Elegant Elbe: Day 13
Day 13: Friday, November 10, 2023 - Potsdam, Germany, and Berlin, Germany
The day's statistics:
- Weather: upper 50s, sunny
- Steps: 3,775 Linda; 10,527 Steve
- Miles traveled (approximately): 68
We had our luggage out and ready to go before we went to breakfast.
Breakfast was egg benedict with mushrooms and tomato on the side (for Linda) and full buffet (for me).
We did return to our room in order to pick up our jackets, QuietVoices®, and such.
We boarded the bus for a 9:00 departure, and we began the Potsdam Walk & Sanssouci Palace excursion.
Rather than return to the ship for lunch (lunch would be on our own) or even after the excursion, we were going to be heading
to the Grand Hyatt hotel in Berlin for the last four nights of our trip. It was a less than two hour drive without stops.
As the bus pulled out of the parking area, it passed by a home - and there was a couple waving, one with a towel, as we passed by.
On the end of a building on a block we turned down was an interesting mural that I got a crappy shot of - that looks like a monkey
with peacock feathers.
And then some sights on the way to our first stop.
Most bridges carry automotive, pedestrian, and or rail traffic over highways. This bridge carries... wildlife (probably more poignant from above).
Continuing on.
The main city center is surrounded by a wall, and there were three primary gates to get into the city.
We were visiting Schloss Cecilienhof, a palace, the site of the signing of the Potsdam Agreement / Treaty.
There were a lot of grounds and wooded area preceding the palace - though this palace isn't quite as opulent as others we've seen or are used to.
The bus pulled in and we started getting off. We had to cross half a long parking lot, and then an entire long parking lot. The majority of the
group was already at the entrance before we were even past the first half. Linda decided to go back to the bus while I went on ahead.
We didn't actually go inside the palace, but walked around the outside. There was a nice garden too.
This window is to the conference room where the Potsdam Agreement / Treaty was signed by the the three major allies of the US (Truman),
UK (Churchill), and USSR (Stalin).
The order to drop the a-bomb on Japan was also issued from this site.
Our short visit to the palace was over, we got back on the bus, and headed to the next stop.
We learned a little about the city while we were driving around. The bus parked in the corner of what appeared
to be the church's parking lot, and watched the guy in the Tesla - yes, that's a Tesla - unplug and head out.
We got off the bus and headed to the market square.
Across from St. Peter and Paul Church - which was locked - was a small café that we stepped into to get a nosh.
It was a small café and there were no available seats. So we decided to head to the market square. Linda's mobility would have made
the trip time consuming. I told her that she could sit on the bench in front of the church while I go get something to eat.
It was probably less than a 100 meter (300 feet) walk. I strolled around, viewed most of the booths.
After the stroll, I bought a bratwurst - with mmustard - for us to share. I met Linda at the bench, and we ate.
After our lunch, we headed back to the bus as it was a little colder, and it was going to take some time to get there anyway.
Tomas had three other passengers in addition to Linda that had mobility issues, and was able to arrange a separate shuttle (taxi) to take
them straight to the hotel, rather than to the next part of the excursion, which was going to be a lot of walking.
After one of the passengers found his "lost phone" (his wife was actually holding it), we headed out to the next stop.
Linda had a separate ride, taking a slightly different route than we did, so she has a few pictures I don't. Rather than try to figure
out the exact timing so her's and mine are sync'ed, I'm just going to put them here.
We made our to the next stop, Sanssouci Palace - a five or so minute trip down the road, directly. We drove around a little to see some
sights on the way to the palace itself.
Mozart slept here.
We were approaching the palace, and there was a lot of park area around it.
There were a number of buildings, such as guest houses and conservatories, that were part of the palace complex.
The ramp to get up to the palace used to be used by horse and carriages.
The Italian Garden.
We passed the large courtyard of the palace, turned around, and passed it again. But stopped in front. So I took advantage of the situation and ran -
OK, it was more of a jog - up to the chain line and took a couple shots.
We drove to the farthest reaches of the palace complex, and then came all the way back to the residence, doublebacking on our route.
Taking the same route back allowed me to get some pictures of things that were initially on the other side of the bus.
This 3D map - yet another - indicates how vast the palace complex and grounds are.
The 3D map is in the shadow of the windmill. We were going to walk to the residence - the semi-circular building to the left of the windmill.
We crossed a street, walked up a slight incline, and turned right just before getting to the palace. We then passed along the back of the palace,
overlooking the gardens. Boxes were being put over the statues to help protect them against the harsh winter.
