the green wild meadows of malchow's sandfeld.
in the west of malchow there is a big chunk of forest that spans towards plauer see, a widely 'uncultivated' area these days, but it hasn't always been this way. in my last post i mentioned the nazi munition factory that had been built in these woods, away from prying eyes of their enemies and where they also built an external subcamp for the concentration camp ravensbrück. exactly these woods we explored on a pretty sunny day, betraying the darkness that happened around these parts. isn't it weird that there are places in this world that were built or used by dark forces and horrible regimes and you vist them 80 years later and they are the most peaceful places you can imagine? sometimes my brain can't cope with the contrast of knowing what was in the past and what the present looks and feels like. it definitely leaves me with a strange impression often, kind of like a little sting in my heart and brain that is not entirely able to look at a landscape or a place without the connotations of historic incidents and meanings. it is meddling with what my eyes actually look at sometimes and beclouds the pure enjoyment of my surroundings that i should feel.
before we go into deeper detail about the 'munitionswerk malchow' again, let's still talk a little about the hike we did. lake petersdorf is also situated in the west of malchow, south of that aforementioned wooded area and it connects lake malchow through the recken canal with lake plau. the whole hike was around 17 kilometers long and led us all around lake petersdorf with a stop at lake plau in the middle of our trek. throughout the day we came upon beautiful idyllic sceneries but also stumbled over remains of the munitions factory. but, we encountered some magical animals and found other little treasures, too, rectifying the darkness, making amends for ruminating over the darker parts of history.
we started near the sandfeld settlement and walked along the shores of the recken.
civilization sculpture ;P
nature sculpture :)
found a gorgeous flower that is actually not native to germany but is on an invasion quest. douglas' spirea is native to north america, alaska & canada and usually grows near streambanks ( check ) or in swampy areas. it doesn't like shade ( found it in the sun! ). as soon as it finds a spot in the habitat its growing in it can quickly overtake and suppress other growth, making it a highly invasive plant. in america it was used by the native people for making brooms and even for hanging up things ( i'd like to see those products - one can almost not believe that the plant is sturdy like that ). aside from being a very strong plant, the flowering looks pretty sweet!
a boat slip into the recken. the canal is about 30 to 40 meters wide, so there's not a lot of room to navigate when boats want to pass each other.
oh those wonderfully refreshing looking waters! i wish to go paddling there or swimming. maybe on my next visit to the mecklenburg lakelands i will finally fulfill my paddling wish! we are actually going to embark on a new mecklenburg lakeland adventure in september, though we will stay more up northeast near lake malchin and lake kummerow! i am actually quite excited, because maybe there will be the possibility of going on a peene river paddle tour or visiting kummerow castle with its photographic collection again! and of course seeing totally new places. we booked a house in a little village so it's gonna be quite remote, which i always find very relaxing. looking forward to it ❤
sometimes there are stretches of sandy beaches, looking perfect for a dip in the water!
entering the woods revealed to us a novel discovery! we found a witch egg! it's the baby form of a stinkhorn mushroom, and in this form it counts as a delicatesse ( after removing the jelly ). i think our species was already a little too ripe though, it started to smell already, but its texture cutting it open was immensely satisfying to look at! i was disgusted and fascinated at the same time 😲 looks like a brain nestled into glibber. they say it tastes a little bit like radish and it can be eaten raw or pan-fried. as coincidence goes, the year 2020 was also the year of the stinkhorn in germany, so we counted ourselves as very lucky to find it in the wild that year :D
something you also don't see too often in germany's woods are these fellows: mouflons! apparently they live wild around these parts, but don't quote me on that, because we saw them together with horses on a paddock near the forester's lodge in the tiny hamlet of biestorf. it was a big herd with young ones and it was truly a sight to behold! my research showed me that in germany mouflons are actually quite strong when it comes to their numbers and they do live in many places without restrictions. growing up, i barely saw any mouflons in the wild, usually you'd see them in zoos or wildlife animal parks. so imagine my surprise in learning that there are around 16.000 of them living all over germany. that is still not so much that you will see them on every corner in the countryside, but there are places like in mecklenburg, where you can meet them frequently! even thuringia and hesse seem to have some populations, though i have never witnessed them in the wild before.
