To Potsdam

June 7, 2025

A day trip from Berlin

Today we decided to ride our bikes to the nearby town of Potsdam. According to a Berlin travel site, ¨ Potsdam is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It was once home to the former royal palace and gardens of the Prussian Royal Family and German Kaisers¨ and it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Certainly worth a visit.

The ride started off going through the Brandenburg gates and straight ahead for the first 15KM.

Our route was beside a main thoroughfare and directly toward the Victory Column.

The Victory Column is a monument commemorating the Prussian victories in the late 1800`s.

But before reaching the Victory Column there is another memorial. This one is the Battle of Berlin memorial for the Soviet soldiers who died in battle and for the victory of the Red Army. The site was handled over to Germany by the Soviet Army in 1990.

At the Victory Column. On July 24, 2008 Sen. Barack Obama gave a speech in front of the Column, bringing international attention to the landmark.

We loved seeing the cycling culture in Germany. It was not uncommon to see young families out riding their bikes together. The kids make it look so easy.

and children are often being shuttled around by the parents. This young guy is actually asleep.

and many older people use their bikes to get around, too.

Saturday group ride. Today the road to Podsdam had more cyclists than cars. This section of road was through a forested area and was really nice.

Glienicker Brücke is a bridge over the river Havel connecting the district of Wannsee in western Berlin with the Potsdam.

Boaters out enjoying the Havel River on a Saturday afternoon.

Babelsberg Palace was built in two phases over the period 1833–1849.

Potsdam has many grand old houses and buildings.

The Dutch Quarter is a unique area of Potsdam. This district features over 150 houses in the Dutch style and is one of Potsdam’s most charming neighbourhoods.

The cobblestone streets of the Dutch Quarter are lined with quaint cafés, boutiques, and galleries.

A closer look at two of the Dutch-style houses along Mittelstrasse.

The Nauen Gate was built around 1750 as part of the city fortifications and was renovated in 1996. Not sure when the high wire act was added.

This crow thinks it is a perfect spot. Had to make sure that the opportunistic bird was not just part of the sculpture.

We stopped for lunch under a patio umbrella just in time. It absolutely poured for about 30 minutes - the thunder and lightening kind! We finished our lunch and everyone returned to the streets when it stopped raining.

Another Brandenburg Gate built 18 years before the famous namesake. It also starts the road to Brandenburg.

The fountain and Pat in Luisenplatz Potsdam.

Catching the tram from Potsdam station to Berlin`s Hauptbahnhof.

Regional trams use the top deck at Berlin's Hauptbahnhof. The trains use the bottom level with the station having four floors. The middle two are for transiting the station and shopping.

In the background is the 3XN Cube - an exactly square office building. In the foreground is our cycle route along the Spree river.

Party boats on the Spree that can take you many kilometres if you connect to the Havel.

Three East German Trabant cars in a row. They were manufactured by the state monopoly and a Trabant took about ten years to acquire. They seem to be a cult car now and an association of collectors preserve their history.

Cheers to catching the last bit of sun on our final day in Berlin.

End of the day looking at the chariot drawn by four horses on top of the other Brandenburg gate.

We really enjoyed our ride and visiting the small town of Potsdam today. And that being our last ride, our cycle tour is now basically complete. All that remains is the travel home which includes taking a train to Frankfurt tomorrow morning and then flying home the following day. We would like to thank everyone who has been following us on our journey and especially appreciate the comments concerning our day to day sights and experiences. We plan to complete a short summary to complete the blog after we return home.

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Today's ride: 34 km (21 miles)
Total: 1,321 km (820 miles)

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Michael HutchingGreat trip - really enjoyed reading along. The ride to Potsdam also bought back a few memories- especially the pic of The Bridge of Spies!
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3 weeks ago

Tricia GrahamHave really enjoyed following you along particularly as the first part of your trip as far as Bremen is what we intend to do in August. You have also highlighted a hotel for us in Frankfurt about 200m from the bike hire place we intend to use
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3 weeks ago

Barry DevlinThanks for sharing. It was clearly a great trip!
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3 weeks ago

Patrick O'HaraThanks for sharing your adventure. Great journal.
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1 week ago