A walk through Borgfeld to the Hollerdeich and its viewing tower, offering wetland vistas

Borgfelder Wümmewiesen with Deichschlot, Bremen-Borgfeld, Germany

Borgfeld's development began as a rural settlement at the Wümme River about 800 years ago. It became a district of the city of Bremen, Germany, in 1945. This quaint neighborhood can easily be accessed from downtown Bremen by tram. Line 4 takes you there. From the Borgfeld tram stop it only takes a short walk to get to Borgfeld's center around the church with a history going back to the 13th century.

Building of the Wümmehof complex

Various architecturally interesting cottages and farm houses make up this affluent neighborhood of Bremen. On your way to the Wümme wetlands, you are getting a peek of some of Bremen's most valued real estates, including the historically significant Wümmehof, which—designed in 1938 by the architect Eberhard Gildemeister (1897-1978)—has been, for over 40 years, the family home of Louise Ferdinand Prinz von Preussen, the grandson of Germany's last emperor. Over these years, it also served as the administrative seat of the dynasty of the House of Hohenzollern. A much older building, Borgfeld's church was mentioned in the 13th century; the time after which the area was drained and cultivated by Dutch people, commissioned and financed by local clerical authority.

Map of Borgfeld highlighting points of interest

Following, from the tram stop, the route Hamfhofsweg, Borgfelder Landstraße and Katrepeler Landstraße (see Borgfeld map above), you will pass a string of places of interest, including the old church 4, the Ratsspieker (farm house with ballroom) 5, the rectory 6, the Alter Hof Klüver (Clüver farm house, 16th century) 8, the Wümmehof  9, the Wikingborg (Parchmann farm house) 10, the Meierhof of the Kloster Lilienthal (building of the former monastry of Lilienthal) 11 and the Kattenburg (formerly Kattenborg, residence of merchant and Africa explorer Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz (1834-1886)) 12.

By now, you certainly have realized that Borgfeld is more than an ordinary village-turned-suburb district. If you mainly came to see the open-space wetlands, you are almost there. The Katrepeler Landstraße continues on a levee. It turns into Am Hollerdeich (Deich meaning levee) and soon you will arrive at the Beobachtungsstand Hollerdeich—an observation tower on the right side of the road.

Hollerdeich observation tower

From the top of this small tower, one can enjoy great views of the Borgfelder Wümmewiesen, Bremen's largest nature preserve. The Wümme River is gently traversing the meadows. Various ponds and canals can be seen on both sides of the main river. The canal next to the levee is called Deichschlot—its name expresses that it is extending alongside the levee. During winter months, the meadows are often flooded.

The Wümmewiesen were agriculturally used in the past, but since 1987 they constitute a federally supported nature preserve. It is ecologically important, as various endangered plants and birds make this wetland their habitat. Other birds are passing through during migration. The small number of native Fischotter—Old World otters (Lutra lutra)—are living from fish they find in the streams and streamlets.

A panel at the observation tower informs about the locally endangered Sumpfdotterblume—marsh-marigold (Caltha palustris)—with its nectar-rich yellow flowers, which attract diverse insect species. The seeds contain small air pockets, such that the seeds float on water and promote the plant's spreading along river banks. Water birds also disperse the seeds, resulting in a marigold-dotted marsh during the spring season.

Map of Bremen's largest nature preserve: the Borgfelder Wümmewiesen

Suggested browsing and reading
[1] Freie Hansestadt Bremen, Ortsamt Borgfeld: Borgfeld ein Dorf mit Geschichte [www.ortsamt-borgfeld.de/sixcms/detail.php?gsid=bremen150.c.1699.de].
[2] Schutzgebiete im Land Bremen: Borgfelder Wümmewiesen [www.erlebnisraum-natur.de/fileadmin/user_upload/bilder/Publikationen/Faltblaetter/NSG-Borgfelder-Wuemmewiesen.pdf].

A short birchlined path alongside Bremen's historic “Kuhgraben” canal: the “Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg”

Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg alongside Bremen's Kuhgraben

The Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg is a birchlined path on a levee that follows the Kuhgraben within the neighborhood of the University of Bremen (Universität Bremen) in the city of Bremen in northern Germany.