some juvenile ones were fooling around all over the paddock, snatching each other.
another thing that is interesting to know about the european mouflons is that they actually seem to be a wildform of house sheep that was brought to europe around 7.000 years ago. originally they come from the regions all around the caspian sea and probably came to europe from there.
it's probably pretty magical when you see these creatures tromp through a landscape with their big horns. mouflons count as game species in germany and are hunted extensively, which i find very sad, because they are truly magnificent to behold and i personally feel like they should be more visible in germany's wilder regions. but it seems that they have quite some impact on some local ecosystems due to their grazing and trampling habits and maybe that is the reason why germany keeps their population on the smaller side. anyway, for me, i will be grateful for every living mouflon i will encounter, that is for sure!
here is one of the very pretty horses they were sharing the paddock with! even though i really like horses, i have never been a horse girl, so my knowledge about them is really sparse. i do not know which species this one is exactly, but i am guessing it's either a noriker or an appaloosa horse. this colour ( so called leopard-complex ) can happen with a lot of horses, though, so it is even harder for me to pinpoint.
since it seems a lot more sturdy than an appaloosa, i would guess that this sweet grazing horse actually is a noriker. i love the curious faces of the mouflons in the back and the absolute nonchalant behaviour of the horse ❤
we said goodbye to these special animals and discovered some hidden sweet canalside dwellings!
these are actually boat houses, but they were converted into little cottages
you can actually rent some of these boat houses as holiday rentals! i looked into it and they were booked out until next year in may 👀 i totally understand why, i would move in immediately if i had the chance 😂
back in the woods we now encountered many remains of the munition factory i talked about earlier. after the russians freed the camp they started to demolish the factory bit by bit, and disassembled the most important equipment to transport it to the soviet union. what was left after the demolition is what you can still see today, and it's being reclaimed by nature. still, the sheer size of the former factory grounds is quite impressive and i think you could easily spend a whole day trying to find all the structures.
in the factory, that was operated from 1939 to 1945, they produced nitropenta, an explosive and also detonators and blasting capsules. and it wasn't a small amount, at their most productive they made 2.200 tons of nitropenta, 50.000 kilometers of blasting fuses & 1.6 million blasting capsules. the factory started out with about 300 workers, in its final days they counted 5.200. amongst these, thousands of women who were initially incarcerated in the concentration camp ravensbrück. they were forced to be part of the production under terrible working conditions of course, without any care for their lives. there were also prisoners of war involved from eastern europe, though i couldn't find exact numbers. it's probably safe to say that those people had to do the most dangerous work, actually producing the very unstable nitropenta. with all the chemicals involved in creating this explosive it wasn't good for their health either. there were accidents and deaths inside the factory, the dead have been buried in graveyards along the lagerstraße. all in the despicable parole of 'annihilation through labour'.
the imprisoned workers had to work 10 to 12 hour shifts, always close to toxic materials and explosives under unhygienic circumstances. they were surviving on deficient food and often only wore rags on their bodies, toxic burns and inhalation was guaranteed. it is not clear how many people died in the factory. what is pretty clear though is, that in a camp that was construed for 1.000 women, around 4.000 women were living in the camp under dire conditions in the year 1945 ( when the camp got liberated ). some sources say that about 12.000 women alltogether had to work inside the factory over the years.
about the male imprisoners there is close to no detailed report on what they had to endure, but it must have been similar as with the women. not only did they have to work graveyard shifts, they all weren't treated humane at all. many were malnourished as they only were fed with watery soups with potato skins, they didn't even have winter clothes in the colder months, plus on their feet they wore wooden clogs without any socks. they were crammed into 10 tiny barracks and overseen by cruel overseers, some of which where such monsters that they were tried and executed after the war for their crimes.
there are stories about locals trying to sneak in food into the camp, but they had to be very careful, because if they were caught, they would have ended up incarcerated, too. still, the overall population probably kept quiet, which reminds me so much of current genocides as well, namely the genocide that is taking place in gaza at the moment where palestinians are being murdered on a scale that is equally unbelievable as it was back during world war 2, only that this time, it is not hidden as much, because we have proof through uncountable witness reports from inside the gaza strip.
