Canoe tour Walking on Water
“Berlin is built from the boat,” a local proverb says. Next to the river Spree, several channels cross the city. 150 years ago, freshly burnt bricks and wood were brought to the building sites of the rapidly growing city by water.
From the Island of Youth we paddle into town, the Television Tower always in sight. We stop briefly at the large sculpture “Molecule Men“. The 30-meter high men made of aluminum seem to pass lightly over the water and join hands.
From Funkhaus Berlin, we paddle towards the city center, always keeping the TV tower in sight, all the way to Kreuzberg. The first landmark we pass is the former amusement park “Spreepark,” where we hear the adventurous story of Norbert Witte, who ran the park after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Shortly after, we reach the Island of Youth. From there, we continue paddling to the Stralau Peninsula until we reach a spot where a half-sunken tunnel still lies underwater — it was built in the early 19th century as part of a tram connection.
During the GDR era, Stralau was not a place to linger — industry and cargo ships dominated the area. Today, however, the peninsula has become an upscale residential neighborhood surrounded by water on all sides.
We then paddle under the Elsen Bridge, where regional trains, S-Bahn trains, and cars thunder above us on six lanes. Beyond the bridge, we see the iconic Oberbaum Bridge on the horizon, impressive with its two castle-like towers in the style of Brick Gothic typical for the region. We pause briefly at the large sculpture “Molecule Men.”
The 30-meter-high aluminum figures appear to walk lightly across the water and reach out to each other. A few hundred meters later, we pass a dilapidated shipwreck — and hear the incredible story of how it got there and why it still remains.
Canoe trip on the Spree
On our way back, we discover the remains of the former border control systems of East Germany, each barge was searched through meticulously. The “Badeschiff“, a heated, floating swimming pool in the middle of the Spree is nearby.
