For our first full day in Berlin, we headed out to Potsdam to visit the famous palace of Sans Souci, which means “without worry” in French. Frederick the Great spent his summers there in the 18th century. The entire park houses several different palaces. Sans Souci was Frederick the Great’s favorite palace. It is actually not that big for a palace, with only about a dozen rooms. We took the train from Berlin out to the park. We arrived near the new palace, but had timed tickets for Sans Souci, which is on the other side of the park, so we had a pretty long walk to get there. Fortunately it wasn’t rainy.
Meg by the map of the grounds Back of the new palace Greenhouses in the park The Chinese tower Dibbles by the Chinese tower Mistletoe in a tree Strolling through the gardens Terraces of Sans Souci Swan in the river Ducks near Sans Souci Pretty duck Meg and Spencer with Swan in background at Sans Souci park Meg on the steps of Sans Souci Ceiling of entryway to Sans Souci Clare in Sans Souci Chandelier and rokoko relief Rokoko table, with leaf designs inspired by nature Fireplace Portraits of Frederick the great This room was later resigned with neoclassical columns Ornate rokoko ceiling with spider’s nest Chandelier and ceiling Piano – Frederick the great was an accomplished musician Marble bust Marble floor Ornate dome Crystal chandelier More rokoko detail Guest bedroom Subtle door Paintings of Italian scenes Snowball vases from Meissen Fancy clock Flower chandelier Flowery details on walls and ceiling Andy Warhol’s Frederick the Great
After the tour of Sans Souci we had a little snack of leftover rolls from breakfast and some fruit, and then found a bus that took us back to the new palace for the tour there. We stopped at the museum shop there to get a cookbook that Meg liked, and then we got a tour of the new palace, which is much bigger than Sans Souci. Frederick the Great had it built to display the wealth and power of the kingdom of Prussia. Emperor Wilhelm the second spent much of the last several years of his reign during World War I here. One of the many interesting facts we learned was that Frederick the Great allowed common people to tour the palace even while he was in power, so long as they were dressed appropriately (which for women apparently meant wearing a dress 6 feet wide).
Gigantic porcelain vases Previously the kitchen for the new palace, now part of Potsdam university Gate connecting two buildings The new palace was built to display the wealth of the kingdom of Prussia View from the steps of the new palace Statue near the entrance of the new palace Statue in the grotto room Marble floor in the grotto room Real seashells in the walls Over 20,000 seashells in the walls More seashells The red salon Ornate rokoko Parquet floor Sans-Souci-051 Snowball vases Photograph of the room from 1913 A signature pineapple in the chandelier marks it as being made in Berlin The fest hall marble floor Marble stucco wall Ceiling of the fest hall The fest hall is 6000 square feet
After the tours we had a tasty lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in Potsdam, then made a brief stop at the Nauener gate before heading back to our aparment in Berlin near the Brandenburg gate.

We had to change trains from the S-Bahn to the U-Bahn at Zoologischer Garten, and I managed to drag everyone to the Kaiser Wilhelm remembrance church, which, while only a few blocks away, seemed long for tired legs. I think it was worth it though, to see the contrast of one mostly-destroyed church from WWII, and the new church right next to it, which is bathed in blue light from the stained glass windows.
Meg lighting a candle in the blue church Crucifix in the new church Blue church with large crucifix Fedibbletys at the remembrance church By the Gedächtniskirche