In a remote German village, mail is delivered by boat during warmer months

Andrea Bunar had been waiting for months for the arrival of spring and the day she could finally deliver the mail by barge again through the narrow waterways of the Spreewald Forest delta southeast of Berlin. Several weeks ago, the 55-year-old German postal worker stood at the back of her boat again, using one long oar to row, steer, and navigate her boat through the shallow waters. "The start of the season is always special for me," said Bunar, as she embarked on the yellow barge in her postal worker uniform. "After the long winter break, I enjoy being in the nature and back on the water." Bunar has been delivering mail and packages to the villagers of Lehde, which is located about 100 kilometers (around 60 miles) southeast of Berlin, for 14 years. During the winter, she brings the mail by car to farms and homes, but it's often cumbersome as roads are icy, and it takes much longer than in the summer. From April to October, she's back on her nine-meter-long (29-foot-long) barge and just drops off the mail Monday through Saturday in the mailboxes that the residents of Lehde have put up right on the banks of the river. She also sells stamps to the residents living along the remote route, and they can send their own mail with her. The Spreewald is famous for its network of 300 kilometers (about 185 miles) of waterways, many of them leading through lush forests and wetlands. As an inland delta, the Spree River, which also runs through Berlin, branches into hundreds of small canals in the forest. It was also designated a UNESCO biosphere to protect its ecosystem, including the region's diverse flora and fauna. Lehde is the only place in Germany where the mail is delivered by boat. In fact, the village has been getting its mail for 129 years by boat. This article was provided by The Associated Press.