Florian also wanted to check out the Church of the Redeemer, an Italian Romanesque-style structure on a lake just north of Potsdam. The Berlin Wall once cut across its grounds.
We couldn't go inside because a Good Friday service was in progress.
Until I read the guidebook, I associated Potsdam only with the conference where Truman, Churchill and Stalin first met to decide the fate of Germany after World War II.
Who knew? Thanks to the way the politicians divvied up the spoils, this gorgeous city likely flew under the radar of modern tourism because it was off limits to much of the west until reunification. In my humble opinion, the New Palace, the winter home of Frederick the Great, is the German Versailles. I couldn't believe its enormity or worn beauty as we approached from the front.
There's even a statue warehouse. Where did they all come from?
Here's the back of the palace.
We strolled a couple of kilometers to Fred's summer place through Sanssouci Park, past some gorgeous marble statues and a carousel .
The rear of the Sanssouci Palace sits atop a terraced vineyard.
Apparently, Fred took more than a little comfort here from his soldiers but only after they cleaned up the shit his favorite horse dumped on a regular basis. According to Florian, the horse used to follow Fred around inside the palace, like a dog.
Could this be a reference to Louis XIV, the "Sun King" who built Versailles?
Here's the entry to the palace.
Those are faux Roman ruins beyond the fountain.
After poorly impersonating a statue on the way back to the car, I photographed several others, each lovelier than the last.
But we weren't through with palaces yet. We took a quick peek at the Charlottenburg Palace, in one of Berlin's toniest neighborhoods, before going back to Florian's, devouring our Cafe Laumer goodies and collapsing into sleep, fully clothed.
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