Getting Out of Berlin – A Series of Great Berlin DaytripsCategory: Travel & Holidays
Article added by: Paul Collins
Berlin is a fantastic city: full of great nightlife, fantastic shops, culture, art galleries… in many ways it’s the city that’s really got the lot. But for the student on a German course in Berlin, all the excitement – plus all that studying – can get a bit exhausting.
Which is why it’s so important to get out of the city from time to time. And the decidedly fortunate fact of the matter is that getting out of Berlin could hardly be easier. The variety of potential Berlin daytrips is just another of the things that makes life in the city so great.
Potsdam
At only 30 minutes to the southwest (leaving from Friedrichstrasse or Berlin Hauptbahnhof), Potsdam is a very manageable daytrip from Berlin. The city itself is undergoing a rigorous period of redevelopment (as a result of heavy bombing during the Second World War and consequent neglect), and many of its fine old buildings are now being rebuilt.
But the main draws are, undoubtedly, the city’s series of UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Babelsburg Park (and its adjoining castle), the New Garden and the fabulous Sanssouci Park with its elaborate rococo palace.
Leipzig
And when it comes to getting out of the city for the day, Leipzig is another city that, at about an hour to the north by train, is a more than manageable Berlin daytrip. The city has a raft of great sights: from the beautiful Botanical Gardens (one of the oldest in the world), the grand Old Town Hall and a couple of museums, and the excellent Leipzig Zoo.
But perhaps the best time to visit the city on a daytrip from Berlin is during December. Then, the old Market Square (in front of the Old Town Hall) comes alive with a marvelously festive Christmas Market that’s perfect for a large helping of Christmas shopping washed down with lashings of ‘gluewein’ (a heated winter wine).
Lake Muritz
Those students on a German course in Berlin who are looking for a bit of fresh air, and clean, healthy daytrip in the great outdoors, should make for the national park of the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau. A stunning landscape riddled with waterways and studded with over a thousand lakes (as well as the very occasional idyllic village) it’s a walkers’ paradise.
The entire area was carved out during the last ice age, and now stands as one of Germany’s most striking natural assets. At only an hour or so from Berlin, meanwhile, its striking peace, calm and mile after mile of unspoilt natural beauty remain the perfect antidote to all that studying by day – and wild partying by night!
Posted By: Paul Collins
Contact: e-mail
| About the Author: |
| Travel writer Paul Collins has spent a fair bit of time living and working in Berlin. As a former English teacher, he knows the importance of taking a break from your German course in Berlin, and getting out of the city on one of a number of Berlin daytrips from time to time. |
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