Potsdam

On our long weekend visit to Berlin we learnt of the nearby town of Potsdam which is home to a number of impressive palaces and parks. It was only 30 minutes drive away so we paid a visit on a glorious sunny day.

With the exception of a paid tour around Frederick's private residence, access to the palace gardens and parks was free which is absolutely stunning in this day and age given the spectacle on offer.

We're not ones for soaking up all of the historic detail and stories on these kinds of trips so we were perfectly happy just wandering about taking in the views, enjoying the sunshine and gravitating from one impressive feature to the next.

The main palaces were impressive but it was probably the Sanssouci summer palace which we enjoyed the most, especially with the bright sunshine lighting up the warming yellow colour of its walls and tourists lying back against its walls having a quick sunbathing session. Very 'pleasant' would be the word to use.

The palaces are set in a large estate and there's quite a bit of walking involved to see them all. I don't think we managed all of them. We started to hear voices in our head calling us back to Berlin for sausages and beer, which won in the end.

Very enjoyable day trip on a nice weather day. Recommended.