Spreewald - wow!

First pay packet!! Yay!!
More interestingly though, I was up in Berlin on the weekend visiting my cousin. My uncle was there too. My cousin had organised for the three of us to go to the Spreewald (about an hour south of Berlin) and hire kayaks to go paddling through the Spreewald canals and rivers. It was an awesome weekend, I loved it!
The Spreewald (Wald = forest) is so named because the Spree (the river that flows through Berlin) flows through this area. What's particularly special about this area is the it is low-lying flat land with lots of canals and tributaries. The whole area over the last few hundred years has been populated and farmed and in so doing, the forest area has been depleted. Now, under UNESCO observation, the area is being regenerated interestingly while still being populated and farmed. An interesting mix of man and nature and a long term plan to restore the land to its former glory.
We arrived in the Spreewald on Saturday and visited a local Nature House which had a great display explaining the history of the area and how it is being regenerated. It gave an excellent idea of what to expect when visiting the Spreewald. I didnt expect it to be soooo much better than expected!
I was really looking forward to the weekend, and then we finally got our kayaks and were in the water. Now I was happy - out and about in nature, having an adventure on the water, with two members of my family. We paddled around for hours, enjoying the scenery which was awesome. The worst part was probably all the tourists around, but all part of the experience. We paddled to a nearby town where there was a historical village which had various old houses from 100 years ago. They displayed various aspects of life back then and how people lived. We ate at a local "kiosk" (after a little arguing over where we should eat - we were all really hungry and that can mean hightened tempers!) - which was really a stand next to the river where we could 'park' our kayaks and order some food. We had 'Schmalzbrot' (slices of brown bread spread with a homemade spread of pigs fat and bacon bits) and Leberwurstbrot with pickled cucumbers. Cucumbers are the main agricultural industry in the area.
After lunch we paddled further and after 13.5kms for the day stopped at our camping spot. Pitched the tent and cooked some beans and sausage on a little camping cooker. Drank some beer together and chatted until dark. It was awesome! I loved it!
The next morning we ate fresh bread rolls (we could order them the night before through the camping office) with cheese and cold meats. Then another fantastic day on the water paddling through the Spreewald. Today was a little easier to paddle because we travelled mostly with the stream. We paddled about 18.5kms on Sunday.
Arriving back at the car, we ate some dinner at a local restaurant. The food was delicious, but it took ages to come to the table. Therefore it was cooked fresh and tasted oh so good.
Then it was off home to my cousins place in Berlin again - I slept in the car a little. After so much paddling I was really tired, but enjoyed every minute of the weekend.
Now I'm looking forward to going to Austria with some other cousins, Aunt and Uncle next weekend.