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Deutsche Alleenstraße
In German, an “Allee”
can be any
broad avenue, but the term usually refers to a
tree-lined highway.
The Deutsche
Alleenstraße, most famous of Germany's Allees, runs from Ruegen
at the north end all the way down through eastern Germany. It ends at
the Bodensee, the huge lake which
is also known as Lake Constance that is shared with Switzerland
and Austria.
Approaching Putbus,
the tree-shrouded Allee is like driving through a green tunnel. In the
photo above, it is just
on the verge of turning into the colors of autumn, helped along by the
warm light of sunset.
 The
downside of the
German Allees is that the penalty for going off the road – whether due
to avoiding a
deer or any other reason – is often death or serious injury,
airbags or no. Hit a good sized tree and the tree wins. Crosses by the
roadside are a fairly common sight. We enjoyed the sight and drove
carefully at the 80-kilometer-per-hour speed limit as locals passed us,
casting sideways glances that seemed to say, “Wimp.”
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Alleenstrasse
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The Deutsche Alleenstrasse runs from here in Ruegen all the way down to
Lake Constance, on Germany’s border with Switzerland and Austria.