Are you in Berlin right now? Then take a bike and visit Potsdam!

Are you staying in Berlin for a couple of days, are you planning to stay a bit longer or are you actually living there? If so, then Potsdam is undoubtedly a must-visit-town-near-Berlin that – obviously – you must visit! But don’t just rush in there. What’s best about it: you can make it a biking day trip and get to know everything faster, without having to walk long distances and not missing any part of it. Get ready ‘cause your next trip begins now! How to get there? From Kapitel Zwei you can go to Alexanderplatz Bahnhof. You’ll just need an ABC train ticket to get to Potsdam. You will take between 35 and 45 minutes to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof if going by train, but you can also go by car or, if you enjoy biking and practicing sports, then you could try biking from Berlin to Potsdam through the marvelous Grünewald Park.  If you didn’t bring your own bike with you, there are some bike rentals near Potsdam train station. You can ask where to find them at the Information Points inside the station.

Go to the southern exit and begin riding towards the north-northwest. You will cross the river and immediately see the Parliament building (Landtag Brandenburg) and, behind it, Nikolai Church and Alter Markt. Follow the street to the west and you will find lots  of  other  interesting  places:  the  Film  Museum,  the  Natural  History  Museum  and  the Dampfmaschinenhaus (steam engine on a Moorish style). Turn to your right at the Dampfmaschinenhaus and you’ll get to Brandenburger Tor. In here, Brandenburger Straβe is quite a nice place to stop for a coffee or an ice cream. After that, ride to the northwest (follow the numerous sign posts) to get to Park Sanssouci. Inside  you’ll  find  famous  palaces,  a  Don  Quijote-style  windmill,  countless sculptures and beautiful scenes to see. Lucky us we are riding our bikes, distances won’t be a problem inside the park. My suggestion: Enjoy the place; stop wherever you want and, following the main way inside the park, do a clockwise-round around it. Watch out though! You can’t get out of the main way with your bikes.  From Schloss Sanssouci, at the eastern end of the park, to the Neues Palais, you’ll have 2 km of amazing views,  selfies  and  instagram  pictures  to  take.  The  windmill,  actually  amazing  to  see,  is  next  to  Schloss Sanssouci and you’ll have closer look of it when coming back from the round-around the park. After that, you will come down from the hill and see Brandenburger Tor a few blocks ahead, but instead of going back there better take the first big street towards the east. Ride a bit and you’ll get to Nauener Tor and what they call “the Dutch Neighborhood”, where you can stop for lunch.  Already  missing  Sanssouci  Park?  Then  follow  the  posts  towards  Cecilienhof  Schloss,  where  the  Potsdam Conference was celebrated in 1945. This palace is inside another big park and next to some beautiful lakes. Enjoy the nature; if you are thirsty, stop in the Brauerei behind the Schloss, follow the bike-lane next to the lake and you’ll get to Glienicker Bridge, a place full of history and very important during the Cold War. Ride across the bridge, as if you were leaving Potsdam, but immediately turn to your right to continue biking inside the park and coming back to the city center.  More palaces, towers and sceneries will make you say “why wasn’t I here before”. Following the bike lane will get you back to the Parliament, where you’ll see that the train station is waiting for you to return. And at that moment you’ll remember this text, because you will definitely want to be back again.