Ten years ago I first set foot in this tiny place wondering how I could survive a week, let alone an entire year. My request to be placed with a family in the former DDR for my exchange year had been granted, but the old proverb of “Be careful what you wish for…” was running through my head as we rolled down one of only five streets in town to my new home. Forget looking for this place on any but the most detailed maps of Brandenburg; the village of Brunow’s two hundred some inhabitants generally don’t warrant mention among cartographers. But this completely off-the-beaten-path spot in one of Europe’s highly touristed countries now holds a charm for me that is hard to match in any other locale, for it is here that I not only
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