Because the Spree still flows through Berlin (Marlene Dietrich)
You walk from your apartment directly to the Spree and then follow it to the left. Of course you can also walk around to the right. But from the Gotzkowskybrücke on, you will have to get away from the beautiful green and blue. Another time, you think.
So today we turn left on a pleasant gravel path directly along the shore. Past the Fraunhofer Institute, your gaze wanders to the opposite side of the Spree with its mixture of brick warehouses, glass, steel and extensive green spaces. The light in the early evening hours seems to refract differently here. Softer somehow. Almost like in a fairy tale. After about a kilometre, an old industrial wasteland forces you to walk 200 metres away from the Spree to Dovestraße. The subsoil here is old, split concrete – you slow down a bit and pay attention, turn right into Dovestraße, cross the Landwehrkanal with the Dovebrücke bridge, turn right again and the riverside path has you back on the road. Of course you could also turn left directly before the Dove bridge and then walk along the canal to the Tiergarten. Another time, you think. Today rather to the castle!
So it continues on a perfect foot and bike path directly on the banks of the Spree. Relaxation wherever the eye looks. Soccer fields, table tennis tables, spacious green spaces directly on the bank. After work atmosphere. Many of the benches are occupied. And then these contrasts, which only Berlin can manage! On the opposite side of the Spree, the imposing towers of the Charlottenburg combined heat and power plant seem to stretch out a little to catch the last rays of the slowly disappearing evening sun.
Now you pass under the Caprivi Bridge and you duck instinctively, so just above the running path the steel construction stretches. On the right is Mierendorff Island and on the left you can see a pub. To the anchor. A Charlottenburg original that you miss too easily if you want to capture Berlin from the street side. The path along the river opens up completely new perspectives on your neighbourhood. And while you imagine yourself sitting there with a cool drink, you have already passed under the Schlossbrücke and find yourself in the middle of the Schlossgarten Charlottenburg.
Just 2.5 kilometres, of which 2.2 kilometres are on pure running and cycle paths directly on the banks of the Spree! If that’s enough for you, just turn around here and arrive back at Charlottenbogen after a total of 5 kilometres. Another time, you think. Today it drives you further.
After a round through the park once around the castle you are still curious and cross the castle bridge to the other bank of the Spree. You will first discover the beginning of Mierendorff Island, another soccer field, the playground on Sömmeringstraße and then, just before a block of flats pushes you off the Spree again – this time to the north – the cult and uncomplicated CapRivi beer garden, which attracts both original Berliners and tourists with its affordable offers and is lively frequented.
Via Darwinstraße you will reach the Goslarer Ufer after a few metres and now walk north along the connecting canal. Cross the canal via Kaiserin-Augusta-Allee and jog south again along the Neuer Ufer. Through the skate park you will reach the north bank of the Spree, where another industrial quarter is in your way, but you can easily make another short detour via Kaiserin-Augusta Allee. Shortly before BAM-Germany, a publicly usable private path leads back to the Spree on the last and most beautiful part of the river bank. Pass the Fraunhofer Institute and the Charlottenbogen, one last time away from the shore over the Alt-Moabit, turn right over the Gotzkowsky Bridge and then … final spurt along the shore, back home for a well-deserved shower!
Running distance about 10 kilometers. Thereof approx. 9 kilometres on pure running and cycling paths.
