Potsdam: Day Trips from Berlin

Post date: Apr 11, 2020 10:35:43 AM

When I first moved to Berlin, I had this idea that I would do a whole blog on day trips from Berlin. I owned a copy of Lonely Planet Berlin, and there was a whole section on “day trips”. I planned to visit each one and write a post about how much I enjoyed exploring the outskirts of this awesome city.

The problem was I fell in love with Berlin. I love the city in all it’s grit and vibrance. And I didn’t want to do day trips on the weekend, I wanted to revel in Berlin.

So I put off doing day trips. I’ve now been living in Berlin for more than 2 years and haven’t been to the delightful and easy to access Potsdam. But my friend George needed to get out of the house, and I wanted to visit the city nearby, so we went for a walk around Potsdam.

I’m only posting this photo because we both look terrible. I look more terrible, but still. Not our best. The thing about Potsdam is the home to Sanssouci, the summer palace of King Frederick the Great of Prussia. You can see the giant palace (apparently a German rival of Versailles), and similar to it’s French competition there are many little temples and buildings scattered amongst the sprawling grounds of the royal complex. Perfect for a walk on a sunny wintery day.

There are a collection of different architectural styles that each building imbues, making it feel somewhat like the Epcot park at Disney World, or one of the World Fairs (I have only ever been to the one in Shanghai).

This building (church?) was modeled in the Italian Renaissance style and it was gorgeous. On a summer day I would have loved to spend a few hours curled under one of these arches reading. But it was winter and we were wandering so we continued on.

I can imagine that the gardens, tiered as they are, would have been wonderful for summer picnic. George and I decided we had to come back during the summer to test out this theory.

The palace itself was beyond gorgeous. It’s a single story, which is surprising given its grandeur. But George loved the name Sanssouci which is a german smashing together (typical of germans) of the french phrase sans souci which means without concerns.

I couldn’t decide if the baby face on this gazebo was adorable or creepy.

I like the picnics of the summer, but you can’t beat the winter sky. Or the view from the palace.

There were tons of buildings, but given we had already decided that we had to return in the summer (and we had already walked. A lot), we focused on just a few. I was fascinated by the Chinese Pavilion, which was designed by a german architect (Johann Gottfried Buring). It’s a mix of rococo elements (no idea what those are, but they are also import in the main house), and Oriental architecture.

Including cute Chinese-like statues nearby.

I have recently become obsessed with details. Like these random flowers hanging out near one of the walls to the Palace Park. No where near the main palace building, or near any building of note for that matter, I love their color and dignity. Despite their remote location.

And this gorgeous lady, who didn’t even have a direct path to her. We had to go off roading a bit to find her, but I think she was worth it.

It’s nice to have an adventure buddy in Berlin, and the long walk that forced me to a place I’ve been meaning to go for years. Who knows how long I’ll be in Berlin, I need to take advantage of these opportunities while they are here!