We left the ship this morning for the final time. The day was organized with a ride of 1 hour to the town of Potsdam. We had a tour in Potsdam with time for lunch. Then we transferred to Berlin. The sign saying you are in Berlin was only 10 minutes into our ride, but to actually get to the heart of Berlin and our hotel took an hour. When we left the ship there was an older woman who waved at all the buses each time we left the boat.
Potsdam is the capital of the Brandenburg region of Germany. It means under the oaks. It is famous for the Potsdam Conference which was held at the end of World War II to divide up Germany. The leaders at this conference were Stalin, Churchill and Truman. The purpose was to also denazify Germany, deal with war criminals and to support democracy. We toured the exterior of the palace where the conference was held. They only made an agreement not a treaty. It was held at Schloss Cecilienhof. This was the start of the Cold War.
We then went to our second stop which was Sanssouci Palace. It was built for Frederick the Great in only 2 years. It is a small palace and was only used by him. He had a well stocked library of over 2,000 books all bound in red calfskin. Frederick the Great came into power at the age of 28 in 1740. The decorations were very ornate. The palace was in a huge park.
Upon arriving in Berlin, Jen and I walked to the Holocaust Memorial and the Brandenburg Gate. We then had a wonderful dinner at Berta.
Bette and Bob See the World 
Recent Comments