Marquardt

Marquardt is a tiny suburb of Potsdam that I discovered a few months ago on a trip home from somewhere up north. I planned an alternate route to Potsdam that avoided driving through Berlin, and instead we drove through a bunch of small towns. I've wanted to go back, specifically to go fruit picking, but also just to see the town. I finally managed to go yesterday, but just to the schloss, not to the fruit. That just means I need to go back again.

The visit to Marquardt is an example of why I love Berlin and my BVG (transit) pass so much. Potsdam is in Berlin's C zone, and Marquardt is in Potsdam's B zone. And all of it is included in my monthly pass. Sure, the bus and train only run hourly, but it's free to get there, even though it's 40km from the centre of Berlin. I feel like I've explored a lot of Berlin and its surroundings in my time here, but I know there are still so many other places to visit.

I love fields like this.

There were a few ponds like this right next to each other, and whenever I stepped closer to the water I heard a bunch of little splashes as frogs jumped to safety. I tried to get photos of the jumping but was largely unsuccessful.

This is the type of pond water that I think is really pretty, but I'm happy to stay far away and use the zoom to photograph.

Schloss Marquardt is located on Schlänitzsee which has, without doubt, the grossest water I've seen.

And people dock their boats there. Why? There are dozens of lakes around Potsdam/Berlin. Why choose this one?

I found two schloss kitties. 

The schloss and surrounding buildings are empty and barely used. I saw three buildings and one guy working on each. It's such a shame because the buildings and surroundings are so beautiful. I wish I had money so I could buy it and turn it into a hotel or an apartment. I would love to live there. 

I left the schloss grounds (but not by the main entrance, which was locked up... hmmm...) and checked the train schedule. The hourly train left only nine minutes later. I didn't know how long it would take to walk there, but the train gods were in my favour as it arrived just as I stepped on the platform. Lucky me! And the walk to the station was really nice as the town was covered in bunting.