On the second day of being in Berlin, we met up with our tour guide, Jared, early in the morning and started our walk to the train station. We took a short ride beginning at Muckenbrücker station to a smaller, suburban area of Berlin where we took a very peaceful walk to a river where we got on a ferry to the other side. From there, Jared told us to stay a bit quieter and to focus on the sounds of the birds that were more populous in that area. As we reached the forest of Berlin, we went silent and observed the nature around us, which was gorgeous and so calming. As we walked through the forest we learned about tree types, mushrooms, algae, lichens, butterflies, and plants in the area including an incredibly rare parasitic plant in a picture below. We stopped a café in the middle of the forest that contained the world’s 2nd largest exotic butterfly collection in the world and all ordered sausages as lunch. We contained on our walk after eating to meet up with a forester in the area who taught us about how they preserved the forest and the animals in the area including wild boar. During our break, Jared offered an optional hike to the top of a small mountain that I decided to go on. The hike was a bit more intense than I expected and by the time we reached to top I felt like I couldn’t walk another step, but I forgot all about my legs being on fire when I saw the view. You could see all of Berlin and the lake in front of us. The whole trip was incredibly informative, and the entire forest was beautiful.
-Abigail Jennings
