Day 1: Cycling from Berlin to Athens GERMANY

Day 1

Berlin > Potsdam > Brück

65.7km

3 hours 48 mins

298m  elevation gain

I actually thought it would take longer before a series of hilarious events unfolded but it all came sooner than I thought. 

The Dead End

We have already followed a path which eventually became a dirt track and then finally just stopped with a big mound of mud signalling - do not pass. At this exact moment two Irish red setters bounded out of the forest followed by a lady. We tried to ask for directions to Bruck where we were headed and she did not look hopeful. Thankfully our beginner’s knowledge of Dutch got us through the conversation and she pointed over the mound and suggested “probeeren” which I  took to mean - you can try, so we did. We skirted around the mound and got by along the dirt track, occasionally skidding in some sandy patches but we got back on to the main road pretty soon.

The mound of mud - ahead

Sights of Note

• A warning sign to watch out for tanks… excuse me? 
• A group of 25 older, definitely retired, cyclists popped out in front of us on the road to Potsdam and we had to swerve past them.
• An adventure park which included a Maize Maize
• Here you are guided quite regularly to cycle onto the pavements, in a shared with pedestrians sort of way, which also means a lot of ups and downs for driveways.

On the way into Potsdam

Vegetarian? We have fish

We made it to our destination of Bruck and checked into the guesthouse we were aiming for with no booking and just a bit of sign language and vague Dutch to get us a room. The guesthouse is lovely with a garden at the back and a bike parking rack. The town is small and cute, and not the sort of place to comprehend vegetarianism. Oh, but they do have fish. Shanky survived with a little cheese & vegetable pot and french fries which was pretty tasty.

Not far to Bruck!

The Bites

We were warned to bring bug spray and tiger balm but I thought it wouldn’t be an issue. This was not the case, as soon as we left Berlin and got into the countryside the bites started. Some of my bites became raised and red to a diameter of 3 inches. Shanky started a vendetta against them, determined to kill as many as had bitten him, 5 dead so far to his 8 bites. 

Potsdam - Neues Palais in Park Sanssouci