While the Netherlands has erupted in a ice-skating Volksfest, Germany is quite blasé about its frozen lakes and canals. Officials tell everyone to use only official skating rinks, but with this glorious weather it’s a crime not to strap on your skates and scrape around the Engelbecken pond in Kreuzberg, or any other shallow lake in Berlin. Be careful on larger ones like the Müggelsee, Tegeler See and Rummelsburger See. Serious skaters can have more fun an hour south of town, in pickle-capital Lübbenau with its 1000 kilometres of frozen Spreewald canals; skate to Leipe or along various other routes. There’s skate rental and sales of warm drinks and soup. Be safe: don’t skate alone and ask the locals for advice. For information see schlittschuhlaufen-im-spreewald.de.
Jeroen van Marle is a Dutch travel journalist and co-publisher of In Your Pocket City Guides who currently lives in Berlin.
Published in Cee Cee #43 on 9.2.2012
