Lost in Chorin Forest

Germany : Chorin

Winter 2013

All is quiet at the Abbey in Chorin
(Feb-2013)

Journal Entry... I came across one interesting piece of information about the town of Chorin, of it having a Gothic Abbey. Had I only paid attention to the part where the information said... Chorin is in a biosphere reserve. 

2-feb: Day trip to Chorin... 

Two Peas in Chorin

Hubby and I stepped out of the train to a deserted platform at the Chorin stop. Were it not for the elderly lady, who had  alighted with us, it would be just me and the hubby arriving in the station. Outside the station were two "group bikes", bearing the Bahnhof Chorin sign; group bike, however, needed eight persons to use it, while there were only the two of us - hubby and I.  Except for the presence of group bikes, there was no public transport in sight at Chorin station that day...

Chorin transport bike

I am never one to let go of an adventure. Before hubby could comment negatively about the situation, a shuttle van soon arrived, bearing the Hotel Haus Chorin sign. Shuttle van came to pick up the elderly lady. Nudged on the hubby... as I looked over to the shuttle driver with my facial expression of wanting to hitch a ride to the Abbey (not knowing any German word...) Shuttle driver turned out to be a "Good Samaritan", who gave us a ride as far as to the hotel-- a head start to the Abbey at the very least. From the hotel, we could call for a taxi, I thought. Arriving in the hotel, the shuttle driver made a hand gesture that told us to wait outside, while he attended to the elderly lady who was checking in. So, hubby and I waited...

Amtsee (lake) in Chorin, frozen in winter

Gothic Abbey
in Chorin

Shuttle driver came back outside, and he motioned for us to follow him...crossing the road from the hotel. By the roadside, the shuttle driver pointed to a "forest trail" down a deeply forested area. Hubby and I thanked the shuttle driver, and he left us. Now looking out to the forest trail, hubby had a change of heart and dissuaded me from going to the Abbey. It was a chilly, overcast afternoon. Truth be told, I had no idea how far the Abbey was, or where the Abbey is to begin with. But, as I've said, I'm not one to back out from an adventure. I resorted to convincing the hubby we were nearing the Abbey countless times on the forest trail, that ran alongside the Amtsee lake.
It turned out Kloster Chorin (Abbey) was in restoration works, and not only that, it was in a desolate place. There was a Tourist Information which, thankfully, was open. The German lady spoke no English, while hubby and I spoke no German. Good thing, hubby got a "Translator App" in his iPhone, kudos to technology! iPhone speaker said in German,  "How do we get back to the train station?" The German lady was so amazed at the iPhone feature. The German lady typed back on the iPhone, which iPhone translated and spoke in English, "Back to the forest trail." Hubby and I looked at each other-- English translation: "Great!"

Kloster Chorin in a biosphere reserve

Kloster Chorin, a medieval Gothic Abbey

"Green Riding Hood"
on a forest trail

Back on the forest trail, I saw a directional sign, which I did not notice on the way in. It read: "Chorin station- 2.5 km." Gah! Did not realize it was that far aboard the earlier shuttle ride. Surely got a taste of yet another fairy tale story down in Chorin forest, like I was Gretel, or better yet, Green Riding Hood (since I was wearing a green parka that day), while the hubby could pass for the Big Bad Wolf, lol. Found our way to the roadside fronting the hotel, out from the forest trail... I crossed my fingers the shuttle driver would turn up in the hotel driveway and bring us to Chorin station, but he was not around the hotel anymore, sigh. Road to Chorin train station was long and winding, and never ending in the middle of nowhere... all 2.5-km of it in winter cold!

Road to Chorin

Road went down to the residential area with random houses along the street. At one point, headlights turned up behind us, and I readied to hitchhike... Too bad, car turned to a street corner, and disappeared from sight. Hubby continued on walking, and I was steps behind him... Passing a white picket fence was when dogs went on barking from the other side. Almost instantly, two giant dogs went galloping to the picket fence, and barked at me crazily, their heads bobbing up and down the picket fence. Dogs turned out to be Great Danes the size of a pony! The Great Danes were already taller than me on all fours, imagine on hind legs. I cried out for help from the hubby, who was ten meters past the picket fence.

Chorin train station

All hubby said to me was, "Show no fear, dogs can smell fear. Don't agitate them... keep walking... don't look at them..." From where I was standing near the picket fence, the Great Danes looked like they were about to jump over, and attack me! Hubby calmed me down, "They are gentle dogs..." How convenient for the hubby to say that from meters away, who would not even come back and get me past the giant dogs. Gah! Hubby had the nerve to add, "If you don't get yourself moving, I'm going to leave you behind." I mustered up my best poker face, and Ninja-walked past the picket fence, the Great Danes eyeing me out as I did. Hubby and I got to Chorin train station in time for the return train to Berlin... 
Telltale signs and all, the Chorin experience is what traveling is about. If you find yourself in the same forest trail to Kloster Chorin, and happen to see "names in heart" on a green wooden bench facing the Amtsee lake, yes, that's us*wink;)

3-feb: Day trip to Potsdam... Link to>>> Journal Entry: Potsdam and Princes

oOo
PHOTOSTITCH


#Germany #Chorin #winter2013