Thursday 12th July 2018
We had both seen the film, The Bridge of Spies, with the brilliant Mark Rylance and Tom Hanks, and Ray remembered, during his
childhood, the U-2 spy plane incident, which ultimately involved a prisoner exchange on Glienicke Bridge.
The bridge was about a one hour drive from our location in Oranienburg. The bridge connects Potsdam, the capital city of Brandenburg with Berlin and crosses the Havel River. The bridge itself is named after the Glienicke Palace which is located on the east bank of the river.
Our journey was quite simple and we found a spot to park on the long approach Bundesstraße 1 highway, short of the palace.
The palace sits within the estate of Glienicke and it is possible to visit the grounds free of charge, which we would highly recommend. Although we didn’t visit the interior of the palace, there was plenty to enjoy in the extensive grounds.
Glienicke Bridge was a short walk from here and this was our photo opportunity. This is the fourth bridge on the site and was completed in 1907, although there has been some reconstruction after it was damaged during World War II.
We crossed the bridge, where it was possible to walk/cycle around the Jungfernsee lake or head towards Potsdam itself. The end of the Potsdam Tram route 93 ends here and it is possible to take this back into the town.
We decided to leave a visit to Potsdam for another day and stopped for a late lunch in the restaurant Garage du Pont on the Berliner Straße.
We made the journey home via Potsdam and through the open countryside before hitting the busy motorway.