POTSDAM & SANSSOUCI – an audience with King Frederick
Wednesday – What a great sleep – twelve hours of uninterrupted bliss. Down side I have woken at 5.30am so I have a leisurely start to the day to say the least.
Whether or not the noise from last night happened I don’t know so I will have to wait for Kylie to give the morning report.
When it is time we head on downstairs to breakfast. Kylie reports that apparently her little talk with Mr Manager worked so it was a quiet night all over.
Today is a full day excursion – we are going to the Palaces and Gardens of Frederick the Great. These were recommended by a friend of Kylie’s and they do look really stunning from what I have seen on the trusty web. We have our usual healthy breakfast, collect our camera gear and head off to Stadmitte Station for the first of our train trips. From Stadmitte we get the train to Friedrichstrasse and then onto Park Sanssouci. It seems to be OK weatherwise although the sky is getting a bit cloudy – we hope it will not rain as we are walking around the Palace. The train rides are good, trains are clean and everyone is very quiet – maybe heading to work. Either reading or listening to music through their ear phones.
We reach our final station and look for some sort of direction to the Palace – we are out of luck. Fortunately there are a few people who all seem to be going to the same place so we follow them.
Unfortunately they don’t know where they are going either. We keep on walking until we see some rather ornate buildings and think to ourselves ‘this must be the place’.
As we get closer these buildings don’t look like anything I saw on the web and Kylie is looking rather perturbed as well. We take photos and then find an Entrance sign so we go in to find out some information on where we are. Apparently we are at the Neues (New) Palace which is one of many Palaces and buildings on the rather large 1,000 acre estate. She also informs us that we have about a twenty minute walk to the bus stop where we can catch a bus to the Summer Palace. Oh great and to make matters worse – it is coming over rather cloudy and cool. We thank her for the information and continue on our way as it is now mid-morning and we have so much to see today.
On our walk to the bus we take some photos of these buildings that were added to the grounds of the Sanssouci park. The most impressive of all is the Neues Palais, a large baroque palace. It was commissioned by King Frederick the Great in 1750 but construction only started in 1763 after the 7 Year’s War, which solidified Prussia’s status as a powerful nation. The Neues Palais is one of Germany’s most impressive palaces; in contrast to the Sanssouci Palace, which is rather modest, the imposing sumptuous palace contains more than 200 lavishly decorated rooms spread over two storeys. The central ballroom is topped by a large dome.
Across the road from the Neues Palais is the Communs building. This building contained the servants’ quarters and the palace kitchens, but the outside is decorated as if it were a palace itself. Certainly looked after the hired help. These buildings are also under restoration. It looks like all of the statues are getting a clean.
We are lucky to see some of the statues before and after the clean.
A little bit of background on the Palace before we actually get there. That way you will not have to read the History Lessons every time I talk about something new. Well, maybe only one or two.
HISTORY LESSON : Sanssouci is the name of the former Summer Palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. In 1744 the King commissioned architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to build a Summer Palace, the Schloss Sanssouci. Here he could leave all the formalities of the royal court behind and spend time on his hobbies like music and philosophy. In the central room, the Marmorsaal which was loosely based on the Pantheon in Rome, he would invite famous philosophers like Voltaire. The design of the Sanssouci Palace was based on sketches made by Friedrich the Great himself. The relatively small palace with only 12 rooms was completed in 1747. It is located on top of a terraced vineyard, known as the Weinberg (wine mountain). The palace is only one storey high, but beautifully decorated in rococo style.
We finally reach the bus stop to see a bus already waiting. This turns out to be a bus we could have caught at the station but nevermind we start to trot towards it and the mongrel takes off. He would have seen us for sure – these people sure have one sense of humour. We have about a 30 minute wait for the next bus so I take some more photos of the surrounding area.
There is not much here except a lot of greenery but I do like the fence. Finally the bus arrives and Kylie asks the driver to tell us when we arrive at the Entrance. He says he will tell us but he is just another one of those drivers with a sense of humour. We get to the Palace and go sailing by. We leap up when he stops for traffic and he has the hide to ask us did we forget where it was. This is turning out to be a real belly laugh! This palace had better be good is all I can say.
Walking back up the hill to the entrance we have a bit of a look around before buying our tickets. The courtyard area has a colonnade with seating and also through the ornate fence we can see views across the road and up a hill. These ruins in the distance are not original ruins from ancient sites but ruins manufactured for Frederick.
We buy our tickets which also include an audio guide and a map of the area – the whole 1,000 acres of area. We soon discover that the places we put on our itinerary are definitely out of reach for us today. You need either a bike or a horse to get around this place and as we do not have either – we will concentrate on this main area. The tickets are timed so that a lot of people are not pouring through at the same time. While at the ticket counter we also purchase a Photo Pass for 3 euro. We have quite a wait before we can enter the Palace but the lady on the door tells us that we can look at the kitchens and cellars downstairs. She has said the magic word – cellars. Unfortunately we discover they are not stocked for us. We decide to have a bit of a look around outside before our kitchen survey.
On first look the Palace building itself and it does not look very big. We walk around to the front to discover a huge expanse of gardens, statues and fountains – it truly is magnificent. The photo on the right shows the Great Fountain which as you can see today it is not being Great. When this fountain is operating the water sprays into the air to a height of 18 metres. We discover through this trip that most of the fountains are not operating due to water restrictions and drought. Bummer!
To the right of the Palace there is a covered walkway that leads to a trellised gazebo. As there are loads of tourists I bide my time with camera poised and wait for the right moment when the area is free and clear. I was lucky enough not to wait too long but I had to be quick. There are some photos (not many) where tourists add composition and then there are others where they are just a giant distraction. For such a walkway of calmness – no tourists please.
