Lübbenau Overview

Tiny Lübbenau (pop. 7000) is the most famous of the Spreewald towns and deservedly so—its interwoven canals and roads seem worlds away from the modern cities around it. For tourists, the village serves as a springboard for trips into the kingdom of the Irrlichter (will o’ the wisp). The landscape here is dense with waterways, and has more gondolas than houses. Buried in the forest, the neighboring village Lehde has tiny houses with straw roofs and a museum that recreates life as it once was for the Spreewald Sorbs.

Transportation And Practical Information.  Trains go to: Berlin (1hr., 2 per hr., €10.40); Cottbus (25min., every hr., €5.10); Lübben (10min., 2 per hr., €2.00). For a taxi call ☎03542 31 53. Kowalsky’s, near the station at Poststr. 6, rents bikes. (☎03542 28 35. €7 per day. Open M-F 9am-12:30pm and 2-6pm, Sa 9am-noon, Su call in advance.) Rent a kayak at the campsite (below) or at Franke, Dammstr. 72., down the walkway over the bridge. From the station, turn right down Bahnhofstr. and left at Dammstr. (☎03542 27 22. Paddleboats €3-8per hr. Open Apr.-Oct. daily 8am-7pm.) Hannemann, Am Wasser 1, rents boats at the other port. Follow Spreestr. to the end, cross the bridge, and continue to the next bridge. (☎03542 36 47. 1-seaters €3-4 per hr. Call ahead to reserve a boat. Open daily Apr.-Oct. 8am-7pm.) The tourist office , Ehm-Welk-Str. 15, at the end of Poststr., has maps and finds rooms for a €3 fee. (☎03542 36 68; www.spreewald-online.de. Open Nov.-Mar. M-F 10am-4pm; Apr.-Oct. M-F 9am-7pm; Sa 9am-4pm; May-June Su 11am-3pm, Jul.-Sept 11am-4pm.) The post office is at Kirchplatz 6. (Open M-F 9am-6pm, Sa 9am-noon.) Postal Code: 03222.

Accommodations And Food. Though the closest hostel is in Lübben, 10min. away by train, finding a room isn’t a problem in friendly Lübbenau. Check for Zimmer frei signs, particularly common along Poststr., or ask for the Gastgeberverzeichnis brochure at the tourist office. Otherwise, Pension Am Alten Bauernhafen , Stottoff 5 (☎03542 29 30; www.am-alten-bauernhafen.de), between the train station and the center of town. From Poststr., take a left onto Ehm-Welk-Str., which eventually becomes Karl-Marx-Str. Take a left on Stottoff. (Single €30-35; doubles €42-49; triples €65; quads €50-80. Bikes €7 per day; paddleboats €17 per day or €3.50 per person per hr. On the road to Lehde and surrounded by water, Campingplatz “Am Schloßpark” has 125 tent plots with cooking and bathing facilities on-site, as well as a convenience store. (☎03542 35 33; www.spreewaldcamping.de. Bikes €8 per day; paddleboats €15 per day. Reception 7:30am-12:30pm and 2-10pm. €6 per person, €6 per child, 5-6 per tent. 2- to 4-person bungalows €20-50. Cash only.)

For cheap food—and pickles, beets, and beans by the barrel—check out the Imbiße (snack bars) and stands along the Großer Hafen. Cheerful yellow Cafe Fontane dishes out delicious local cuisine just behind the church at Ehm-Wehk-Str. 42; try a salad with baguette (€9-10) or one of the homemade cakes. (Open daily from 11:30am. Cash only.) Spreewald Idyll , Spreestr. 13, serves regional specialties like Grützwurst with potatoes (€7), fish dishes (€7-14), and salads (€2.60-6.60) within spitting distance of the Kleiner Hafen on an outdoor patio. (☎03542 22 51. Open M-Sa 10am-10pm, Su 10am-8:30pm. Cash only.)

Sights And Hiking. The Altstadt is a 10min. walk from the station. Go straight on Poststr. until you reach the marketplace and the Baroque Nikolaikirche. (Kirchplatz 3. ☎03542 27 78; www.kirche-luebbenau.de. Open May-Oct. M-Sa 2-4pm.) The requisite Schloß is now a handsome, pricy hotel and restaurant with lush grounds open to the public. Across the marketplace in the gatehouse (a prison until 1985) is the   Spreewaldmuseum, Topfmarkt 12, which gives a historical overview of the Spreewald and its customs. (☎03542 24 72; www.spreewald-web.de. Open from Apr. to mid-Oct. Tu-Su 10am-6pm. €3, students €2.) The Haus für Mensch und Natur (House for Man and Nature), Schulstr. 9, has a free exhibit on the local ecosystem. (Open Apr.-Oct. Tu-Su 10am-5pm.)

Gondola tours of the forest depart from the Großer Hafen and the Kleiner Hafen (larger and smaller ports, respectively). The Großer Hafen, along Dammstr. behind the church, offers a wider variety of tours, including 2-3hr. trips to Lehde. The boats take on customers starting at 9-10am and depart when full (about 20 passengers) throughout the day. Genossenschaft der Kahnfährleute, Dammstr. 77a, is the biggest company. (☎03542 22 25; www.grosser-hafen.de. Open Mar.-Oct. daily 9:30am-6pm. 2hr. round-trips to Lehde €8.50, children €4.25; 3hr. €10/5; 5hr. tour of the forest €13/6.50.) From the Kleiner Hafen, less-touristed but nearly identical wilderness trips are run by the Kahnfährmannsverein der Spreewaldfreunde, Spreestr. 10a. (☎03542 40 37 10. Open Apr.-Oct. daily 9am-6pm. Tours 2-10hr.; 4-5hr. tours recommended. €8-20, children €4-10.)

It’s only a hop and a paddle from Lübbenau to the haystacks and thatched-roof houses of Lehde, a UNESCO-protected landmark that is accessible by foot (15min.), bike, or boat. Follow the signs from the Altstadt or Großer Hafen, or take a boat from the harbor. The Freilandmuseum (Open-Air Museum), a recreated 19th-century village, portrays a time when entire Spreewalder families slept in the same room and newlyweds literally went for a “romp in the hay.” Follow the signs to Lehde; it’s just behind the aquarium and over the bridge. (☎03542 24 72. Open daily Apr.-Sept. 10am-6pm, Oct. 10am-5pm. Last entry 5:30pm. €3, students and seniors €2, children €1.) Just before the bridge to the museum lies the Fröhlichen Hecht , Dorfstr. 1, a large cafe, restaurant, and Biergarten with a patio right on a river. Enjoy a Kartoffel mit Quark (potatoes with curd cheese) in a special Spreewald sauce (€6.50) as gondolas drift. (☎03542 27 82; www.zumhecht.com. Open daily 11am-7pm.)