Do you have a bucket list full of things you’d like to experience? One of the items on mine for example is “unusual accommodation”. And a treehouse I’d say counts as unusual accommodation.
Lake Senftenberg is close to Berlin, in the Lausitz area in Brandenburg (Lusatia). It measures 1300 hectares which makes it one of the largest artificial lakes in Germany.
The lake was created when the opencast Niemtsch brown coal mine was flooded with enormous amounts of water between November 1967 and November 1972. The very first section of newly created beach opened in 1973 and over the years the lake evolved into a wonderful local recreation area.
This is what we knew before we set off from Berlin to start our treehouse adventure. We arrived in Senftenberg after a 1.5-hour drive. Now we had to walk around half of the lake as the Hafencamp – Marina Camp – where the treehouse was located was on the opposite side of the lake.
We had already enjoyed the wonderful scenery from the car. Only a few vessels were out on the lake and the beaches were mostly quiet as well (despite it being 30°C on that day).
Hafencamp (Marina Camp)
We scheduled our arrival at Hafencamp for the morning so that we would have plenty of time to make the most of our stay. However, the check-in for the treehouses only opens at 14.00. They did let us park on their big car park earlier though. That was ideal as there are many car parks in the vicinity but they are all pay and display (and they were not exactly cheap either).
The Hafencamp is a combination of a campsite, holiday cottages and marina for sail- and motorboats.
One can either stay at the Camp or rent kayaks, SUP boards, pedal boats, rafts and more for the day and enjoy a nice time out on Lake Senftenberg. A little ice cream parlour opens at midday and lures visitors in with their excellent ice creams.
There is one downside to it all though and that is that swimming is not permitted. One has to go over to the family holiday park nearby and use their beach.
Spending the night in a treehouse
There are four treehouses at Hafencamp. And one of those would be ours for the night.
Key in hand, we stand in front of the treehouses. The number four had been booked for us. But which one is number 4? We can’t find the numbers anywhere so we return to the entrance. There we spot a big sign of all the houses and their respective numbers. Armed with that knowledge we return to the treehouses and climb up the stairs to number 4. The treehouse patio is about 3 meters off the ground and from there we enter our treehouse.
I unlock the glassdoor and I am honestly surprised. I didn’t think it would be that cosy.
A couch to relax, a comfy bed (I slept wonderfully), a kitchenette and, most importantly, a bathroom! My greatest fear was that I would have to walk across the campsite at night if I had to use the bathroom and it was unfounded. It was all right there; toilet and shower! This treehouse had absolutely everything for a relaxing stay. It even had radiators for the cooler months. We would have preferred a fan though as it was 30°C on that day. Despite all the shade under the canopy, it was really warm in the treehouse.
We got settled by relaxing on the patio for a little bit. With only a few interruptions we spent most of our time out here and it quickly became our favourite spot. We sat here long into the night and returned for breakfast the next morning. It was truly relaxing to listen to the birds and watch the gently swaying treetops.
Our booking included breakfast. Just before 8.00 am we found a full picnic basket on the steps to our treehouse. It contained everything for our breakfast and we were happy.
A quick tip: There are no lunches or dinners available to book for your stay. The Ice cream shop and Café close in the evening and the nearest restaurant is in the nearby family holiday park (about a 10-minute walk). The kitchenette, however, is equipped with everything you need if you’d like to cook your own meals!
Scooter tour along the lake
Included in the booking for the treehouses are also a couple of scooters. And they aren’t those compact city scooters, they are the big, robust variety with thick tires. Of course, we wanted to make use of those and so we went on a little scooter tour along the lake.
Our first tour brought us to a viewing tower at Lake Senftenberg. This route was on a concrete path and was ideal for cycling, skating and for scooters. It took us about 15 minutes on the scooters to get there from Hafencamp. I have to admit though, we couldn’t resist the temptation to speed up more and more until at times it looked more like a race between the two of us.
I was a little surprised when we arrived at the tower. It was leaning! We read afterwards that it is indeed leaning at an angle of almost 10 degrees and with that leaning more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 176 stairs lead to the viewing platform at 31.5 meters.
Visitors are rewarded for the climb with a spectacular view of Lake Senftenberg. The water was sparkling in the sun. We had the platform to ourselves. We let our gaze wander and began to dream…
Almost to nice to leave again.
In the evening we walked down to the lakeshore at the camp to shoot some sunset pictures. The view was okay but not exactly what we were after.
So we hopped on to the scooters again and drove over to the family holiday park. The tour was a great idea – was it not?
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