After a long bike ride from Görlitz following the river Neiße south to Zittau and then up into the Zittau mountains, we arrived in the evening in beautiful Jonsdorf. Since it was already late, we had to get the key to our room at the “Pension Immergrün” ourselves from a PIN code activated locker – and yet we felt very welcome and immediately very well in the beautiful, tastefully decorated and clean “Pension Immergrün”.
In our beautiful, floodlit room in the attic, overlooking a field, forest and the mountains, we felt immediately at home. The towels were nicely draped. The “Pension Immergrün” is much nicer than the website suggests. It is quiet, on the western edge of the sprawling climatic spa Jonsdorf. Within walking distance of “Pension Immergrün” there are several good restaurants, for most of these it is recommended to book a dinner table in advance.
The breakfast in the newly refurbished breakfast room at “Pension Immergrün” was varied, tasty and aplenty. There is also a large balcony.
Mrs. Santo is very friendly and helpful. Since it was raining heavily when we left, she also allowed us to load our bicycles in the garage in the basement, before we unfortunately had to say goodbye. We would have loved to stay longer, but we are determined to come back.
Our breakfast cost € 7.- p/p (from 8-10 am), the double room was € 50 per night. The beds were at least 2m long. Smoking is not permitted.
🏩 Pension Evergreen / “Pension Immergrün” ℅ Dana Santo
Großschönauer Str. 13, 02796 Jonsdorf, Saxony, Germany
After a family vacation or a trip abroad, you return home, sometimes with a few scratches or insect bites, but almost always with amazing impressions and usually very many pictures. As the itchy mosquito bites and holiday memories fate, you may want to protect your holiday pictures from sinking into a digital nirvana and preserve the days of happiness in vivid colours. Printing a holiday photo album is ideal to preserve the happy memories for you, but is also a perfect gift idea for close friends and family.
Travel Albums
Some hints for designing your next travel album with your pictures:
Reduce the number of images in your selection
If you are snap-happy like your correspondent, you will have taken very many pictures during your holidays – a very common phenomenon. If the picture-harvest is rich, sort the pictures and reduce the selection to the best pictures of each event or day. Consider how you will want to browse your holiday photo album in ten or twenty years time and reduce the number of pictures accordingly, avoiding repeat pictures of the same place or event. Instead of sorting the holiday pictures chronologically, sorting them by topic is often more effective. A folder with pictures of the hotel or place where you stayed, a folder of pictures of eg the beach – independent of the day you visited, etc. Having fewer pictures allows you to display some special pictures in a larger, full-page format. Landscapes look even more impressive when laid out on a double page spread. Unlike with wall art prints, where bigger is prettier, you usually browse a photo album while holding it in your hands, near your eyes; therefore your holiday album doesn’t need to be enlarged in XXL-format. However, varying the picture frame formats and sizes makes the book more interesting and allows you to set highlights. An A4 landscape picture is impressive when set in a photo album. Use full pages and occasional double page spreads on outstanding pictures. When distributing several images on a page, use simple, narrow, white frames around pictures, specially on top of coloured backgrounds. If you want to highlight an interesting or funny photograph among images of the same size, turn the picture frame by a three to six degrees. It sets a distinction in the layout.
Rotate frames to highlight pictures
This could interest you: Create and post real photo postcards with your own holiday pictures right from your smartphone.
As long as the memories are fresh, it is good practise to note the names of people and places. Even maps with driving, cycling or hiking routes can easily be inserted into private travel albums. This effort is an investment in the future, when the names of some places and holiday acquaintances will otherwise be forgotten.
