Today started early as expected and as usual, but we did not have very far tog o. Our goal today was to explore the palace district of Berlin, which showcases many of the classical masterpieces that nobility and royalty lived in. Potsdam is about 30 minutes from the central Berlin by train, and is still considered part of its boundaries. This area however is now a preserved park, and people can visit, and tour the massive villas, and castles that exist here.
The first sites we see are a couple cathedrals located close to the drop off point of the train terminal. Since the park and its contents are close to this area, it allowed for the perfect walking loop to spend the central part of the day.
Upon finishing observing these catedrals, we headed into the park to see these villas. I personally was impressed by the gardens, and the design of such buildings, however since there were no residents in them, there seemed to be a haunting undertone to the buildings as many were over grown with vines and weeds.
The garden entrance is below, and this area is still my favroite, as there was plenty of room to relax, and have outdoor activities for people to enjoy this area. This is also how the path to each villa reveals itself. There were multiple fountain areas as well, which added a nice touch to the landscape.
Daily Sites
Train station
Alter Markt
Brandenburg gate
ChalottenhofPalace
New Palace
Sanssouci Palace
Belvedere Castle on the Pfingstberg
Marmorpalais
New Garden
St Nikolaikirche
-Jagertor Potsdam
-Nanuer tor
-Ruinenburg
Potsdam Over view
Today was an exciting day, as most are during these epic adventures. This was our chance to go to the out skirt area of Berlin called Potsdam. This city is the castle side of Berlin away from the downtown metro of Berlin. This is where medieval kings built their mansions , and it is known for its architecture and massive houses. To get there it was a quick 35 Minute train ride from where we stayed.
The entrance to the town ends you to a small square surrounded by a states building and church. Both of these are very well designed and gave you the feeling of royalty immediately upon entering the city. There is an obelisk in the center along with two green copper dome shaped buildings. These buildings on the inside are very clean and have minimal ornamentation , but the coloring and marble and woodwork is nothing to be missed.
As one continues through the city toward the park area (where the mansions are), you will pass a wall with two turrets (as it was a walled in city), and multiple shops located in old buildings. There is an arch ,which isn’t quite as large as the arc de triumph , but the bronzes on the top are spectacular. You will once again pass an obelisk, and as we continued to get closer to the park we came across multiple plant terraces where people would have their outside gardens. The one below looked either out of season of abandoned, but one could imagine the mount of work it required to create.
It was at this point we were entering the park. It is free to enter, but each building requires a tour fee. With that in mind we only decided to tour one building called Sansouci Palace However before we reached that building we headed through the fountains and symmetrical gardens that decorate this landscape. Old figure heads of caesars and statesmen in marble litter the garden and give it a feel of versatile almost.
Once we turned the corner we found our building for the day. This was our decision on the spot as there were many to choose from, but the backyard design of this (where we were located) looked similar to the terraces of versatile leading up to the top of the building where the tour starts.
The outside area as you can see had many terraces for plants buts the building itself was massive, especial for being built almost 500 years ago. It was owned by the city and at this time was just a historical building. There is an outside semi archway that creates a half amphitheater to walk around. There was even a windmill across the street which was odd since we were quite south of the coast of the seas, where they are typically located. Of course there were multiple gardens, and we toured those to the west side of the building.
Once we were done with the tour of the building we came across the next mansion and this one seemed to be still resided in, as there were no tours, but only of the back lawn. This was not as large as the other buildings but just as stately, with many impressive bronzes and statues outside.
The final mansion came across was by far the largest, and I believe was used by the german leaders in the past. This was well over 80k Sq ft, and was a massive building for anyone of any status to stay in. This was one of my favorite places of the trip, but we did not tour it as it was closed to the public to enter. From this point we were able to tour the outside of it however, and then lead ourselves toward the southern end of the park, where there is a train station to take us back to Berlin. On the walk toward the train we came by one of the local gardens and botanical sites, and decided to take a break, and have a candy snack on the lake to enjoy.
It was time to head back to the hotel for the night located in Berlin of course. Since we were back early, and felt we were under budget and still had one location left on our stop , we decided to head out for a local beer before one of our bucket list bars opened up. On the way you can see we passed a few sites we had not seen, the red church above in particular caught my eye. After seeing this however we walked by and went to a local bar. This local bar was a beautiful qaint outdoor hippy bar. This was a nice place to relax while we waited for the main event to open. The bar was called Buck and Breck, and to bo honest it was one of the best speakeasy bars Ive ever been to. It was spectacular, quaint, and sophisticated, with only 8 seats at the whole table. It is recommended that people talk quietly, and no cell phone use is allowed. This was a very enjoyable place. We even met a friend named Yokshaw, who became an online friend of mine and we still stay in touch to this day!
Time to head back to the hotel for the night, and get ready to head south to Saxon Switzerland National Park!
EXPENSES
15.40 train ticket
1.30 subway
5 subway
5 water
.80 snack
33.60 dinner
5.50 dessert
5.45 toiletries
6 beer
2.50 beer
40 drinks buck and breck
total – 120.55( 120.18+38.55=158.73 over)