Plötzensee – an inner city Berlin lake

Plötzensee is a small and pretty glacial lake in the residential area of Wedding in the north of Berlin with a Freibad (lido) on its western shore.

I have Cihan to thank for suggesting I visit Plötzensee, and the wonderful afternoon and early evening I spent there last week.

Smaller than many of Berlin’s more famous lakes Plötzensee is just a short stroll from the end stop of the M13 tram at Virchow-Klinikum and named after the roach (Plötze) that were abundant in its waters.

A number of information points around the lake tell its history and detail the wildlife to be found there.

There is also a Strandbad (a man-made beach) with the obligatory Strandkörbe (beach baskets) and a Biergarten on the south west shore.

As I took pictures of the Strandbad, a nearby sunbather pointed out a family of swans moving along the lake.

I followed the swans to the north west shore (where I took the first image in this post) where they stopped to feed.

One of the adults watched me carefully until he or she realised that I was no threat.

I was able to take lots of photographs of the cygnets before a helicopter flying overhead frightened them off.