While autumn was already in full swing in Sweden, it was just about to start when I came back to Germany. In contrast to the colorful broadleaf forests in East Sweden, I mostly passed green trees on my way to the Bay of Greifswald.
I was headed toward a small fisher village in the area of Greifswald to visit family.
After a couple of relaxed days in Gristow, I drove to the area around Wandlitz, a small town north of Berlin where I spent one night at the small Wukensee.
Liepnitzsee, one of my most favorite swimming lake in northern Germany, was very close, so I spent a few more days in the hinterlands of Berlin before entering the capital city.
Compared to August when I swam around the island of Liepnitzsee, the water temperature was much colder. Nevertheless, I enjoyed a couple of short and refreshing swimming sessions.
During my breaks from work I took walks in the forest around the lake.
The mornings at Liepnitzsee were quite foggy. Each time I woke up, my van was totally befogged.
It felt like walking through a fairytale forest.
Staying in Berlin
The mornings in Berlin at Tempelhofer Feld weren’t foggy at all, so I was able to observe the sun rising over the former airfield.
I parked my van in a quiet street close to the park surrounded by trees.
Roaming through Saxony
On my way south, I stopped at Leipzig where I found nice on-street parking spaces in a quiet neighborhood formed of community gardens.
There was a little lake nearby where I went for short walks during my breaks from work.
All the lakes around Leipzig didn’t seem very busy during that time of the year. My van was the only vehicle parked at Cospudener See.
The large parking area at Kulkwitzer See was empty most of the time, too.
I also didn’t meet a lot of people when walking along the lakefront in the morning.
After spending joyful days in and around Leipzig, I drove to Dresden where I enjoyed the sunset above the Elbe river.
The weather was really nice when I woke up in the morning.
I didn’t feel like staying in the city and preferred enjoying the beautiful nature of the Tharandt Forest south of Dresden.
Together with friends from Dreseden, we went hiking through the colorful woods and found a nice place to stay under the viaduct of Hetzdorf.
Before leaving Saxony, I visited one of my van buddies living close to the Saxon Switzerland National Park. My friend also owns an old Mercedes van. A beautiful 608D with a long and wide body offering lots of space.
There was plenty of room on his peaceful property to park my van.
We spent several hours on his terrace talking about vans, trucks, blockhouses, my trip to Sweden and other adventures.
Driving back to Bavaria
After enjoying the autumn in Saxony for a couple of weeks, the COVID-19 numbers seemed to rise again and partial lockdowns were announced. Things seemed uncertain, so I drove straight to the farm of my friends without taking any detours.
It felt great to be back again!
