Monday, September 08, 2014

A day in Potsdam...

Playlist
Lachenmann - String Quartets
Lachenmann - Allegro Sostenuto

Last full day in Berlin and surprisingly overcast this morning...




But, by the time we'd breakfasted and hit the street, the sun was out once more...


Our target today was Potsdam - so we walked in the opposite direction of the Ku'damm, down to the U-Bahn at the end of Konstanzer Strasse...


..and took the train to Yorckstrasse to change...




...to the train to Wahnsee...


...followed by a third which got us...


... into Potsdam, after around 70 minutes of travel...


We headed for the beautiful old town...





It was worth the journey time...










After getting our bearings, we took a coffee break...


...sitting outside in the sun...


The exploration continued...







Our initial destination was the Dutch Quarter...








Lunch was enjoyed...


...from what Anne declared to be the best sausage stall of the holiday...



More city gates were visited...





This, the Brandenburg Gate, which predate's Berlin's version...






Heavy books were stupidly bought at this shop, where ever single book, no matter its size or subject matter, cost just three of your European Euros...


Two small stripey souvenir coffee cups were bought from the Oxfam shop...


..and more walking around under the sun ensued...


Back to the Dutch Quarter...



...for drinks in the Potsdam branch of a famous Bavarian Beer Garden...






...followed by yet more walking around and looking at stuff - which, as you may have gathered over the last few posts, is what we tend to do on holiday - there is no relaxing on a holiday with Mr CBQ...









More shoes were considered but not partaken of...



We were going to head back to Berlin but decided instead to take a bus to the park at Sans Souci (Frederick II's country retreat), with a view to visiting those parts we didn't see when we were here two years ago...

Aliens were spotted on the way...



Into the beautiful gardens...











...spotting one of our previous destinations off in the distance...



If you go to Berlin, you must come to Potsdam and then you must visit Sans Souci..






An ice cream/juice break was required such was the beating down on a baldy headness of the sun...


Onwards...


...receiving best wishes from the gardener...


Past the Tea House...





..and back onto familiar territory...


...looking back again at a past destination...


...and forward too...




Finally, we emerged out of the woodlands to see Sans Souci itself above the vineyards...
























The shadow of the beast...



I created a small series of pics...







...around these...



...and so, out, after having added an extra two hours to our Potsdam visit...


We walked back to town...


...and a couple of buses and a couple of trains later, we were in a restaurant at Prenzlauer Berg...


...opposite the famous Konnopke's Sausage Stand (which has been on this spot since 1930, surviving the Nazis, the Communists - this is East Berlin - and everything else that's been thrown at it)...


...and also just over the street from An einem Sonntag im August...




Our last evening meal of the holiday comprised yummy patsa and salad



...before we hit the Prater Beer Garden for the final time...




One last train home...


...after a super-long, tiring but very enjoyable, day...


Highlight of the Day : Potsdam...

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