This path is named in honor of Friedrich Bremermann (1889-1980), who established a home for riparian water sport at the Kuhgraben, called Wassersportheim Bremermann. It included a boat house, a workshop and a small harbor. The Wassersportheim had to give way for the construction of the university in the 1970s. In 2014, city authorities allowed Bremermann's two daughters, Ilse Stange and Helga Bremermann, to put up a sign remembering her father and the Wassersportheim [1]. And the once unnamed path alongside the Kuhgraben became the Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg, a scenic little path for a short stroll between classes and seminars or to warm up for a longer hike or run through the Wümmeniederungen—the wetlands of the Wümme river system.

The Kuhgraben is introduced by a small informative panel on site, saying that the exact origin of this canal is not known, but it has been mentioned as early as in the 13th century. Built for drainage and boat traffic, the Kuhgraben once connected Bremen with nearby Borgfeld and Lilienthal. Within Bremen, there were waterway connections with the Dobben and the Weser River. Especially peat—the main energy source during Bremen's early days—was shipped via the Kuhgraben and joined canals in the past.

Composed of the words Kuh and Graben, the name Kuhgraben may be thought of to literally mean cow ditch or cow canal. However, Kuhgraben derived from cograve (mentioned in 1277), containing the word co that became koh, meaning border [2]. Cograve referred to a canal that establishes an administrative boundary.     

The Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg runs parallel to the Kuhgrabenweg on the other side of the canal. The latter is open to non-motorized traffic and turns into a highly frequented bike path on sunny holidays. Halfway between the Universitätsallee and the Hochschulring, a foot bridge connects the Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg and the Kuhgrabenweg.

Getting there
From downtown Bremen take the tram line no. 6 (Linie 6), northeast-bound to the university (last stop: Universität/Klagenfurter Straße) and exit at the Universität/ Naturwissenschaften 1 stop (see: map) on Universitätsallee. Follow the sidewalk of this street, northwest-bound, towards the “silvery whale” (Science Center). Continue on the sidewalk to the Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg/Universitätsallee junction next to the Kuhgraben; across the Haus am Walde, a restaurant with a coffee and beer garden. Usually, it takes about fifteen minutes to get from the Universität/NW1 stop to the beginning of the Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg.

In the map above, the Friedrich-Bremermann-Weg is indicated by a grey dashed line following the right side of the Kuhgraben northeast of the red circle.

References
[1] Renate Schwanebeck: Bremermann als Namensgeber. Weser-Kurier, 25. Mai 2014 [www.weser-kurier.de/bremen_artikel,-Bremermann-als-Namensgeber-_arid,858262.html].
[2] Chronik Horn-Lehe: Kuhgrabenweg [www.chronik-horn-lehe.de/Strassen/Kuhgraben/Kuhgraben.htm].

Blackwell Foothpath through Bussey Brook Meadow, a 1996-addition to the Arnold Arboretum

The Blackwell Footpath connects the South Street Gate in Boston's Arnold Arboretum with the Washington Street Gate southwest of the Forest Hills MBTA Station. Within minutes, you can be in an urban ecosystem and protected landscape, while leaving the train station. After passing the Blackwell Footpath rock, shown above, the trail descends into Bussey Brook Meadow. A Welcome panel describes the meadow path as follows:

As you walk the Blackwell Footpath notice this urban wild is different from the rest of the Arnold Arboretum landscape. The Arboretum is managed through a unique public-private partnership between the City of Boston and Harvard University. Bussey Brook Meadow was added to the Arboretum in 1996 through the generosity and dedication of the Arboretum Park Conservancy.

Blackwell Footpath

The Arnold Arboretum is an urban park dedicated to nature studying. Alongside the Blackwell Footpath you will find a few display panels featuring birds of Bussey Brook Meadow, vines and plants gone to seed in the meadow, including Queen Anne's lace, milkweed, tansy, bittersweet, hickory, porcelain berry, crabapple, virginia creeper and staghorn sumac (also written stag-horn sumac or stag's horn sumach). The latter, Rhus typhina, is a flowering plant of southeastern Canada, the northeastern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Small trees grow next to the footpath. The picture below shows a plants with its alternate, pinnately compound leaves, hairy stems and velvet twigs, and a cone-shaped cluster of fuzzy, red berries.

Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina) next to Blackwell Footpath

What is now the Arboretum landscape were farms and orchards in the past. Then and now, the north-facing slope of Peters Hill features fruit trees. The Welcome panel says:

In the past this land was farmed , then  abandoned, then used as a dump. Plants here are historically native to this area, many are invasive, and some are exotics that have self-seeded from across the street. Many birds and animals inhabit this place as well.

The urban wild continues east of Bussey Brook Meadow as a patchwork of forest-like tree stands with cultivated areas including special gardens and plant collections. Farther northwest you'll find another beautiful path, the Linden Path, cultivated areas such as the Leventritt Garden and the Hunnewell Building housing the Arboretum's visitor center.

A drumlin in the Arnold Arboretum: Peters Hill—the third-largest hill in the Boston area of Massachusetts

A vista point in the Arnold Arboretum: Peters Hill summit

Boston's Peters Hill in the south part of the Arnold Arboretum is a 240-feet-high drumlin. To get there from the Hunnewell Visitor Center at the other end of the park, you may want to walk southbound via Linden Path, Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden, Bussey Hill Road, Valley Road, and Conifer Path to the Walter Street Gate, from where you can access Peters Hill Road surrounding Peters Hill. Various small trails lead up to the top and over the hill sides.

From the top of Peters Hill, Boston's skyline is visible. On a clear day high-rises such as the Prudential Tower, Hancock Tower, One Boston Place and the Federal Reserve Bank building can be seen. The distance between the Peters Hill summit to the Hancock Tower is 4.23 miles, according to an information panel.

Various fruit trees including crabapples grow on the gentile slope just downhill from the summit. The panel explains:

They were mostly planted in the 1940s and '50s. Before this was the Arnold Arboretum, colonial farmers planted fruit tree orchards on this same hill. They made cider and fed their animals on the fruit that fell from the trees.

Switching from agricultural history to geology, we also learn that beneath Peters Hill a probably unique type of rock is present, called Roxbury puddingstone. Peters Hill and other hills in the Arboretum were formed when glaciers altered the landscape. These drumlins consist of debris—sand, rocks, gravel, boulders—piled up thousands of years when glaciers melted. Peters Hill is merely one of many sites in and around Boston that gives evidence of ice age activity in this area [1]. Estate gardener and garden writer Danial Mount mentions three drumlins. He explored a drumlin a day [2]:

I gave  myself a generous three days to wander over and around the three drumlins that punctuate the topography of the Arnold Arboretum. It is a landscape shaped by glaciers, with outcroppings of Roxbury puddingstone and swampy lowlands, and has the third-largest hill in the Boston area, Peter's Hill, with a 180-dgree view of downtown Boston.

References and more to explore
[1] Arnold Arboretum - teacher guide [bostongeology.com/geology/fieldtrips/teacher/arboretum.htm].
[2] Daniel Mount: Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Multihued Jewel. Summer 2012, page 13 [www.mountgardens.com/articles/Boston_Arnold_Arboretum.pdf].

The Linden Path in the Arnold Arboretum

Linden Path in the Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts

The quarter-mile-long Linden Path in the Arnold Arboretum is a beautiful trail that connects the Hunnewell Visitor Center at the northern tip of the tree park with the Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden. It starts on the right side of Meadow Road southwest of the Hunnewell Building. First-time visitors of the Arboretum often begin their park exploration along this path, at the end of which the agriculturally landscaped Leventritt Garden, an open-air pavilion and the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection await them.

Various linden trees (genus: Tilia) from around the temperate Northern Hemisphere can be found alongside the Linden Path. Grown Tilia trees are typically tall— sometimes over 100 feet. They have a sturdy trunk with dividing and subdividing branches ending in twigs along which heart-shaped leaves move in the wind and reflect the sunshine. The abundant foliage of summer trees gives plenty of shade on sunny days, but spending too much time underneath a fragrant tree can result in a sticky coating of body parts and accessoires, due to the sap dripping off the tree.

