A Daytrip from Berlin – Potsdam

Just half an hour by car Potsdam is a great daytrip idea. The little town is situated southwest of Berlin only 24 km at the banks of the river Havel.

Potsdam was once the residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser until 1918. It’s also surrounded by a great nature, full of lakes and woods.

The largest World Heritage Site of Germany is Sanssoucis where kings had their residence. Nearby there is also the Filmstudio Babelsberg, the oldest large-scale film studio of the world.

Interesting fact as well: it has more than 30 research institutes in the city.

That’s the place where my cousin, his wife and me were going just before leaving Berlin that weekend. Of course my goal was Sanssoucis but the town center is worth to see as well.

We started our walk at the Brandenburg Gate, where we found a parking place. From here one walks down the Brandenburger Straße, the main shopping street of the inner city.

We saw nice tiny shops with a lot of interesting crafts, people walking in the sunny afternoon. We walked straight to the St. Peter and Paul’s Church from 1870 but we didn’t enter the church.

We strolled through the cobbled streets and entered in some shops. A lot of handcrafts and we were ‘lucky’ with many closed shops as it was Sunday. Otherwise….

At the church we took a left turn to the Dutch Quarter. This part was built in the mid 18th century and is unique at its architecture. It’s nowadays one of the most visited places in Potsdam.

The Dutch Quarter has about 134 buildings (Wikipedia) built with red bricks and in the typical Dutch style. They seem today renovated and new and it feels a little bit like walking through Amsterdam maybe. Interesting fact: it is Europe’s largest collection of this kind of houses out of the Netherlands.

Well, in summer this will be the perfect place to sit outside, have a nice beer and a long chat with friends.

As it was cold this day we entered in a cafeteria – or better ‘cocoateria’.A special place for hot chocolate and cheesecakes. At least 8 cheesecakes I counted. All different and looking yummy. The hot chocolate pot seemed to be great as well, for me unfortunately – with a lot of sugar – a no-go. But the cappuccino was great as well – with a dash of Bailey’s 😉

When we came out, warmed up and with new energy for a second walk, we saw a man leaning out of his window. Nothing special? He was a special looking guy!

We ended our walk again at the Brandenburger Gate just been greeted farewell by a beautiful bunch of tulips – the symbol of the Netherlands (although the flowers’ origin itself is from Turkey).

Potsdam center is great, a tiny place with a lot of beautiful shops, ideal for strolling around and sit in the streets for a beer. In summer real Italian piazza-feeling!


Potsdam, Berlin/Germany:


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For further information:
Potsdam Tourism


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