At the end of this walkway and to the right is a small enclosed area that is the Tomb of Frederick the Great. It was always his wish that he be buried at Sanssouci beside his beloved dogs but he was originally interred at the Potsdam Garrison Church next to his father. On 17th August 1991, the 205th anniversary of his death, the sarcophagus with the mortal remains of the King was laid out in the forecourt of Sanssouci palace, escorted by an honour guard of the Bundeswehr. The burial took place that night in the tomb Frederick had planned for the purpose since 1744 on the highest terrace of vineyards. “Quand je serai là, je serai sans souci” (Once I am there, I shall be carefree) Frederick the Great said in 1744. Frederick’s tomb is on the far left – the one with the potatoes placed upon it. Reason for the potatoes? Apparently Frederick was responsible for the introduction of potatoes and turnips into the area.
Moving back around to the entrance we do our Kitchen and Cellar Tour. We can walk around by ourselves but there are staff that make sure we keep moving and behave ourselves. It is very interesting to see how they used to prepare the food for Frederick and the crew.
There is a special room where the Head Cook of the Coffee Kitchen had his quarters. The preparation of coffee, tea and chocolate were tasks of the coffee kitchen workers along with the preparation of small delicacies and sweets. The attendant makes sure we see everything and are really happy when we remark on certain items and then thank them for showing us.
Next up is the kitchen area and the bakery. Even though the rooms are not big I am sure that there was a lot of food preparation that went on due to the fact that grand meals seemed to be the order of the day.
It is interesting to see the original cooking and preparation utensils that were used in those days and compare them to the high gadget – low labour ones that we take for granted. This is an entire world unto itself down here. Staff for coffee, staff for kitchens and cooking, staff for desserts and pastries, staff for everything edible.
Now we come to the cellar. This is a small cellar that housed the wines of the day – reds, whites, champagnes – my kind of room. Unfortunately the room is blocked off by a glass barrier so we cannot go in – which is just as good as the bottles are most probably empty. The Palace had its own area of vineyards and I am sure that some of the wine housed here was produced by the vitners employed by Frederick. But more about the vineyards later. We have now concluded our tour of the underneath workings of the Palace and now we line up for the tour of the pleasures above.
As I said previously there are only a certain amount of people let through at a time which proves to be most enjoyable as there is no shoving, pushing or noisy lookers. You do get the occasional body pop up just when you want to take a photo but they are most apologetic. On we go – –
There are about 10 or 12 rooms to go through, all highly decorated with gilt – truly no expense was spared by Frederick or those who came after and added to the Palace. It is hard to choose what photos to put here so I will just select two – the first being covered in gilt and artwork the second a different theme of fruits and flowers and birds.
After our tour we walk around the Palace to explore the vineyards and gardens. The slope for the vineyards was organised into six wide terraces, with inward swinging walls in the middle at the back to maximise the effect of the sun. On the partitions of the supporting-walls the brickwork alternates with 168 glazed niches. Trellised vines from Portugal, Italy, France, and also from nearby Neurupp climbed upwards on the brickwork, and figs grew in the niches.
The individual parts of the terrace were further divided by strips of lawn, planted with Yew trees and a fenced off hedge of trellised fruit. In the middle of this ‘wheel’ 120 steps (now 132) led down the slope, dividing the terraces into six. Paths from both sides of the slope led to the terraces. It will only be a small exploration as we are running out of time and the gardens are so huge, also the skies are filling with dark grey heavy clouds. Let’s hope the rain stays away – – doesn’t look good.
On our walk we find the lovely Church of Peace where Frederick William IV & Elisabeth are interred. It is such a quiet area and we seem to be the only ones here. Ah – I speak to soon. Other people have discovered our place of solitude so it is time to move on. Before doing so we visit the crypt which is blocked off by an iron gate. We can see inside – however the views are limited.
Coming out of the Church we decide to head back to the Palace but there are no signs to let us know which way to go. After walking around for what seems like ages we find a gate where there are people handing out brochures on the Palace. They give us directions on how to get back to the top of the Palace and we are away. Our tootsies have just about had it and by the time we climb back up through the vineyards we smell food and realise we haven’t had anything to eat all day! Outside the Palace gates and across the road is an outdoor eatery of sorts. Both Kylie and I get chicken and chips and Tyler has wurst and chips and actually the prices and the food is good.
After filling our tummies we find the usual souvenir/gift shop but their prices are way off the scale. We did not get anything at the Palace shop as the prices were ridiculous and now we find that these prices are the same so we come away with nothing. Time to get the bus back to the station and head for home. Unfortunately we just miss one bus and have a 30 minute wait for the next one. 
Arriving at the derelict station the train is late as well. I do find a sign advertising the next train to Frankfurt on Oder. What is this place you ask. Well, my dad’s descendants on his father’s side came from this place.
I will be glad to get on the train when it arrives. Sanssouci would have been much better if we had realised that the place was so huge and that one day is really not enough to do everything we wanted but I am glad we saw what we did. Also when you have to keep an eye on the weather sometimes you rush through things just so that you don’t get caught in a storm.
Arriving back at the hostel we rest up but K&T have some washing to do. Later Kylie and I walk over to the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag to do a bit of night photography. They really are amazing places by night even though the weather has turned cold. With trusty tripods and filters in hand we spend a bit of time enjoying the night lights. Here are two photos for you to enjoy –
The night is getting colder so we head back for the warmth of our hostel. I have to finish packing as tomorrow we head for Prague .
Highlight of the day : learning more about Frederick the Great