to me, it is absolutely mindboggling how all this proof exists inside the internet/online world and there seems to still be no conscience for these people in need especially by the powers that govern us! the people that are being sent on evacuation orders many times and that are bombed and preyed upon, they are civilians with dreams and goals and they had beautiful lives filled with love and hopes ( albeit always under difficult circumstances, thanks to the occupational forces from israel always disrupting them ). now they are living in tent camps near the seaside, there is nowhere to go for them, they are trapped basically and kettled from all sides, they live in terrible heat and in unsanitary conditions, fearful and unknowing when the next strike will hit them and if they will be alive still. there are countless of reports about bombs willfully dropped onto places where children are and of course there are also the scoundrels who demand lots of money to 'help' people flee to outside gaza. and even close to them, knowing that most people do not have any jobs, some still take overpriced money for what shouldn't cost a thing, like food and water and clothes, and other necessities like power.
we have probably all seen some of the terrible videos and photos ciculating around everywhere and yet, still, i barely see people speaking up or going out onto the streets in masses for the people of palestine. it's as if they are choosing to be blind and ignorant. you barely see any support coming in openly from people, even in my closer circle, i haven't seen much outspokenness even though i truly believe that many are very decent and loving humans that care for other issues the same way as i do. it makes me very sad and also angry to see this little support. even a shoutout is already illuminating people on what is going on, you don't even have to donate to any organizations or directly to victims of the war, if you don't have the money. though even as little as 1 dollar or euro helps, and hell, who is seriously left poor in the golden west when you even give 25 to a family, that will give them access to power for a few days? what counts already is the awareness of what is happening around you and calling people out on their ignorance or even taking up a stance against racism. speak up loudly so that governments are also held accountable for their condoning and incredibly appalling support for a regime that is acting genocidal and cruel and as if they don't have any fucking hearts left inside their bodies. maybe some of our elected officials will find the hearts in themselves finally to be taking this whole atrocity serious, the more people talk openly in discussions about and the more pressure we put upon them publicly.
because right now, i see a german government who is defending the actions of these war criminals as self protection and their right to war against a nation that is oppressing their freedom, and i can't BELIEVE that this is the society i live in at the very moment! what is this right to defend yourself against oppressors? who IS the oppressor here? israel, for years, has developed plans to oppress palestinians and they have STOLEN their lands and proclaimed it was their birthright. for decades this has been going on and always it had been supported by the powers that be, even though everyone knows that there are well-known fascists and criminals amongst these people of the zionist government. and everyone has always proclaimed with loud words that fascism and nazis are to be condemned forevermore after the holocaust and yet here we are and we support a radical jewish group that exhibits the same actions as hitler did 80 years ago! how fucked up is it, that germany has seen the horrors of genocide and is making everyone aware of the genocide that happened in europe and makes everyone feel guilty about it and tells them to always remember and never forget, that they now support a megalomaniac asshole in his endeavours to eradicate innocent human beings that only want to live in peace and harmony and without this terrifying turmoil that is happening? sure, the hamas may have a big fault in this, too, but can you blame them after being stripped of their rights and their lands and their freedom for years and years that reach back to colonialism? i would strike back if this was done to me, maybe even be radicalized, because let's face it, the more injustice you are projected to, the more anger you develop and the easier it is to be manipulated to join organizations that want to strike back, even if their intentions are less than humanitarian. human beings can only take so much until they grow up only with hate in their hearts for what has been taken from them all over again.
i am so mad and angry at people of my country and this government, for 1! ignoring what is happening in gaza. and 2! supporting a country that should not exist! yes, i say it with passion and a deep heartfelt conviction: israel should not exist. free palestine! these lands have always belonged to them, so give them back to the palestinian people! and prosecute the war criminals for what they did and never give them freedom again.