Safer to use a photo book designer app or software client than just a web browser session
You have a range of options to print a photo album online, such as Bonusprint, cewe photobook, FotoInsight, Photobox or Snapfish. Some allow creating photo album projects through your browser without installing an app, however, installing an app is the safer and more flexible option. To find the best option, you may consult photo book reviews. Your correspondent creates her photo albums with the FotoInsight Designer. FotoInsight prints with the European leader and multiple award winner cewe photo book. The FotoInsight photo book software is available for Windows, Mac and Linux and as apps for Android and iOS. The software has the greatest range of design options of all free photo book apps, yet is reasonably intuitive. When it comes to photo book formats, sizes, covers and page coating finish, no other photo book printer offers a wider range of options. The choice is so large, that it may initially seem overwhelming. There is a blog post that helps with choosing the right paper qualities and glossy and matt finish options for your holiday photo book: https://iitm.be/photobooktypes
The Holiday Apartment Junge is located in the peaceful village of Krauschwitz, south of Bad Muskau, which is known for the “Prince-Pückler-Park”. Krauschwitz is a collection of country cottages, mainly from GDR times, with a meadow, an orchard, as well as a spruce forest framed, picturesque playground and football field. The village consists of the small road called “Im Tale”, running just above the Oder-Neisse cycle path. The Fürst-Pückler-Park and Bad Muskau can be easily and safely reached by bike, joining this bike path “D-Route 12” through the woods at the southern end of “Im Tale”; as well as the Polish city of Łęknica, via the former railway bridge crossing the river Neisse on the historic Bad Muskau – Weißwasser railway line.
Porch
The farm workers cottages on “Im Tale” in Krauschwitz are now all renovated and because the village is so homey, often very nicely done. So were these two apartments, which are actually one cottage, with one kitchen, one bathroom, a sheltered porch, a garden and a shed (for parking the bikes). Either you rent the larger part or, like us, the part with the smaller sleeping and living area. If you come with family, rent both parts together and you’ll have plenty of space.
While there are many charming details from GDR times on the outside, the inside, the bathroom and the kitchen are modern and tastefully decorated. The friendly family Junge lives in a larger house on the eastern side of the street.
Playground in Krauschwitz
We were here for just under a week, to explore the UNESCO listed German-Polish World Heritage centre Fürst-Pückler-Park and surrounding area by bike. We would have lived to stay longer, had we not planned to continue the cycle route along the Neisse to the Czech Republic. For a visit to Park Bad Muskau / Park Mużakowski and surroundings, this pearl in Krauschwitz is highly recommended.
🏩 Holiday Apartment Junge
In Tale 2, 02957 Krauschwitz
Phone 03577155217
Var. 1: Combined Living and sleeping area, kitchen, bathroom, porch: €40.-
Var. 2: Living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, porch. €45.-
Prices include initial supply of bed linen and towels, final cleaning, utilities.
The family-run Dorotheenhof lies in the quiet, attractive village of Mescherin, in the most northeastern corner of Germany, where the Polish border northbound moves away from the Oder river. It is near the road to Gryfino (German: Greifenhagen).
The Dorotheenhof has a restaurant, a large garden adjoining the river and offers apartments and spacious rooms. Hint: Try to pick a room with views over the Oder, if possible in the southern part of the building, away from the bridge over the river and Kutscherkneipe gastro-pub.
The breakfast b
Breakfast buffet at Dorotheenhof in Mescherin.
uffet was well stocked, in a light-filled room with access to the gardens. Our room was spacious, clean and had a good sized, bright bathroom. All the windows were fitted with fly screens. In the corridor above, there was a large refrigerator for guests, from which one could take drinks (to be paid at check-out).
The pension gardens and two landings on the Oder are quiet locations, inviting to linger, the landings have ladders if for those who want to dip into the Oder. Some guests were fishing here in river.
View from the first floor room to the Order river.
The village of Mescherin
The influx of Polish Families makes Mescherin a pretty and lively village. The Mescheriner mountain offers beautiful views over the village and the Oder valley up to Gryfino and beyond. There is now also an observation tower just north of the L113 main road, to see the nature reserve and the reeds. For dinner, we felt very comfortable in the “Altes Zollhaus”.