Moltka-Linden, Arnold Arboretum

The Moltka-Linden (Tilia x moltkei) shown above is a great example of a space-demanding tree with a strong branch structure. It is a cross breed of the American linden (Tilia americana) species and the silver linden (Tilia tomentosa) of southeastern Europe and Asia Minor, interbred in the 19th century at a tree nursery (Baumschule Späth) in Berlin, Germany. The hybrid is named after the German Field Marshal Helmuth Karl Bernhard Graf von Moltke, who, for some time, served with the Ottoman Empire in Asia Minor, where he may have temporarily retreated under a Silber-Linde from military duties. 

The Caucasian Linden (Tilia dasystyla) picture below features a twig hugging the lower part of the central trunk. The leaves show signs of insect attacks.  The label attached to the tree bark says this species is native to Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus (therefore its common name!), and Iran.

Caucasian Linden twig hugging tree trunk

Keywords: tree walk, Tiliacea, Tilioideae, Malvaceae, botany.

References
Von Moltke Linden: www.cirrusimage.com/tree_moltke_linden.htm.
Moltke-Linde (in German): de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moltke-Linde. 

Trails, trees and tranquility: the Arnold Arboretum has it all

Arnold Arboretum, Boston, Massachusetts

The Harvard-managed Arnold Arboretum is a park, forest and botanical garden all in one. This Boston landmark is large enough to get lost therein, to find a quiet place or to perform your work-out routine. Park roads, trails and narrow paths connect the points of interest, including the Hunnewell Visitor Center, special gardens and plant selections, research areas, meadows, ponds and hills. Arboretum rules allow climbing the hills, but forbid climbing the trees. The Arnold Arboretum map provides an overview of the arboretum landscape and its sites, which you may want to explore on your own by self-guided tours.

Paperbark maple (Acer griseum), native to Central China

According to the City of Boston website, today's Arboretum displays world renowned collections of maples, crabapples, lilacs and rhododendrons [1]. My TimeOut Boston Guide summarizes [2]:

The arboretum, one of the world's leading centres for plant study, was established in 1872. In a beautiful, 265-acre park setting, this living museum is administered by Harvard University. It provides the opportunity to see more than 15,000 specimens of trees and plants from around the world.

The Arnold Arboretum was the first arboretum in the United States [3,4]. It is named for James Arnold (1781-1868), a whaling merchant of New Bedford, Massachusetts, who transferred a portion of his estate to the President and Fellows of Harvard College to establish an arboretum [4]:

Charles Sprague Sargent (1841-1927) was appointed the Arboretum's first director in 1873 and spent the following 54 years shaping the policies and programs of the Arnold Arboretum. Since its inception, it has served as a model and benchmark for similar institutions, both in North America and elsewhere.

White oak (Quercus alba), native to Eastern North America

Getting to the Arnold Arboretum in south Boston

The Arnold Arboretum is located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale sections of Boston, Massachusetts. A good starting point for your first exploration of the park is the Hunnewell Building, a National Historic Landmark that houses the Arboretum's visitor center. Address: 125 Arborway, Boston, MA. The arboretum is open to the public every day of the year—from sunrise to sunset. There is no admission for the visitor center/museum.
If you plan to come via commuter rail, take the Orange Line south to its terminal Forest Hills MBTA station. Walk to the south-west side of the station past the bus stops and find the Washington Street Gate across Washington Street. This is the beginning of the Blackwell Footpath. This trail traverses Bussey Brook Meadow and ends at the South Street Gate, a central point within the Arboretum. From there, follow northbound trails to get to the Bradley Rosaceous Collection, the Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden and the visitor center at the northern tip of the park. Follow southwest-bound trails to get to Peters Hill, a 240-feet drumlin, from where you can overlook the park and see the distant Boston's skyline.

