The journey northwest to Lake Lucerne involves three trains and a paddlesteamer in a single afternoon, each one running on a schedule as precise as Swiss clockwork.
If Berliners do escape they either go farther, to the Alps and the Med, or they go north to the Mecklenburger Seeenplatte, which boasts over 1, 000 lakes for sailing, canoeing, cycling or touring by paddle-steamer.