Pension Buntspecht is on the Radfernweg “Tour Brandenburg” at the Schorfheide, in walking distance from the train station Chorin and close to the famous Cistercian monastery. Located in the historic village of Chorin, where family Weise inhabit a traditional house with on a long, stretched plot that once used to border onto the former Choriner lake. Behind their traditional red-brick house the Weises have built a very pleasant, modern bed and breakfast. From the community and breakfast room with double height ceiling one enjoys the view
through large glass windows into the beautiful, natural gardens. In the garden you will find sun lounger, chairs and a hammock to relax. Chorin, only half an hour from Berlin by train, is a place of stress relief. Not only life moves slower here, but the Internet, too. Visitors can leave their big city and television behind.
Hammock in the gardens of Pension Buntspecht bed & breakfast in Chorin
Pension Buntspecht was built with lots of wood and wooden furniture to modern, high standards and it is pleasantly decorated with great attention to detail. Our bedroom was well tailored and practical, with a modern bathroom. The beds had comfortable, firm mattresses. One window had a mosquito net, and we had no problems with insects.
The rooms and common areas were all perfectly clean.
Breakfast
Kerstin Weise pots a lot of effort into a personally prepared, rich and varied breakfast. Many ingredients are organic and locally. We enjoyed it very much. Frau Weise also helped us with boiling water to make tea in our thermo.
Breakfast room at Pension Buntspecht in Chorin
Walkers and cyclists will welcome the fridge in the common area, stuffed with with soft drinks and beers; guests just mark the drinks they take on on a list.
Attractions
The former Cistercian abbey in Chorin is a major visitors attraction. But Eberswalde and its Paul Wunderlich House, the Demeter Ökodorf Brodowin, the Schorfheide, the shallow, warm Lake Grimnitz and elongated, deep Lake Werbellin are worthwhile destinations, too.
Pension Buntspecht is a new, cyclists friendly B&B. During our visit they were building a new covered bicycle shelter, which already offered our bikes protection.
Service
Kerstin Weise is very friendly and helpful in a modest and reserved kind of way. She is also very interested in the region and its history. Ask and she will help you plan your excursions.
New, small inns in remote, quiet places live on recommendations. We felt at home at Pension Buntspecht and enjoyed our two days stay and hope that you will enjoy yours. We definitely recommend the B&B to visitors seeking peace and tranquility.
At Hotel Behrmann, part of the local Hesse Hotel chain, we enjoyed a decent size room in prime location in central Blankenese, an upmarket area of Hamburg. Insisting on a quiet room in our booking request, we were lucky to get a large, patio facing room, away from the main street “Elbchaussee”. The bathroom with a shower was modern, but very narrow. We felt that 110€ per night (incl tax) for a large, quiet room and breakfast buffet were very reasonable, considering the location.
The hotel is well run and rooms were clean throughout. When we visited over the Whitsun weekend, the hotel was busy with couples and families. The breakfast buffet was well stocked, though at around 10:30 am the scrambled egg was already cold. The green tea with one 5gr tea bag per pot was a bit of a disappointment, but the coffee was fine.
Underground Parking
The staff are friendly and uncomplicated, facilitated keys for our late arrival and didn’t request a deposit for the booking. The hotel doesn’t offer bike parking, though we parked our bikes in the underground garage where it felt safe. Our impression would have been even better, if Hotel Behrmann had provided some safe, covered bike parking or Sheffield stands in the underground garage! The friendly staff accepted to keep our bike panniers in reception after check-out, while we visited Blankenese’s stairs quarter “Treppenviertel”.
🏩
Hotel Behrmann, Hiltrud Hesse KG (Hr Beenke: “Rezeption bis 21:30 Uhr”)
The retired Master Electrician Neidigk created in the buildings of his former business, located in Großkühnau, on the bike path left of the river Elbe, near Dessau, a ADFC (German cycle Club) Bed and breakfast (catering for about 2000 overnight stays per year). At first glance it does not look like anything special, but after two nights I can confirm that Pension Neidigk is a very good choice, because the welcoming and enterprising Mr. Neidigk, who always strives for his guests, has rooms, ours was actually a small apartment, thought out well:
Mini kitchen with a kettle, two hot plates, sink and a refrigerator, containing beer and water at a price which must be very close to his cost.
Double bed, about 1.80 metre wide.
Large wardrobe.
