Pfaueninsel

The German capital city Berlin stands for history, politics, art, culture and party. For tall buildings, monuments and endless streets. There are the rivers Spree and Havel; you can find many parks, but to relax in nature you also never need to ride very far. A good option for this is the Pfaueninsel (‘peacock island‘), a river island within the Havel close to the ‘border’ to Potsdam. It is since 1990 part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage at Berlin and only accessible by ferry boat.

The 67 hectares large island was first used to breed rabbits. Later Frederick William II acquired the island as a recreation area for his wife and himself. Over the centuries peacocks and exotic animals (like kangaroos, monkeys and lions) were held there and different buildings were erected: a Russian-style church, a palm house, a castle, a slide to entertain the kids. The Pfaueninsel was also the location for the closing ceremony of the Olympic summer games in 1936 organized by the Nazi government.

Today you can spot some peacocks, visit the old dairy and the castle, see a Greek-style temple, the Kavaliershaus and an English landscape garden – the latter two were used in five Edgar Wallace movies. But you can also get there to just enjoy the long round course on the island or some cake in the coffee bar. How to get to the Pfaueninsel? Take any means of transport to the railway station Wannsee, for example S1 or S7. From there bus 218 brings you to the ferry boat (buy a ticket online or at the vending machines prior to boarding).

Pfaueninsel
Havel
Berlin
Germany