Pania Goes to Potsdam

Friday August 20th

Having realised that they were so close to Potsdam, it seemed silly not to visit this city as well, so they decided to stay an extra day and go there today. In hindsight they should have bought the 5 day travel card that included Potsdam as well; hindsight is a wonderful thing. The whole transport thing had proved something of a nightmare as the AB travel card they had bought got them to Wansee station but apparently the campsite was in Zone C. Completely oblivious of this they managed to do the whole journey for 2 days, but on the 3rd ran up against Hitler’s 3rd cousin twice removed who spoke little or no English and they had to buy a bus ticket to the station. There was no intention to rip the system off, just an honest mistake. Yesterday they tried to buy a ticket right through to Potsdam on the bus at the camp but that was a lost cause as well. So having bought another single ticket they decided to buy a 2 day travel card and have either two days at Potsdam or perhaps one there and another in Berlin.
They arrived at the big vibrant railway station and went and bought the travel card and the new discount book that came with it. The local buses and trams go from out the South and the Tourist buses go from the North; they went out the South. So finally realising this they went right back through the station and found the Tours. There were at least 6 to choose from, but they chose the City Tour with a hop on hop off for 24 hour ticket. They then literally had to compete for a place on a crowded bus that everyone was fighting to get upstairs on. Mary said let’s just sit downstairs, and then walked through the bus and up the back stairs to a perfect spot while everyone was fighting their way up the front stairs. Once again the guide spoke in a mixture of German and English and you had to listen very carefully to pick up the English. However he was very amusing and started every sentence with, and by the way, which was good as it was an indication that he gone back into English.

They had intended to stay on for one complete circuit, but having joined the tour part way through it stopped for half an hour at Luisenplatz. Here the whole square had been turned into a cafe set up by a Jacobs who sell home espresso machines. There were stations where you could make your own free coffee with the help of an assistant. They were also giving away free product and promotional material. It was huge and there were green plastic couches and tables everywhere. Of course they took advantage of a free coffee each. The sample did not impress them enough to consider a purchase. It was a gorgeous day and the shopping street leading up to a church looked very inviting so they decided not to return to the bus straight away and investigate the town.

The walking area of the street was charming with tables and umbrellas out in front of the cafes and lovely little shops with beautiful window displays. The whole place was compact and lively. They bought takeaway food from a bakery to eat on the run and finally made it up to the church where there was a market so they bought fruit as well. A quick look inside the Catholic Church was followed by a look around the Dutch quarter. The Dutch originally settled here to build canals, many of which have been filled in to provide parking. However it is an area with a lot of water as they saw on the tour. One of the stops was at the Gleincker bridge, the place where the transfer of spies from East and West Germany used to take place. The wall extended right out to here and Berlin starts on the other side of this bridge.

Another fascinating part of the tour took us through the Russian Forbidden City. Here they had their own fortified city with their own wall built. The KGB had its headquarters here and there are huge palatial houses for all the hierarchy, quite a contrast from the drab slab flats that were built to house the people. There were also barracks built to house all the border guards that they brought over from Russia. Further along are also some lovely traditional Russian houses in this area as well.
The tour took them near Schloss Cecilienhof but they didn’t get off. So once they had completed the tour and were back at the railway they decided to try to catch a tram back to that point as the City Circle bus would have been too slow as it literally goes all around the houses. They jumped on a 92 tram but were unsure where to get off. Mary saw a sign pointing in the right direction, but by this time they were past the stop. Suddenly the tram speed up and they were heading out of civilization, so they quickly got off, crossed the road and caught the next one heading back in the other direction. It was nearly a 2km walk alongside a lovely river, from the official gates through the grounds to reach the Palace.

This was the last Hohenzollen royal residence built in 1913-17 in an English manor house style for Crown Prince William and his wife Cecilie. It is famous as the site of the Potsdam Conference venue in 1945. The audio guide tour was excellent and they got to see the room where the conference was held, set up just as it was then. It was well worth the long walk in and out again. It was easy enough to find the way back to the bus stop and catch a bus back to the station.

Tomorrow they can either go back to Potsdam or into Berlin for one last look. Postsdam is having a summer event in the park in the park tomorrow and they are expecting 35,000 to descend on the place; Berlin might win.