We walked to the far side of the property to an area with a small fountain (that had no water), and the graves of King Friedrick and 11 of his dogs.
There were bird cage like structures - open metal gazebos, I guess - on both ends of the palace.
We walked completely around the palace, and found ourselves at the point where the horse and carriages used to arrive. The "ruins"
in the distance weren't real ruins, but rather built that way to give the residents something interesting to look at from this spot,
keeping in mind that the trees obstructing some of the view didn't exist back when it was built.
We entered the palace - in two groups so as to not crowd the palace all at once - and had a self-guided audio tour with another one
of those devices - like at the Lobkowicz Palace - wherein one enters a number to hear about a particular item of interest.
Our tour started in the entry way / reception hall, and we moved clockwise through various rooms seeing statues, artwork, furniture,
and interesting architectural items like a round library and beds that were recessed into the wall.
Not a dresser, but a log-holder.
We were underneath the dome from the bus ride pictures above. Along the inside rim were a number of small[ish] sculptures.
The columns are single pieces of stone.
Continuing on.
Most of the rooms, including the bedrooms, were basically "normal" - as normal as a palace's rooms can be. But this last room was unique because of
the way it was decorated, and its theme. The room had a jungle theme, and there were raised / 3D adornments on the walls, including a monkey and
a less impressive squirrel.
The last stop brought us to a room with these large one-plus meter (over 3 feet) tall vases.
We finished in the palace and headed back to the bus - which brought us back past the 3D map. Here's a shot of the windmill, again, but this time
highlighting the brail on the map.
Back on the bus, we began our final leg to the hotel in Berlin. It was less than an hour, and that included a little extra sightseeing driving too.
We crossed the Spree (Sh-pree) River. The bridge was two different tones of green, separating West Berlin from Communist East Berlin.
Stands used for spectators to watch traffic. Ha ha ha - no, there is a Grand Prix race that passes this grandstand.
It turns out that M&M's® in German is M... &... M's...
An original, very old church left intact but protected with glass to see inside.
A couple sculptures: crossing arms, and a large bow that was a gift from France.
Linda had checked into the hotel hours prior. She was in the room with her leg elevated.
When I arrived, I got my copy of the room key from Tomas - who told me that we had an orientation walk in the lobby at 6:00 - and
headed up to our room that, essentially, overlooked a construction zone (they were redoing the sidewalk).
There were sculptures in the lobby, and right off the elevator.
This elevator has a maximum capacity of 21. 21. I hope those people are REALLY friendly with each other...
A bit before 6:00, I headed down to the lobby for our orientation walk.
We headed out the side of the hotel - near the construction - and headed toward Potsdamerplatz. The square was being converted to a
Christmas market, but it wasn't called that yet.
It was a brief walk, and when we got to the square, Tomas pointed out the key roadways, and what points of interest were in what direction.
On the way back to the hotel, I went into a mall essentially across the sidewalk - where the construction was - from the hotel to pick up a
light dinner - a couple different salads (a Southwest style chicken, and a shrimp) to share, some wine, and a candy bar for dessert - and brought
it back up to the room.
What time zone were we in, exactly?!!?
It didn't take long to get used to the controller for the lights AND the shades. The shades!
While I was gone, Linda did some research on a wheelchair rental to help ease our travels around the city.
We wanted one for three days and found a site that had rentals for less than €10 per day, plus a one time €20 cleaning fee, delivery
included. That should have totaled about €50, but the site showed over €90, including delivery.
I decided to take the phone down to the concierge to confirm the hotel location and see if there was something on the site I might have missed
that may have been in German or whatever, or the delivery postal code wasn't right.
I confirmed the hotel code, and asked him if he had an idea what they rental might be so high.
Concierge: "You need a wheelchair?" Me: "Yes." "Why don't you use ours." "Can we take it outside?" "As long as you bring it back clean, sure."
"OK, we can do that!" "What's your room number?" "208" "We'll have it up within fifteen minutes." YAY!!
The bellman dropped the chair off. I inspected it and found that there was a support rod that was not where it was supposed to be. I wheeled the
chair back downstairs and the concierge and bellman figured out that the chair needed to be collapsed, the bar forced into the whole it came out
of, and opened up again. Watching the collapse process was convenient because I learned how to do it - and it would certainly come in handy in
the next couple of days.
Today was a little bit of a busy day, but after getting our luggage situated, we relaxed a little, washed up, and went to bed.