If you want to explore Berlin away from the tourist crowds, you have to get on the water. Not every metropolis can be discovered from a canoe. Berlin does - as is well known, it was also "built from the barge". The canoe trip over the inner-city Spree from the Oberbaumbrücke is unfortunately not permitted, but a green lifeline stretches in the heart of Berlin, the Landwehr Canal. You will see - not the worst alternative!

After Urbanhafen, the canal twists into a double helix with the elevated railway from Möckernbrücke onwards. Paddle under the aircraft of the Museum of Technology, not far from Potsdamer Platz and Philharmonie, to the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Shellhaus, the Berlin Zoo on the one hand, the Tiergarten on the other bank. In front of the lock Unterschleuse, the meadows of the Tiergarten tempt you to take a break. Behind the Unterschleuse, enjoy the tranquillity of the houseboat settlements on the banks of the Tiergarten before the canal flows into the Spree. Don't forget: you also have to paddle all the way back and at some point it will get dark! No? Fit and good in time? Ok., For trained paddlers: soon the canal flows into the Spree and upstream it goes deep into the heart of the metropolis. After crossing the Gotzkowsky Bridge and the Hansabrücke, the office buildings of the Ministry of the Interior characterize the left bank, Bellevue Palace, the seat of the Federal President, the right bank. This is followed by the House of World Cultures and the Federal Chancellery. From here, the passage through downtown Berlin is closed to non-motorized boats. All that remains is the way back;)

Alternative: After the mouth of the canal, you paddle down the Spree (i.e. left) and soon you will have reached the gorgeous Charlottenburg Palace on the left. Well worth the trip.

But always remember: The way back is ahead of you and you must have reached the lock Oberschleuse by 8:30 p.m. at the latest.