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

LEHDE, Germany (AP) — 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.

On Wednesday, 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 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 fauna and flora.

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.

Before that, villagers picked up their mail once a week on Sunday in a church after the service. But as people moved away from the countryside to cities, the need for more long-distance communication grew, and thus the German postal service started to deliver mail more often — and in the case of Lehde, which looks like a lush Teutonic miniature version of Venice, deliver it by boat.

Every week, Bunar delivers around 600 letters and 80 packages. She needs about two hours to steer her barge through the 8-kilometer (around 5-mile) route.

Recently, it’s been less letters and more packages for the postal worker.

“I already delivered an e-scooter, a lawnmower and a fridge — sometimes my barge feels like a little container ship,” she said. On Wednesday, her first day of the spring season, she had to bring one resident a big saw — in addition to the usual bills, registered mail and letters.

“This is and has been my dream job all along,” Bunar said with a smile. “Being on the water is just so relaxing — it slows down life.”

Mailwoman Andrea Bunar stands on a boat, using one long oar to row, steer, and navigate the barge through narrow waterways during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Mailwoman Andrea Bunar stands on a boat, using one long oar to row, steer, and navigate the barge through narrow waterways during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Mailwoman Andrea Bunar stands on a boat, using one long oar to row, steer, and navigate the barge through narrow waterways during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Mailwoman Andrea Bunar delivers mail from a boat during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Mailwoman Andrea Bunar stands on a boat, using one long oar to row, steer, and navigate the barge through narrow waterways during the first tour of the summer when mail delivered on the waterways in the village Lehde in Luebbenau, Germany, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Vegas' Pavel Dorofeyev's 6-on-5 goal with 52.7 seconds left in regulation gave him the sixth playoff hat trick in franchise history and forced overtime Wednesday night between the Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth with the teams tied at 4 in Game 5 of their series.

Neither team scored in the first overtime, forcing a second sudden-death session.

The teams are 2-2 in the opening-round best-of-seven series.

Utah rallied in the third period when Dylan Guenther tied it at 5:54 on a rush play and Michael Carcone on a 2-on-1 with 7:18 left.

John Marino, Lawson Crouse and Guenther also have scored for the Mammoth and Clayton Keller has two assists. Karel Vejmelka has made 19 saves.

Pavel Dorofeyev had two goals in 13 career playoff games before this one. Also for the Golden Knights, Shea Theodore has a goal and assist and Jack Eichel has two assists. Carter Hart has stopped 22 shots.

Both teams have continued to struggled on the power play, combining to go 1 for 8. Vegas ended a scoring drought of 13 power plays when Dorofeyev scored from the right circle to make it 1-1 with 40.2 seconds left in the first period. But the Golden Knights are just 3 for 17 for the series, which is better than Utah's 1-for-13 showing.

The Golden Knights twice rallied in the first two periods, and goals 1:38 apart by Dorofeyev and Theodore late in the second put them ahead 3-2. It's the first time Vegas took the lead into the third period in this series, but the Golden Knights were the NHL's best third-period team in the regular season with a plus-47 goal differential.

But both teams have been resilient — and physical.

They combined for 68 hits, each side determined to assert itself. But those also sometimes resulted in unnecessary penalties, with the Mammoth taking three in the first period on an open-ice interference by Nick Schmaltz, a clothesline takedown of Ivan Barbashev by Logan Cooley officially called holding and a boarding minor on Mikhail Sergachev.

The Golden Knights were hardly blameless. Cole Smith picked up a double-minor high-sticking penalty just 11 seconds into third period, but Vegas killed off the four minutes.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth players fight during the first period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev, right, celebrates after scoring against the Utah Mammoth during the first period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Utah Mammoth left wing Lawson Crouse (67) celebrates after scoring against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) during the second period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev (16) scores against Utah Mammoth goaltender Karel Vejmelka (70) during the first period of Game 5 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)