Spring has Arrived

It feels as though it has been 50 degrees and rainy since we arrived here last August. The quote “Wir sind nicht aus Zucker” became my mantra. Finally, last weekend, spring arrived in full force. The leaves came out on the trees last week. They have that beautiful, fresh, young green color. Almost translucent. When the sun shines through them it radiates to the ground like it has passed through stained glass. Absolutely gorgeous!

Sunday afternoon we all decided to get out in the beautiful weather and enjoy a walk together. The kids were enticed more by the prospect of an ice cream than by the walk with Mom and Dad, but you take what you can get. We headed out from our apartment up a pretty residential street that borders a large lake nearby called Schlachtensee (See means lake and is pronounced zay). Schlachtensee is on the edge of Grunewald forest, a gigantic park in the western part of Berlin that stretches north along the Havel River for almost five miles. When West Berlin was isolated during the cold war, Grunewald was nicknamed the lung of Berlin, and areas like Schlachtensee were its vacation spots.

Anyway, we walked along the lake and past a very popular beer garden to another, smaller lake called Krumme Lanke (pronounced Kroom-ah-long-kah). Krumme Lanke is even deeper in Grunewald, only about half the size of its larger neighbor, and a bit more peaceful. Where the five-kilometer walk around Schlachtensee would be teaming with people, for some reason Krumme Lanke is a bit mellower. Also unlike its larger neighbor, Krumme Lanke has a couple of small beaches on its eastern side and a lovely open lawn at its southern end. I love it there.

It is wonderful seeing the way Germans enjoy nature. Even in less than stellar weather, they get outside for a walk, a run or a bike ride. A really popular sport here now is called Nordic Walking. It sounds funny and looks funnier. It is, basically, walking with cross-country ski poles. I guess the idea is to get your whole body into the act for a “Total Body Workout”. Look for an infomercial soon featuring your favorite washed up actor. Anyway, imagine what happens when you take these naturally outdoors loving people, subject them to rain and cold for eight months, and then suddenly produce a warm, sunny spring day with temps in the mid seventies. Do they frolic? You bet. Do they sunbathe? You bet. Do they swim? Absolutely (Brrrrr!). Do they do all of this stark naked? Well, not all, to be fair, but lots and lots! Apparently, the nudity craze came from the DDR. They even had a name for it: Freikörperkultur. Roughly that means Free Body Culture. (Editor's correction - vielen Dank Frank - FKK began in Essen way back in 1898. The East Germans just liked it... ALOT!) When Germans have a large word that they use a lot, they give it initials. This puppy is called FKK. Unfortunately, there is an unwritten rule somewhere that the people who enjoy being naked in public are also the ones who are over forty and love lots of beer and sausage. So, for the casual observer (or astounded American gawker), the view is a bit disappointing.

Because of our FKK cultural experience of the past weekend I have renamed our beautiful little lake Nude Lanke. Sorry, no pictures this time!

For more information regarding FKK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freik%C3%B6rperkultur