It is a beautiful ride through woodland and along beautiful lakeside scenery. Stop off at the House of the Wansee Conference on the way. This is where the Nazis decided on the "Final Solution" for the "Jewish Problem." It is truly horrific how such a beautiful building in a beautiful location could be the setting for such an abhorrent moment in history.

On the way to Potsdam, there are plenty of peaceful places to stop, including a couple of lovely cafés with large lawns. Potsdam is beautiful, and the main park there is the big attraction with its many palaces and other architectural wonders and landscaped gardens.

Cycle back to Wansee, or, if like me (lazy), put the bike on the S-Bahn in one of the special cycle carriages!

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The other major building in the Park is the huge Baroque style Neues Palais (New Palace). Walking through the park from Schloss Sanssouce to the Neues Palais will require at least half an hour, and it may be better to take the bus running along the back of the park. A lack of time prevented us from visiting this palace but it is considered to be one of the most beautiful in Germany.

Between Schloss Sanssouci and the Orangerie the Historical Mill can be seen. The current mill is a recent copy but the original became famous, as Frederick wanted to have it destroyed as its noisy creaking cracked him up. However, a court ruled in favor of the miller leaving even an absolute monarch stumped. However, some historians claim the story to be fictitious.

Potsdam was part of East Germany and the lack of commercial sense and free enterprise still shows. Nowhere in the park is it actually possible to buy any refreshments, so it would be wise to bring your own picnic. The shops at the train station have a better and more appetizing looking selection than the stalls doing a booming trade at the parking lot in between the Orangerie and Schloss Sanssouci. Also please tip the flute player in period costume at the gate between the parking lot and the Schloss – he needs lessons badly!

Potsdam is usually a 40-minute journey from Berlin-Zoo station on S-Bahn 7. On the day we visited, railway maintenance works prolonged the journey to 90 minutes each way so it's worth checking at the station on which days (usually weekends) maintenance work will take place. From Potsdam station take bus 695 – you’ll do enough walking in the park so it may be best to rest your legs another twenty minutes or so.

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While waiting for your tour you can stroll the beautiful gardens. The classical view of Schloss Sanssouci is from the fountain at the bottom of the hill. The park is rich in sculptures, grottos, and other decorations and worth strolling in. Picnicking is allowed. From the colonnade at the back of the palace, you can see some Roman ruins on the opposing hill. The Romans of course never made it this far, but the ruins were built to add classical flavor and to obstruct the view of water works.

On summer weekends you can also visit the kitchen and the Ladies’ Wing, which was added about a century after the original to accommodate female guests as well. Both costs Euro 1 each and frankly speaking if you visit both consider it as Euro 2 contributed to the upkeep rather than for personal enjoyment or education. The kitchen visit really shows you only a rather bare kitchen – you may leave wondering if you probably missed a turn-off or a locked door. I asked, no the kitchen visit really is just a kitchen visit. The Ladies’ Wing takes you through a couple of rooms with period furniture and paintings. Information sheets are available but only in German and don’t explain much except naming the artists and subjects. Really not worth the time or effort.

Not far from Schloss Sanssouci, but requiring climbing several long flights of stairs, is the Orangerie. The Orangerie was built to house more guests but also has a limited number of plants on wheels in the infamous Versailles-style. Construction was completed in 1860 in an Italian Renaissance-style. The interior can only be visited on a guided tour. Climbing the stairs to the viewing platform for a grand view of the park and surrounding countryside is worth the effort (even if you have a combination ticket you must first obtain a token ticket at the ticket office before proceeding to the stairs).

The equestrian statue of Frederick the Great in the garden of the Orangerie is a copy of the statue now in Unter den Linden in Berlin. During the communist era, the statue of Frederick was banished to Potsdam but the original returned to Berlin following reunification.

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Potsdam is nowadays probably more famous for hosting the post-World War II conference of the victors than for being a former royal residence. However, it is for the Park Sanssouci and its royal residences that the tourists flock to this town just outside Berlin.

Entry to the massive 287-hectare (700 acres) Park Sanssouci is free, but entry is charged to enter all buildings (more than ten). Many can only be seen on a guided tour. Combination tickets are available and can be stretched over two days - about the time needed to see them all.

The first palace built here and the most visited is Sanssouci, constructed as a summer residence by King Frederick the Great in 1745. Construction was an enormous financial burden to the King but it had to be done to show that Prussia still had what it took following expensive wars with France. Sanssouci is French for "without a care" and some historians are of the opinion that Frederick actually intended to call it "sans, souci" meaning "with and without care". Be as it may, the palace is a lovely place and was always Frederick’s favorite residence. His wish to be buried here was however delayed until the end of the twentieth century.

The interior can only be seen on a 40 minutes guided tour, conducted in German. Information sheets are available in other languages but you need to ask right at the beginning. Inside the building you need to use enormous slippers that fit over your normal shoes – this is to protect the floors and probably helps to keep the floor polished for free too. The interior is richly decorated and the guide did a great job of explaining the more interesting features. Of special interest is the Marble Hall where Frederick liked to debate and discuss with his guests. The lovely library with more than 2000 volumes – all in French – can only be admired from the doorway. During Frederick’s time, the only guests were men as was the custom, and as a result the bedrooms don’t have doors. Voltaire was a frequent visitor and one of the richly decorated – kitsch if it wasn’t in a palace – rooms is named after him. Some of the servant quarters are also seen on the way out.

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One can easily travel to Potsdam on the S-Bahn; it takes about 25 minutes. From the terminal at which you arrive there are buses that will take you to the palace of San Souci or the Neues Palais. You will want to get an early start on this excursion, because there is a great deal to see, too much for one day; choices must be made, probably. San Souci, Friedrich the Great's pleasure palace, is memorable, and the grounds are magnificent. You will want to walk all over, and be sure to see the Chinese Tea House, with its exquisite decoration.

In one of the rooms of the palace you can see the chair in which Friedrich the Great died; and for some unaccountable reason, the guide who took my group (English speaking) through the various rooms failed to mention this item, perhaps on the theory that Americans aren't interested in history?

Nowhere near the palaces, which are situated above the town, is the Cecilienhof, once a royal hunting lodge, today a hotel, the place where the Potsdam Agreement was signed. There is a museum room with the table, etc. You could have lunch, tea, or dinner here, or stay the night. There are several things to see in the town, but the hotel is not convenient to the most major sights. (This is where a car would come in handy.)

Probably you will not get back to Berlin by train before 5:30 or 6pm at the earliest; so you may not want to plan a taxing evening for yourself.