TV etc.
Plenty of electric sockets, so that the modern bicycle travelers can charge their electronics entrained again.
Ideal location, just 300 metres from a beautiful lake.
Lockable shed for bicycles.
Large garden, where we enjoyed our breakfast in the morning sun.
Swing chair, where we enjoyed our tea on a rainy late afternoon.
A spacious double room with shower and mini-kitchen cost € 50 including breakfast.
One can not recommend Pension Neidigh enough. We will be back!
The Külsoer Mill is a place with a special atmosphere. A cozy courtyard, with large vines, a beer garden set in the meadows by the mill pond, a nature experience playground, picnic areas, quaint bars, party rooms and more, make this restaurant and garni a popular destination.
We had a spacious double room with a modern bathroom, plus two beds for children in an area with restricted height due to the sloping ceiling in the area behind the bathroom.
During our stay on a Sunday night, there were no events at the mill. After the delicious dinner in the beer garden, we went to bed early, enjoying the silence of the night in the countryside, 12 km north of the center of Wittenberg.
The clean room had to make even longer stays pleasant: from a TV screen windows with flyscreens, to a shoe closet, as long as the guest cope with the abundance of decorative objects.
The traditional German breakfast with bread rolls, brown bread, jam, cold meats, coffee etc was served in the quaint old tavern (with lots of dark wood furnishings and an old tile stove).
In this family-run hotel and restaurant you can feel the dedication and hard work of three generations. We paid for one night, including breakfast, a very fair 28 € per person in a large double room with en-suite.
The family has received us warmly and served attentive and was always helpful. They have created a very special little hotel and Garni, one can not recommend it highly enough.
Friends booked us for a group weekend into Schloss Wahlsdorf, ideally located at the crossroads of the Flaeming-Skate and various cycling routes which reach out to the Elster river, the Elbe, the Mark, the Spreewald and the Flaeming. The Ewald family, who stand behind the company operating “Castle” Wahlsdorf, requested pre-payment for the total price for 3 nights and breakfast. That was good for the Ewalds, because otherwise we would have moved to
Dorfladen Wahlsdorf mit Café und Frühstück
any other accommodation near the Flaeming-Skate right after arriving.
After reading the very restrictive house rules the suspicion grew that we had sunk about € 70 per night for a double room in a not very hospitable hostel.
Reception
We arrived at the “Castle” Schloss Wahlsdorf on a Thursday at 18:00 hrs, after a long train and bike ride and found it closed. Under the mobile phone number displayed on the entrance door, we could only reach a voicemail. An off duty employee , pedalling past the “castle” by chance, approached us and managed to get hold of a colleague with keys to the so called castle. When this on-duty employee arrived, she let us into the manor through the side entrance, where we could, for the first night, safely park our bikes in an old school gym. The following two nights, the gym was unfortunately closed and the staff absent, so that our bikes stayed as obstacles on the side gate (I never saw the main entrance door open).
The €58 for the night (without breakfast) in the so-called double rooms do NOT include towels or bed linen. As cyclists we only had towels with us and paid an additional €5 per head for bed linen. The overburdened employee first gave us small bed sheets, which she then changed for the right size.
We were first shown a room the the Ewalds declare and sell as a double room, but which fell well below the 12 square metres norm for a double room: By this time our expectations had already dropped, but this still took us by surprise and we asked cautiously for more space. Thereafter there was a larger room, with a 1.40 m narrow, queen size bed, two shelves, eight hooks and two windows, a couch, a chair, a table and a single, lonely hanger. Unfortunately, one of the two windows went to the county road, where cars and trucks thundered past during the night. The blinds worked only on one window and screens did not exist, so that we had mosquitoes feasting on us for the three nights .
