Spreewald - Kähne, Köche, Klapperstörche (360° - GEO Reportage)

The Spreewald, just an hour's drive from Berlin, is a natural paradise crisscrossed by countless canals and streams. Some places are even only accessible by boat. An enchanted region that magically attracts stressed-out city dwellers with its unique sense of time and ancient customs. A film by Maja Dielhenn © 2016, Licensed by MedienKontor / ARTE Season 17 - Episode 2 Subscribe to wocomoTRAVEL: https://goo.gl/tIk2Qc Follow us on Facebook:   / wocomo   Press release: The Spreewald, just under an hour's drive from Berlin, is home to the Sorbs and Wends. Not only does this ethnic minority speak its own language – they also devoutly maintain their customs. The landscape in which the people here live is something very special: countless canals and natural waterways, known as Fließe, crisscross the forests, and some places are still only accessible by boat. A remote and enchanted landscape, in every season. The 360° GEO reportage has spent a year portraying the Spreewald from its lesser-known side. At the beginning of January, Carnival is also celebrated in the Spreewald. What is striking in the small village of Burg are the many young people in their traditional costumes. These are the traditional costumes of the Wends and Sorbs, the Slavic peoples who came to the Spreewald through migrations since the 6th century. Customs are meticulously maintained here – for example, the girls and women wear artfully pinned and hand-embroidered bonnets. This is a craft that only a very few Spreewald women still master – one of them is Christa Dziumbla, who passes on her knowledge to 18-year-old Cindy. And every spring, Adebar, as the white stork is popularly known, returns to the Spreewald to breed and raise its young. The region's cuisine is equally diverse. Young and innovative chefs reinterpret typical Spreewald dishes, such as Michelin-starred chef Oliver Heilmeyer at the fine Hotel Bleiche. Brandenburg native Marco Giedow also conjures up modern and light cuisine using high-quality organic ingredients, with many references to the Spreewald. Organic vegetables, homemade bread, cold-pressed linseed oil, and meat from animals that thrive on the pastures and meadows. What defines the region can be found everywhere here: good food, traditional crafts, and an enchanted landscape. So close, yet so far from the capital.