Müggelberge, Berlin’s highest hill

One tree can make a million matches. One match is enough to destroy a million trees.

A couple of weeks ago we went for another walk in the woods to Müggelberge,which is about 15 km south east from the centre of Berlin. It boasts the height of 114.7 metres at its peak and is easy to get to by public transport (S-bahn and bus). Most of Berlin is at 34 metres, so it wasn’t a steep climb. There are beautiful views over the lake on one side and the river on the other.

As we entered the forest, we were greeted by an thought-provoking warning about matches.

In the forest, there is a cafe housed in a couple of metal shipping containers, with tables and benches outside and a fence which was cheerily decorated for Christmas. Above a wood-burning brazier hung a cauldron of soup.

As it was November and damp underfoot, fungi were plentiful

Mountain bikers have a downhill track with lots of wooden jumps, some of which were the worse for wear.

Sunrise over Berlin

I left home at 7 this morning when it was still dark, and took the Regiobahn with Cathy to Schönefeld airport to see her off. The sun was just rising when we got to Zoo station, and the sky was deep pink streaked with yellow. These pictures are blurry, but I hope they give you some idea of how very beautiful it was.

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What, no mince pies?

Some time last week I realised that I hadn’t seen a mince pie since early January, and I’m none the worse for it. Not only have I not seen mince pies, but I haven’t seen endless jars of random varieties of barely indistinguishable mincemeat either. Given this dramatic news, I realise that some of my dear readers will suddenly and unexpectedly find themselves thinking of emigrating to Germany. I like some Christmas traditions, and have been known to make my own mincemeat and dozens of mince pies to force on unwary visitors, but I think I probably like the idea of mince pies and being able to make a mess in the kitchen more than I like mince pies per se.

In the light of this enforced mince pie deprivation and not having enough people on whom to inflict my baking, I made some traditional German Christmas goodies: Elisenlebkuchen. (Gluten-free and very more-ish.) It was the first time I ever put a tablespoonful of cinammon in anything. Next time I’ll improvise a bit. Christmas visitors, you have been warned.

First attempt at Elisenlebkuchen.