WARNING:
The basic rate of 58 € (per night, without breakfast) for the so-called double room does not include a private bathroom, no wardrobe, no bedding and no towels, but a lot of youth hostel “charm” of bygone days. The communal showers and toilets were located on the other end of the manor, recently refurbished and clean in the early mornings, but the rest of the day and night they smelled like communal toilets smell…
Breakfast
The breakfast buffet for 5,50 € (per person per day) offers coffee and tea, cereals, yoghurt, milk, bread rolls, brown bread, some meat, margarine and butter substitute, jam and Nutella, one hard boiled egg for each a and canned fruit; it is basically the breakfast you would get in a German youth hostel, though I have certainly had better breakfast in some youth hostels. Alternatively, there is a shared kitchen for self-catering, which reminded me of halls of residence. The communal kitchen was used by three families and was also let to builder squads accommodated in the hostel.
“Castle” Schloss Wahlsdorf lacks all attention to detail. The landlord also run a beautifully situated family hostel in a forest nearby. In addition, the outdoor swimming pool a few hundred yards away, which has been touted by the staff, is also run by the Ewalds. Unfortunately the staff of castle “Schloss Wahlsdorf” have to staff the outdoor pool, too, which means that often there simply is no service at the so called “Castle”.
The restrictive house rules from the so-called “castle” Schloss Wahlsdorf can only be as effective as the people who enforce them, who are sadly lacking. According to house rules a curfew applies from 22 clock, except that on Friday night a large group was celebrating with loud music until Saturday morning, disturbing our sleep.
CONCLUSION
Despite the grandiose name ‘castle Wahlsdorf’ is no more than a cheap hostel with the worst price performance, which I have ever experienced in Germany. After three more nights in the surrounding area, I can confirm that there are much better options for less money. Therefore, I strongly urge those interested in the Flaeming Skate, to book elsewhere.
The manor house has been tastefully renovated by an antiques dealer with great attention to detail.
In the spacious breakfast room, the Lindner’s offer an extensive breakfast with fresh bread and home made jam, fresh milk, but unfortunately during our presence no fresh fruit.
We were well looked after, felt comfortable and can highly recommend the Inn.
This is a tiny hotel in a convenient location in Wismar, with easy access to the historic centre and the port, which can be reached in just a few minutes by bicycle. In spite of everything, the place is reasonably quiet.
Centre of the Hanse City of Wismar
Our room window opened onto a small, dark courtyard. During the hot days of July, this was pleasant, in the winter it would be rather depressing. The room looked clean, but under the beds unfortunately, there was a layer of dust.
The bathroom was clean, modern and the mechanical ventilation was working swiftly, at least when the door was open. But we had problems with two dead light bulbs.
The landlady Ms. Effenberger was friendly and helpful. She showed us a safe place to park our bikes in the courtyard and even lent us a kettle, so we could prepare tea.
All in all: Reasonably priced at, € 51.45 incl bed tax for a scarcely measured, but well equipped double bed room.
During our stay they were not serving breakfast. We followed their recommendation and were glad to visit “Café Glücklich” (which is German for ‘happy’).
Lubsche Straße in Wismar
Pension am Burgwall
Daniela und Volker Effenberger
Lübsche Straße 125, 23966 Wismar
Tel. +49 3841 3265920
Mail: info@pension-am-burgwall.de
The former Hanse city of Werben is Germany’s smallest city, with just 800 people living within the city limits by the river Elbe.
Arriving after 21:00 hrs on a a 111km bike ride from Berlin to this historic, half timbered house on Werben’s market square, the friendly owner Gunter Zwinzscher opened the door and first helped my bike, luggage and me into the
gated and covered bike parking, where there were a few bikes parked as well as displays about local attractions plus some locally produced art.
View from the kitchen
Gunter showed me the breakfast room, ‘communal kitchen’, where he offered me a welcome drink (I took a beer for rehydration) and my double bed room with table and modern bathroom. The room’s two old, single glass windows lead straight onto the cobble stone laid market square, but fears of traffic noise were unfounded. There is no traffic in Werben,
Germany’s smallest city of 800 souls. The B&B Roter Adler and the old Hanse city of Werben offer a surprising mix of history, nature and calm. I very much recommend this place.
The room, bathroom, welcome drink and generous breakfast cost €30 (for one person, please pay in cash). I even could fill my thermo with tea for the next 170km stage of my bike ride.
