When it’s hotter in Berlin than it’s been all year. When you’ve worked long and hard at more than one job and there’s still more to do. When certain aspects of bureaucratic non-sense at the university adminstration office plus the subjectivity of empowered online know-it-alls makes you just want to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all? Sometimes, deadlines or not, you have to take a break. As curious as the name is to pronounce, for my break, I went to Müggelsee (Mooh-gul-Zay).
Not often frequented by foreigner tourists but definitely a favorite with locals, it is the largest lake in Berlin, spanning parts of the city’s eastern edges with borders in the districts of Treptow-Köpenick, Friedrichshagen, Rahnsdorf and Muggelheim. Definitely off the beaten path, and suggestive of the clearly communal, yet somehow private lives the average German leads, at the weekend, after working their 9-to-5? Many get naked and lay out, bat the ball around, wade in the water or just sit around and enjoy beer and bratwurst or a barbequed boulette.
For me and a friend, who’d suggested the outing, we found a quieter, more secluded little beach out of the sun and away from the crowds, and spent the cooling evening hours alternating between swimming and a little dicing as the sun set on a fine day.
Views of the lake:
Sunset at Müggelsee:
Final shots:
And afterwards? A nice stop at the Havanna Club at Treskowallee for a light supper and few cool Schöffhofer’s, a rather nice hefe-weizen bier. The Afro-Cubano rhythms were perfect counterpoint to conversation as was the night air through the open door.
All photos were taken by and copyright to me. Please do not use them without express written permission.
Red Haircrow 
Sounds like a nice little outing! And I bet the water was freezing – this is Germany …
But summer at last!
Where do all those strange names come from? Müggelsee, Scharmützlesee…
Indeed it was very cold, but pleasant once in. Of the names: I think they were made up by an old man with a clogged nose and soft palate who was just about to sneeze.
I went to Müggelsee for the first time with a friend on Wednesday and will definitely be going back, though I don’t think I’ll be getting in the water unless we have some late summer sun.
Yes, I hope to return there again too at some point. Supposedly in a couple of days the weather will be around 28° so maybe that will be a good day for visiting.