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Home Page > Travelogues > Germany > Brandenburg (and Berlin)

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Click on the colored areas of the map to access a travelogue.  The colors indicate different regions of Brandenburg -- scroll down for explanation and introduction for each location. (Original map comes from the CIA World Factbook, inset map comes from www.entry.de)

Introduction.  Brandenburg is to Berlin as Nevada was to Las Vegas.  While Brandenburg had several very interesting tourist attractions and great scenery, it was greater overshadowed by the city-state neighbor that it surrounded.  I actually heard a lot of complaints that there was Berlin, and then there was the nothing around it.  For city people, I suspected that was true, but there was really more to the region that the average traveler will miss.

My visits to the region were several, but admittedly I'd only hit a limited number of locations.  Like so many others, I did Berlin several times over, and a number of visitors of mine have wanted me to take them there as well.  What else could I say?  It was such a unique place -- a totalitarian capital, then a military stronghold in the center of the Cold War, then a rival to Amsterdam as a countercultural capital.  It was never boring.

But the rest of Brandenburg had its neat places, too.  Potsdam was home to the great San Souci palace and the Cecilienhof where the famous Potsdam peace conference ending World War II was signed.  Frankfurt (Oder) was just a sleepy city on the Oder River bordering with Poland, but soon it will become one of many important crossing points as Poland expands its role in the European Union, such as joining the legion of Schengen Treaty signatories allowing open borders with Germany.

There were a couple other Brandenburg locations on my "list", both in the southeast.  The Spreewald was a popular outdoor location with lakeside concerts and mountain bike trails.  The major city in the area was Cottbus, a city best known for its baroque market squares, the Schloss Branitz, and a fabulous park.

Travelogues.  

Links.  The below links connect you to external sites in a new window.  All links are official sites sanctioned by the national, state, or local governments unless otherwise indicated.  These links will open to the German-language home page, which will offer an icon or link to an English-language section (normally limited content).  Most of these pages use a British or US flag icon as the link to English content, while others will use the word "English".  Otherwise, look for "tourismus" which should link you to English-language content.  Links updated 12January 2006.