traveldk.com

The river landscape around the little towns of Lübben and Lübbenau, southwest of Berlin, is a unique and unspoilt area of natural beauty. From here you can explore by boat the old settlements of the Sorbs, a Slavic people. Make sure you also enjoy the specialities of the region – fresh fish and vegetables, but most of all the famous pickled Spreewald gherkins.

A visit to Sachsenhausen, Germany’s first Nazi concentration camp, is a haunting experience. It was opened in 1933 as a “wild camp” for political prisoners. From 1936 to 1945, some 100,000 people were murdered here. Next to the camp is an exhibition.

This small palace is an excellent destination for a day-trip. The palace was made famous by the love story of Kurt Tucholsky. Today the palace is a home for senior citizens and can be seen only from the outside.

Surrounded by the Havelland fruit orchards, this small village celebrates Baumblütenfest, the blossoming of the fruit trees in April and May.

This picturesque small village near Potsdam, surrounded by numerous lakes, boasts a charming Baroque palace as well as Albert Einstein’s summer residence at No 7 Waldstraße.

The other Frankfurt, on the Oder River, about 70 km (43 miles) east of Berlin, is well worth visiting, if only for its superb museum, devoted to the playwright Heinrich von Kleist.

An old spa town and once a celebrity haunt, Bad Saarow’s thermal springs and hotel invite you for a relaxing weekend.

The small village of Buckow is the centre of the so-called Märkische Schweiz (the Swiss Mark). A landscape of lakes and hills, which seems almost untouched, it is a good place for walking, swimming and boating. The best area is around Schermützelsee. Also at Buckow, the summer residence of Bertolt Brecht can be visited.

North of Potsdam is the tiny village of Sacrow. It has become a favourite tourist spot because of its dreamy Saviour’s Church, on the lake of the same name.

A beautiful landscape of lakes stretches all around Königs Wusterhausen, 27 km (17 miles) south-east of Berlin. There are numerous romantic villages such as Grünau and Zeuthen, and one of its most attractive spots is the village of Teupitz, on Teupitz lake. The Schlosshotel is an ideal place to relax.