A route which takes one from Berlin, the capital of Germany, to the Oder, the river that became famous after the Second World War when it was selected to be the new border between Germany and Poland. The destination of this route is the city of Frankfurt an der Oder and its counterpart across the river, the Polish city of Slubice. From Frankfurt one can return to Berlin by train; there are trains every half hour during weekdays, while on Sundays, although there are very few direct trips into the center of Berlin, there are frequent trips to Erkner where S-Bahn, the urban railroad of Berlin, has its terminus.

The route, being in excess of 100 km/62 miles and with many climbs and descents, I consider to be rather demanding and at minimum requires training or already being accustomed to biking these distances.

Point of departure for this route is the Potsdamer Platz, which, during the period of the Berlin wall was completely undeveloped, and now is one of the prime centers of activity of the German capital. Here there is also an underground train station of the S-Bahn.(*)

Follow the route indicated on the GPS trace: Stresemannstraße, Anhalterstraße, Kickstraße … until you arrive at the base of the Oberbaumbrücke [Oberbaum Bridge]; here get on the very long straightaway that initially is called Schlesischestraße. There is a bike lane alongside. The first part of this route follows the Spreeradweg [bike route of the river Spree] which is well signed.

After about 9 km/6 miles you will arrive at the train station at Schöneweide (on the right) and immediately after turn left until you reach the Schnellerstraße which will take you to the suburb of Köpenick; a little further on you will find the Volkspark and on the left a bike path which quickly becomes a trail through the woods at the end of which you turn left to arrive at the tunnel that goes under the Spree and that takes you to the north bank of the river. Here you take the road to the right and then towards Erkner (initially called Müggelseedamm).

At Erkner, the previously mentioned terminus of the S-Bahn, travel through the village and shortly after crossing a bridge over a canal, you will find a rotary and on the left the Fürstenwaldestraße which takes you to the village of Fangschleuse, set on a small lake. Once through the village turn right on to the Karl Marx Straße, you come to a street level crossing over the tracks and a bit further a rotary; here turn left on to the Berliner Straße or L38 (a regional road).

From here on, all you have to do is stay on the bike lane on the right side of the L38 all the way to the town of Fürstenwalde. Towards the end the bike path leaves the road and follows along the Spree, thereby providing views of the river.

At Fürstenwalde we abandon the Spreeradweg, which heads south from here, and instead we follow along the L38 towards Berkenbrück, Falkenberg, Briesen (where, instead of staying on the L38, you could take a short cut by turning left just before the crossing over the tracks and then get back on the L38), Sieversdorf and Treplin where the L38 runs into federal highway B5; after a few hundred meters along the B5 you will find a bike lane which, with climbs and descents over 14 km/9 miles, takes one to Frankfurt an der Oder and the bridge over the Oder from which there is an attractive view of the river.

Crossing over the bridge we find ourselves in the Polish city of Slubice; in fact, until 1945, this was merely an eastern district of Frankfurt an der Oder, called Dammvorstadt. The only noteworthy feature is the square facing the river and the large modern building of the "Collegium Polonicum".

We cross back over the bridge to reach the DB (Deutsche Bahn) train station located at the end of a rather steep climb. From here, as I already mentioned, one can return to Berlin.