Big cities can be quite diverse. At first, you marvel at the endless canyons of skyscrapers and faceless crowds, wondering how anyone can stand to live here. Everything seems too loud and too dirty, too stressful and too restless, and you find yourself constantly searching for a button that will allow you to pause the hustle and bustle around you.
But if you take a closer look at many cities and move a little away from the city center, you may quickly find yourself in a completely different world. Small and large parks invite you to linger and explore, offering a welcome change from the stress of the big city.
And if you venture a little further out and leave the city center, you may suddenly find yourself unable to believe your eyes. Am I still in the city or already in the countryside?
Many large cities have expanded over time to such an extent that surrounding communities are now part of the official city limits. In Germany, this happened a long time ago. In Berlin, for example, it happened on October 1, 1920, when the so-called Greater Berlin Act came into force. This law united eight previously independent cities (e.g. Charlottenburg, Spandau, Schöneberg) as well as 59 rural communities and 27 estates, and created the basis for uniform urban planning and infrastructure and joint administration. Overnight, Berlin became the third-largest city in the world after London and New York and the second-largest city in terms of area after Los Angeles.
Of course, the city has expanded since then and has grown beyond its boundaries in many places. But fortunately, this is not the case everywhere. Time and again, you will find small and large green oases in the city where the city seems infinitely far away. Around here, there is nothing to see or even hear of the hustle and bustle that one so often encounters in the city center.
Fortunately, one does not have to search long to find these oases. Especially in and around one of the many lakes or along the smaller and larger rivers, even a metropolis like Berlin shows itself from a completely different, green side.
The German capital is extremely rich in water, with over 80 official lakes within the city limits – depending on how you count them, even over 100 if you include smaller bodies of water, ponds, and artificial lakes. Among the best known are Lake Müggelsee and Lake Wannsee, but elsewhere it can be even more idyllic and cozy.
And Berlin also has a lot to offer when it comes to rivers. There are over 20 named rivers and waterways in total, such as the famous Spree and the Havel. In addition, there are numerous canals, lakes, and ponds, making Berlin one of the most water-rich cities in Germany.
So if you need a break from the stress of the big city, you don't necessarily have to travel to the surrounding state of Brandenburg. If you want, you can also find some green places within your own city, places where the world still seems to be alright. Even if you find it hard to believe, big cities and nature don't contradict each other. Sometimes it is quite the opposite, as in recent years some places have even grown closer together than before...