i am aware that there are many jewish people who are against this genocide as well, and who have not forgotten the history of their own people being slaughtered and massacred. there are reports that citizens of israel are being incarcerated for acting against their government as well, and i am proud of them of speaking up and telling about the horrendous unjustness of their government. i hope that more and more jews will do this and it would be great to see them topple their government one day and start the process of leaving what belongs to the palestinians or start even a process for living peacefully together right next to each other or WITH each other. unfortunately it looks like the amount of those people seems to be insufficient, and it breaks my heart to learn that a lot of the people in israel have not learned from history and have been manipulated into believing that they are a righteous nation. you are not! especially when you slaughter other nations and have built upon the lands of other nations! the people you murder are not the organization you are fighting. there are women and children and men amongst them who just want to live in peace. who don't want anything to do with either war party. you slaughter innocent people and then you stand there and laugh and are joyous about killing another enemy, are joyous about killing children, raping women and men and humiliating them? only monsters could do this to other human beings. and to me these people are exactly that. monsters. and everyone who condones it and continues to stay silent, is a monster as well.
that is for now all that i am going to say about this topic, but certainly not the last. i am very active on instagram about this topic and talk about it a lot in my stories. i have contact to several palestinian families that i am supporting with a little donation every week to see them out of gaza and to help them with daily expenses. i wish that more and more people will join in this fight against the injustice, against palestinian people and i would be so relieved if it turned out that people i know also make the efforts to help people in need. i would be devastated if i have to wake up one day and learn that some of the people i have been talking to and got to know and appreciate for their wonderful souls, turn out to be killed by bombs and shellings and guns. definitely i wouldn't be able to forget the inactions of people surrounding me, and the inactions of this german government. i want my palestinian friends to be free and live in peace and i want to meet them one day and get to hug them and celebrate that they are alive. i want children to get their childhood back, though i know that these kids are traumatized for life. can you really claim yourself to be a decent human being when you choose to ignore that innocent children are killed, mistreated, famished and left alone without their parents? what human being are you to see all of this and still not open your mouths or act upon it? these are children just like yours and it could in fact also BE your children that are subjected to these crimes. find decency in your heart and compassion for these children just like you would do for your own. how dare you to turn a blind eye to this? to steal their innocence and their dreams, hopes and homes?
i don't know how to return to the rest of the post now, after letting my emotions and convictions out on this topic, but let's try it.
petersdorf lake was opening up in front of us, after we were leaving the bunkers and ruins behind. it was a peaceful sight after seeing all those remnants of the nazi era. the lake is around 1 square kilometer big and has connection to lake plau at the little village of lenz.
6 beech trees forming one! i like viewing them as tree spirits watching over the woods. hopefully they won't ever see misfortune and misconduct ever again.
as we neared lenz, we found this wonderfully overgrown building. it looks like it once was supposed to be a new home, but never got completed.
it looked so enchanting to me!
a little blue bridge is connecting the city district of lenz in malchow to lenz-süd on the other side, which is part of the community fünfseen. it is called 'blue wonder', though you can't confuse it with the equally named bridge in dresden. it is only a tiny bridge, but it has been here for a long time before, though it had been a wooden construction in historic times. during the second world war that bridge was destroyed and only had been replaced with a bridge that could not carry heavy traffic. in 1996 it got completely rebuilt and now cars can finally cross the bridge again and connects the fünfseen community with the most western districts of malchow.
of course you need to have a certain height to pass underneath the bridge. you can't open it up or turn into another direction. i couldn't find out the measurements of the bridge.
the restaurant and hotel 'lenzer krug' is directly situated at the lenzer kanal, which is the connection of petersdorf lake to lake plau. it is a very loved location, apparently you can see many beautiful sunsets from here. close nearby is also a marina where boats and yachts and water hikers can flock at and spend a good amount of time in.
the view towards the opening of the canal to lake plau. you have no idea how much i would like to jump into the canoe right now and paddle my way into a sunset!
we finally ended up at the beach of lenz, looking out onto the lake. i will never not get deeply and soundly relaxed whenever i get close to a body of water.
it was actually a wonderful spot for a possible beach outing, but it wasn't too warm that day. and we still had quite a few kilometers back home to trek as well.
one last yearning look back out towards the water before returning to our path.
on the other side of lake petersdorf more horses awaited us! loved these two. i think they are icelandic horses. if i researched correctly they belong to the pferdehof pagel.
tiny rivulets were flowing into lake petersdorf every so often as we walked back into some more woods.
the pathways were narrow and winding, just how i love them!
which junction should we take? both looked very inviting. i also enjoyed the lush greenery of these woods!
strolling back along the shores of the lake revealed more little boat houses.
little boats exploring every nook and cranny of the lake.
