TCD MS 10823 folio 21 recto
[April-Sept 1918] spite of orders, keep much surveillance over us when out for walks, and we used to wander at will wherever we wanted, after telling the sentries that we would all foregather at a particular spot, and come in past the Kommandatur to all appearances as though we had been together the whole time.
The country was very pretty all around, gently undulating and with great forests of Scotch fir, beech and oak trees, and nearly every mile or so a lake. For hours one could wander without meeting a human being, though we often came across deer, as the forests were strictly preserved. These lakes in summer proved most delightful for a swim and we often slipped the sentries <when out for a walk> for a swim in them or in one of the canals, which was delicious on a hot summer day.
On Saturdays we were allowed a long walk from 9.30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and so we took our lunch out with us. The favourite walk was to go to a village called Neu Globsow on the pretty Stechlin See. There were two or three inns here, where they were delighted to see us and where we could always get some beer, and a bathe in the crystal waters of the Stechlin See was always a treat. The inhabitants in these parts were very friendly and bore no enmity against us – often they would ask officers out to lunch – Their only desire was to get the war over as soon as possible. The lakes were all full of fish, which we were not allowed to catch; but we often managed with a hook, a worm and a bough of a tree to land <surreptitiously> a small perch which was a welcome addition to the fare at breakfast.