Fährmannsverein Flottes Rudel

Who they are

The Fährmannsverein Flottes Rudel is an association of boatmen from Lübben, the gateway to the Upper and Lower Spreewald, which has been sending punts along the canals for more than thirty years. Its boatmen, some already second-generation, steer the boats with the Rudel, an ash pole of about four metres that gives the association its name. The website does not say how many boatmen or boats they have, nor the exact year of founding. Their boats carry tables and benches, and one has a lift platform for wheelchairs.

What they do

The shortest trip is the town circuit through the locks, an hour and a half to two hours according to the page, for €18. There are midday or coffee trips, a four-hour barbecue trip, with smoked fish, steak or sausage, and a two-hour evening trip with smoked fish. The full days, for €35, go to Lehde, with its open-air museum of Spreewald houses, or to Schlepzig, with its farming museum. In autumn and winter they run the mulled-wine trip, and also trips for weddings, for groups and during the Aquamediale art festival.

The main season runs from spring to autumn. In high season boats leave several times a day, normally from 10:30, and the last regular departure is around 17:00; outside those hours special trips can be requested.

Harbours and how to get there

There are two harbours in Lübben: the one at the Schlossinsel, at Ernst-von-Houwald-Damm 15, and the one on Lindenstraße, next to Am Spreeufer. Both have parking nearby, also for coaches, restaurants and a campsite, and the paths to the boats are short and almost step-free. Anyone with mobility difficulties can ask about spaces closer to the harbour.

Booking, weather and languages

Booking is not compulsory: you can turn up at the harbour and climb aboard. Even so, the association appreciates a booking, especially for groups, by phone on 03546 7122 or by email. The boats cannot carry a canopy under the low bridges, so in light rain they hand out a tarpaulin, and if the weather is bad it is decided at the harbour, with the passengers, whether to sail or to change the date. The website does not publish children's fares, forms of payment or cancellation terms; it is worth asking when you book.

Well-behaved dogs may come, on a lead; with very large dogs or several, they ask you to call first. The boatmen's commentary is in German, so for visitors who do not speak German the trip is worth it above all for the scenery of canals, riverside woods and houses with their own landing stages.