these stairs led up toward the tiny village of petersdorf, after which the lake was named.
nice pier for small boats and a perfect place to take a dip into the water, right?
in the background you can see the autobahn a19 bridge which was under construction when we visited. the old bridge was ailing and they decided to built two new bridges. one bridge was already almost done, but they only completed the other one in 2022. special detail: in one of the supports of the bridge, a noteworthy colony of bats are nesting, it was thus very difficult to just built a new bridge there. they built a substitute construction close to the bridge, into which the bats were slowly moving into, and after that happened, they could finally tear down the old bridge and rebuilt anew.
despite the close vicinity to the autobahn, it was a wonderfully idyllic spot!
random hunter's raised hide.
forest bathing!
delicate blossoms of the siberian peashrub! another neophyte that shouldn't be growing in these parts, but is growing nonetheless! it's said that the seeds are edible, but only when cooked, though there have been reports of gastrointestinal problems after consumption. maybe it's better to just look at them as an ornamental plant that insects love to visit, which is already a good use for it anyway!
we found a camouflaged little fella in the dry leaves on the ground, right next to a most perfect birch boletus! can you spot it? also, it should be mentioned that the mushroom is one of the most delicious mushrooms you can find in germany and they are always so beautiful to look at, too, with their sturdy brown hats and thick stipes.
weird big creature looking down at me, ain't i pretty? - yes, little sweet sand lizard, you are the cutest 😍 by the way, she's a female lizzy, and that's basically how i named her! then we left her to her shenanigans and parted ways with her. i hope she birthed many beautiful lizard babies. i mentioned before that the mushroom of the year 2020 was the stinkhorn in germany, the sand lizard was 2020's reptile of the year! i love such coincidences :D if in danger, they can self-amputate their tails, which will distract a possible predator with its continual wriggling while the actual lizard can flee. it is regrowing after a while, though it won't get back to the original length. this particular baby seemed to have done exactly that, you can still see the breaking point. with a lifespan of about 10 years, they also can get quite old!
back in malchow the sky suddenly got extremely dark and we hurried to get ourselves under a roof so to not get drenched. the dramatic skies looked very pretty, though. this is a view onto the mainland malchow, which is the newer part of the city. you can glimpse a freshly renovated former weaving factory, that was turned into an appartment house.
directly next to the historic building and belonging to the same complex is a new construction. clicking on the link will show you what it looked like before it all was reconstructed.
right on time we reached the 'klostercafé' inside the former refectory of the nunnery of malchow abbey. it just had begun to pour down on us. the charming café was a wonderful place to pass some time, devouring freshly baked cakes and tortes and a cup of coffee. the interior was lovingly decorated with historic furniture, many knickknacks that fit in well and also pieces of art from the art exhibition one level up! i remember the cakes being absolutely divine and munching it all away in this cozy café while it rained outside was so comforting. i still remember i had a gooseberry baiser cream cake, it was really that good :)
fresh peonies were set on our table and after a while a little green rose chafer scuttled out of them. i was absolutely mesmerized by this gorgeous metallic insect! they are quite useful when they are still in their larvae state, as they love to be inside compost piles. they help to decompose wooden elements into valuable humus soil until they pupate after 2 years and then emerge as iridescent beetles that flock to sweet flowers to drink their nectar and help with pollination. i could never get tired of nature's inventions!
i loved the purposefully unrenovated walls, it helped create such a rustic charme! the art hanging on the walls was from local artists, such as rudolf gahlbeck, sieghard dittner, and friedrich franz pingel.
would definitely recommend visiting this little café and maybe, with more secular rainfall, the art museum is also worth taking a look at!
the sun returned though, and we continud our way back home. this image is definitely postcard material, i have captured it on our september visit in 2019 as well, much more moody, though ;)
this is the refectory where the café is situated in.
the old walls and garden shacks are so nice to look at, too.
crossing the swing bridge and arriving back in malchow city, the sun was out on full blast again!
this long hike was equally illuminating and enjoyable, learning about dark history, but also taking in all the peaceful signs of nature, some sort of offering from mother earth to not forget amongst all the terrible things happening in this world, to also take time to see that there is beauty and that preserving the beauty of nature and the value of human lives is tied together intricately. don't you think?
Comments