In 1881, Werner von Siemens opened the world's first electric tram line in Lichterfelde, a short track connecting the railway station with the cadet academy. Thirteen years later, Otto Lilienthal, the pioneer of human flight, had an artificial hill built in the same suburb so that he could launch his gliders from it, whatever the wind direction. The mound is still there, now a small park with a memorial. For a quiet residential district in south-western Berlin, Lichterfelde has a surprising place in the history of technology.
Today it is a green, leafy area of villas, apartment blocks and gardens, part of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. The Botanical Garden, one of the largest in the world, lies on its northern edge, with greenhouses full of tropical plants and gardens arranged by region. The former Prussian cadet academy, a vast complex of brick buildings, later served as an SS barracks and then, after the war, as a US Army base, and its history is a microcosm of Berlin's twentieth century.
As a starting point for a ride to the Oderbruch, Lichterfelde has the advantage of being on the edge of the city, with good access to the motorway ring. The ride east crosses Berlin's outer suburbs and then the flat, sandy plains of Brandenburg, before reaching the Oderbruch, the wide valley of the Oder river on the Polish border. The Oderbruch was a vast marshland until Frederick the Great had it drained and settled in the eighteenth century; it is now a flat, fertile landscape of fields, dykes and villages, under an enormous sky.
There is plenty of fuel, food and coffee in Lichterfelde and the surrounding districts. Berlin rush hours are best avoided, so plan your departure accordingly. The city streets are often cobbled in places, and tram tracks can be slippery in the rain. The Oderbruch roads are flat and straight, with long avenues of trees, and on a windy day crosswinds can be tiring. Spring, when the fields are green and the storks are nesting, is a lovely time to go.