Looking to escape the hustle and bustle of Berlin for a few days? Here’s just the place: Gasthaus Canow, a guest house in a former coachbuilder’s workshop in the middle of Mecklenburg, 90 km from Berlin. When I arrived, I was greeted by a bright, spacious first floor room furnished in minimalist style by hosts Lea and Auriel. The ensuite room features a cozy sleeping loft and is one of five flats connected by a communal room with additional seating and cooking facilities. That said, you don’t have to cook yourself: you can order breakfast with homemade bread, a simple but delicious lunch, plus homemade cakes and apple juice in the afternoon. When I was there, the apple trees had just been harvested for this purpose, with the remaining fruits ripe for picking. I enjoyed admiring the orchard while sitting with a coffee from Berlin roastery Vote.

Word seems to have spread that Canow is the place for good coffee, warming soup and nice people: throughout the day, passing cyclists and neighbors stopped by the cafe and headed into the garden to soak up some autumn sun. While the house and garden have lots to offer, the accommodation is also a good base to explore the area. It doesn’t matter which direction you walk, you’ll find canals, Mecklenburg lakes, lochs and reed-covered shores to enjoy. Heading back to Berlin, I noticed the effect the deep sleep, hassle-free dining and relaxed atmosphere had had on me. Though it was just two nights, I felt totally recharged. In short: this is the ideal place for a little time out.

Text: Nicola Sifrin / Photos: Sven Hausherr

Gasthaus Canow, Canower Allee 48, 17255 Wustrow; map
Canow is located 90 km north of Berlin.

@gasthauscanow

Bettina Krieg is truly an artist. Her beautiful, large-format drawings have already been published in a 2020 monograph, a work our agency Cee Cee Creative had the pleasure of designing. Krieg is also a practitioner of shiatsu, the traditional Japanese art of healing that is a good complement to newer techniques of Western physio- and body therapy. Shiatsu makes you more mindful of yourself and of others. Bettina discovered its therapeutic value for herself during a seven-month stay in Istanbul in 2014. At that time, her physical ailments led her across the Bosporus from Europe to Asia for weekly treatments. She has been practicing shiatsu herself since 2015 and received her certification in 2020.

This attention to your well-being is clearly palpable: Bettina knows how to relax you and build trust – the basis for shiatsu, which is based on a close relationship between practitioner and patient. You can think of the treatments as a form of passive yoga: Bettina works her way from head to toe along physical pathways known as meridians. Shiatsu has been proven to help combat stress, exhaustion, tension and many other physical or mental issues. You’ll leave the room as if you were walking on air – and already looking forward to the next session. You can join for shiatsu at Original Feelings.

Text: Hanna Komornitzyk / Photos: Savannah van der Niet

Shiatsu with Bettina Krieg at Original Feelings, Graefestr.71, 10967 Berlin–Kreuzberg; map

@shiatsu_studio
@bettinakrieg
@originalfeelingsstudio