Friday, April 18, 2014

P is for Pottsdam

So many places to see in Potsdam, Germany and only one day to see them means that when I get back to Berlin, I will have to allow a few days here.  This was part of day 14.

Driving into the City from Berlin was enjoyable in itself.  The first view I had was of the new Hans Otto Theater.  Looks a bit like the Sydney Opera House, no?





And then this view of the Flatow Tower in Babelsberg Park.


The palaces and parks of Potsdam have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites. On this trip I was able to visit two of them.  The first was the Cecilienhof.


The castle was built during the First World War for Crown Prince William and his wife.  It was used from June 17 to August 2, 1945 by Winston Churchill, Harry Truman and Josef Stalin to map out the partition of Germany after the Second World War.

The interior courtyard, below:


We had an interesting tour of the house and saw the rooms where the three officials and their staff stayed and the room where the agreement was reached by the Allied Powers.

After leaving Cecilienhof, we went to Sansssouci Palace.  The palace dates to 1745 and was built by Frederick the Great, the Potato King.  He and his dogs are buried on the grounds and people leave potatoes on the grave.


The palace is huge and impossible to get a picture of  in one photo.  This is the entrance area.


Here is the part of the colonnade:

Across the road we see the Belvedere, built in 1850 by Frederick William IV.


Walking around and through the gates of the courtyard at Sanssouci we come to the front of the palace.


We turn around and what a view!


There is beauty every where we look!  How about a statue or gazebo for your yard?























And I would be amiss if I did not post a picture of the wonderful windmill near the parking lot.



On my Bucket List:  Poland

8 comments:

  1. You know really, they didn't need all that room did they? The places are magnificent, but today it all seems very wasteful. The gardens are lovely in both palaces. Yes it does remind me of the Sidney Opera House.

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    1. Heck, I don't need all the room I have in my house. Most folks don't. But if they have the money, they build the biggest houses they can.

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  2. The architect must like the Sydney Opera house. Love the buildings and so happy we still have them and the gardens. So much history. I wonder if Winston Churchill secretly would have loved to punch Stalin in the face(I wouldn't blame him). That Gazebo is probably half the size of my home but so beautiful!

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    1. Who wouldn't love to have punched Stalin in the nose???

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  3. Hello,
    Visiting from A-Z. Beautiful place and great photos. Enjoyed the virtual visit. And it does resemble the Sydney Opera.
    Best wishes for the rest of the challenge,
    Nilanjana.
    Madly-in-Verse

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  4. I'd forgotten all about our visit to Potsdam when I was thinking of somewhere for the letter P. thanks for the reminder! It really was a fabulous day trip from Berlin

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    1. I actually had gone there to see the Wannsee Villa, but saw the other places instead. Thanks for stopping by.

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