Vaguely South

Hennigsdorf – Berlin   -  Beelitz       75.5 kms

Navigating our way around Berlin was a bewildering experience. Berlin is to be congratulated on the sheer number of cycle tracks it has provided for cyclists. However, it is exactly those numbers which make locating the path you actually want, something of a challenge. That is a very polite and  subdued way of describing the stresses involved in continually having to refer to a map, which in its turn requires a stop and fumbling with the map case. At least these halts today were not accompanied by Alan’s best friends! It may have been too cold for them to whizz very fast. ( We appreciate even more the guidance of our lady of the day before yesterday.) We were, though, offered guidance by a man today, who having observed our bemused observations of the map, proffered his advice on the best and most effective route to follow to our next destination – Potsdam. And once again the information was right. It was Potsdam which was the problem. It turned out to be much bigger than the little dot on the map and had added trams to its road communication system. (Actually they have probably been there for ages). Anxious not to lose a wheel in the tram lines, we resorted to walking along the streets and eventually found the information centre which was of no use at all. There are dozens of maps of cycle routes but they all stop at the equivalent of county boundaries! Frustrated at having wasted so much time, we gave up on detail and shot off along the road in vaguely the right direction. As ever, Mr. Map and Compass was on the ball and a further thirty minutes of frantic pedalling, we/he found our cycle route. Since which time, all has gone swimmingly well. No more cities and big towns for a while and tracks which, so far, have been well signposted.