Aidan Marshall
A Day on the Wannsee
On a brisk Sunday morning I decided to take a train down south of Berlin to the Wannsee, one of the many beautiful lakes within Germany. I arrived there fascinated by the swift change of architecture I had witnessed the farther away from the city center I went. What was once six stories worth of apartments cluster around shops and restaurants had shifted to picaresque estates and mini mansions, each different and more unique than the last. Each of these estates had their own style of design, with ultra modern houses bordering pristine 20th century manors. The roads and sidewalk were equally fascinating, as the usually concrete and stone pathways found within the city center changed to cobblestone sidewalks besides similarly concrete roads. This said pathways would diverge directions either with dirt paths that moved closer to the Wannsee, or through the eventual introduction of modern stone sidewalks. The restaurants of the district however showed more commercialized brands than central Berlin, with 3 chain restaurants for every single institution restaurants. The neighborhoods around the inner Wannsee district such as the Mexikoplatz, seemed an interesting blend of crowded center Berlin buildings with the more singular and unique manors of the Wannsee sprinkled in. The district in all seriousness was basically a town of itself rather than a district of Berlin, with many unique mansions standing next to the seemingly endless Wannsee.
The people of the Wannsee were showed great difference as well, with many people either lazily strolling by the lake with family members, or with herds of athletes rushing by bike on the vast main roads. But none of this compared to the grandest site of the district, the Wannsee. There seemed to be no real majority or minority of ethnic groups as well, with a splice of all of Berlin’s people enjoying the cool lake air. What did strike me odd was the grandiose manors that bordered the Wannsee were seemingly lifeless, as I saw no movement into, around or out of those many manor grounds, but this could’ve just been the case of the time of day. Regardless though, I found the people at the Wannsee to be relaxed and calm, with many just wishing to sit blissfully by the lake either by themselves or company, or bike through the many sprawling streets the district contained, or even just enjoy the food offered at the many restaurants.
The main attraction of the district, The Wannsee, seemed a massive lake that bordered what appeared like numerous shores of Germany. The Lake was chocked full of people either canoeing or driving massive boats full of eager tourist through each site the lake could offer. The harbors were equally numerous as the people that inhabited them, with harbors reaching nearly every 200 meters of the lake shore. The parks that were alongside the Wannsee reminded me of the very parks I would frequent along Lake Erie, with people relaxing on benches and mats or walking along with pets and family talking the day away. The Lake itself was gorgeous, with what seemed like both forests and the city of Berlin combined on it’s borders. The Wannsee was essentially another example of the beauty and complex uniqueness that Berlin had solely to offer in the old country of Germany.