrounding areas), we would pass by acres of fields covered with demoiselle cranes. (I think that’s what they were). And every morning Kerstin would patiently slow down and stop the car so that I could try to get better pictures of them.

On our last morning, after our last Janine-breakfast (yearning sigh), we took a leisurely stroll through Paulinenaue before the long drive to the airport to catch our afternoon flight back to Paris. We were sad to leave Kerstin and Janine, but left Berlin with our suitcases full of jams (pumpkin marmalade!) and a delightful collection of Berlin souvenirs, all thoughtful gifts from Kerstin and Janine…most of all, we left with our hearts full of precious memories of our amazing visit to Berlin.

This is my last post in this series on Berlin. I may post pictures taken from the plane in a separate “Epilogue” blog for my beloved friends who I know will enjoy those too. But my next “major” travel blog series will be the 2015 Cuba series in the Spring. (Though I do use this Meandering blog to meander through my heart-places too, so maybe there will be some of that before the Cuba series, but I never know in advance. 😀 )

Thank you to everyone for dropping by and being a part of this journey. I hope you’ve enjoyed meandering through Paris and Berlin.

Today, a few parting glimpses of Paulinenaue, Germany.

The demoiselle cranes in the fields near Paulinenaue Germany

Lots of demoiselle cranes in the fields near Paulinenaue Germany

Demoiselle cranes filled the fields every morning (near Paulinenaue, Germany)

Close up of the demoiselle cranes in the fields near Paulinenaue, Germany

André, Janine and Kerstin walking along the road toward Paulinenaue…this would be right about where a big dog came bounding over to the fence on the right side of the road, barking and howling, then whimpering sadly, clearly lonely and just wanting to play.

Autumn foliage in Paulinenaue, Germany

I love the old ivy-covered buildings in Paulinenaue

Ivy in Paulinenaue, Germany

I like this house – maybe because it’s orange? in Paulinenaue, Germany

More autumn leaves in Paulinenaue, Germany

Cute mailbox in Paulinenaue, Germany

A lovely orange bush in Paulinenaue, Germany

Paulinenaue, Germany

Janine showing us the old (but still-in-use) train station in Paulinenaue, Germany

The train station in Paulinenaue, Germany is dilapidated and deemed unsafe to use, but the train still stops here.

Beautiful sunflowers in Paulinenaue, Germany

Pretty foliage in Paulinenaue, Germany

I like this blue gate in Paulinenaue, Germany

This used to be a run-down building which someone bought and completely renovated into a dance and banquet hall for the community.

A curious horse in Paulinenaue, Germany

Janine and André pointing at something (I didn’t see what) in Paulinenaue, Germany

Pretty flowers in Kerstin’s garden in Paulinenaue, Germany

Heading out of Paulinenaue to go to the airport in Berlin

The secret passage out to the highway

We saw hundreds (thousands?) of air turbines everywhere we traveled in and around Berlin

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Copyright © Sharon C. Matthies, Meanderings (blog), 2014. All rights reserved.
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