Wannsee

Went on a class trip today to Wannsee in south-west Berlin. It's really like another country compared to Prenzlauerberg - huge houses and gardens straddling an enormous lake. Today the wide streets were silent and covered by dead leaves which everyone jumped through and threw around. Idyllic. We took a boat across the lake, in the fresh autumnal morning, gliding past Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) and the building where the famous "Wannsee conference" was held (deciding upon the Final Solution for Jews). The area formed part of the border between West Berlin and the rest of the DDR. Nearby is a bridge called Glieniker Brücke where spies famously met during the Cold War. Across from the bridge is a castle and a church which spanned No-Man's Land during the Cold War . The church was really in the middle of nowhere and looked after by a dour man who a teacher said had been there for years and always with the same expression. "He's rotting here, and I always go there hoping to see someone else, but no, it's always him," he said sadly. It reminded me a bit of the Eleanor Rigby song.
Not far away was a tree which is apparently two thousand years old, sitting serenely surrounded by broken-off branches. It sat on a little hill and was apparently planted over a burial ground. A small stroll away was a huge apple tree and we helped ourselves to plenty of fresh, crunchy, delicious apples.
It was cool. I'd been to Wannsee before but not so far into the forest. We ended up walking for ages. Now it's evening and I'm tired, back in dirty, loud, concrety Prenzlauerberg which I wouldn't give up for the world. But it's nice to have a nearby alternative when the grey gets me down.