The Spree shapes its scenery in a similarly original way as the beautiful River Havel. Over a relatively small area, it links together a network of 970 kilometres of meandering waterways - the Spreewald Forest. Here you can drift along at a leisurely pace (see picture), and moor at one of the numerous island farmsteads, where tradition and ancient arts and crafts are being kept alive.

If you prefer to explore the Spree Forest on your own, you can hire a canoe or take one of the many cycle routes and hiking trails. Large areas of this unique landscape have been designated a UNESCO site, the "Spree Forest Biosphere Reserve". At the "entrance" of the Spree Forest the city flair of Cottbus awaits you, with its burghers´ houses with splendid decorative features and a fabulous late Art Nouveau State Theatre.

The German capital can be experienced from many different perspectives but one of the most interesting is the one from the river. The Spree and the Havel both pass through the city: providing several hundred kilo-metres of waterways and also forming vast, extensive lakes, the largest being the Müggelsee. You can tour the city on the many idyllic canals, the Oranienstrasse "Bar Mile" is on the Landwehrkanal and at the Urbanhafen you will find plenty of restaurants and bars, not to mention restaurant-ships. And in the middle of the River Spree lies Museum Island, a UNESCO world heritage site, with its world-famous museums. And if, after so much city romance, you are longing to get back to the countryside, there are idyllic waterways to lead you out of Berlin and into Brandenburg, the state which has more inshore waters than any other in Germany.