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) in the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection

References  and more to explore
[1] City of Boston: Arnold Arboretum, established in 1872 [www.cityofboston.gov/Parks/emerald/arnold.asp].
[2] TimeOut Boston. Time Out Guides Ltd, London, United Kingdom, 2015; page 154.
[3] The Establishment of Arnold Arboretum [www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/56arnold/56facts1.htm].
[4] The Arnold Arboretum: Our History [www.arboretum.harvard.edu/about/our-history].

On track in urban parks

A group of joggers warming up at a meeting point in the Stadtwald, a forested park in Bremen, Germany

Urban parks brighten cityscapes. They originate as designed gardens or reclaimed city parcels and sometimes they are simply left-over stripes and spots of a once natural landscape. Many parks allow on-trail and off-trail use. On-trail: footpaths, walkways and promenades present themselves for morning or evening runs as well as walks and strolls. Often, a short-cut through a park is the fastest way for the daily commute by bike. Off trail: park greens invite to stretch out or play—the flute, frisbee or football, whatever the park space provides for and inventing visitors may come up with.

Urban parks are meet-up places. On beautiful days, a small city park—even the planted square or triangle at a street corner—is a great place for a lunch break, while a larger park always becomes a recreation hot spot. For example, the Stadtwald in the city of Bremen, Germany, is a popular place for jogging (top picture), outdoor gymnastics and segway tourings. The Stadtwald—literally meaning city forest—is too small to be considered a wilderness forest. But located between Bremen's Bürgerpark and University quarters, the wider Stadtwald area provides an extensive trail network attracting young and old to leave office or home for a work-out among trees and alongside waterways.

Boston Common, Boston, Massachusetts

Urban parks are neighborhoods. City parks are public backyards used for many different purposes. In his exploration of urban parks around the world, Ken Otterbourg writes that urban parks are not a substitue for the enormous and often remote parks that protect the most majestic forests, mountains and canyons, we like to visit via distance traveling [1]. They are retreats from the duties and curtailments that modern civilization brings with it. Boston Common (picture above), the oldest park in the United States, is such a place to briefly escape and hang out or recreate between downtown and Beacon Hill. In the past, this park has seen cattle grazing, public hanging, camping of the British troops and deliverance of political speeches. Today, it is the anchor of the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parks winding through and connecting Boston neighborhoods [2].

Sculptured ways near Groningen's central station

Urban parks are connectors. Bremen's Stadtwald/Bürgerpark pairing and Boston's Emerald Necklace are just two examples of how urban parks interconnect city districts and their people. Another is the Davis-Covell Greenbelt in the city of Davis, California, featuring a loop trail with charming bronze sculptures and nature side walks. In some locations, parks shrink to connectors, which are vital in providing walking, hiking and bicycling options by avoiding frequent encountering and crossing of motorized routes. Even when barely any trees are around, such ways promote relaxation, calm and an overall easier-going life style.
For example, a broad walk & bike way connects the central station in the Dutch city of Groningen with other parts of that city (picture above).
Elevated walkways such as those in Hamburg's Speicherstadt are smart and scenic solutions to pedestrian flow, heightening travelers three-dimensional city experience.
A straight promenade under trees, which connects the Idlewood Park in Reno, Nevada, with Wingfield Park island, squeezes in between the Truckee River and Riverside Drive (picture below), adding an illusion of infinity to occasionally confining city life.
Ask the park designer in you what park features are special about your city and what you would improve? In some years your ideas may have become reality.

Snowy Truckee River walk in Reno

From urban parks to green and enlightened cities. The future of urban parks looks bright. As cities are turning from mere places of commerce and work into inspiringly designed living & learning centers and attractive playgrounds competing for visitors, cities grow into urban parkscapes with more and more non-motorized tracks to enhance outdoor time for active and adventuring urbanites. Urbi et urbi!

Keywords: recreation, cityscaping, urban planning, urbanistics, urban geography.

References
[1] Ken Otterbourg: Urban Parks. National Geographic April 2016, 229 (4), 86-107.
[2] Boston Common: http://www.cityofboston.gov/freedomtrail/bostoncommon.asp.