September 11

On To Berlin

We had to awaken to the alarm again today as we had to have our luggage outside the stateroom by 7:30 and meet the bus at 8:30 am.  The plan for today was to disembark the ship and head to Berlin.  But rather than simply drive to the hotel we would have a full day of excursions.  The first stop, about 90 minutes along the scenic German highways, was Potsdam which actually is a small city that borders right up against Berlin.  It was here at the palace of the former Kaiser of Germany that the Allied Powers signed the Potsdam Agreement which determined how post-war Germany would be divided and governed.  It was interesting that they had pre-determined this place prior to the meeting and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had the landscaping done in the courtyard to form the Russian Red Star to greet everyone!  The second photo below is the window of the meeting room where the agreement was actually signed.

We re-boarded the bus (this stop had been about an hour) and we were dropped off near the historic town square and we had an hour an a half of free time, which most used to gather some lunch.  We did some shopping and had our lunch at an outdoor café where we ordered a ham, salami, and cheese sandwich as we could see the church tower down the one end of the street and the Potsdam Brandenburg Gate at the opposite end.

Rejoined the group and boarded the bus to travel to Sans Souci Palace, the "country home" of Frederick the Great.

We walked around the palace and saw it from the outside and then went for a tour on the inside.  But before we went in we were told we would not be allowed to photograph inside without purchasing a special photo pass.  But NOTHING is too expensive for those who follow my adventures, so I have included a couple.  If you've ever seen the inside of a European palace, it was very similar with every room just being oh-so-opulent.  Below is a photo of the art gallery, where Frederick purchased an entire collection of 1700 French paintings and the second interior is of the music conservatory where he would perform (he played the flute) for his guests.  First the exterior shots......

The interior..…..

The photo above is a close up of the circular architecture shown in panoramic form above.

On the drive into Berlin we passed over a famous bridge, the Glienicke Bridge, now known as the "Bridge of Spies."  It was here in 1962 that New York lawyer James Donovan (played by Tom Hanks in the film) was able to take his client, Russian spy Rudolf Ivanovich Abel to the midpoint and exchange him for captured US U-2 spy plane pilot Gary Powers.

Once we got into Berlin proper we arrived at the Sheraton Downtown and our rooms and luggage were waiting for us.  Tomorrow we have a four hour tour of Berlin, including the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and several other significant sites.  Then in the evening we have a "Berlin After Dark" tour to conclude our adventure before flying home on Friday.