On September 20th, we left Prague for Germany. A few hours into our drive, we made a 'technical stop' (as our tour guide Erica called bathroom breaks) and she had refreshments for us.
Those who were brave enough sampled the Becherovka, a traditional Czech herbal liqueur that tastes of herbs and spices, is bitter and comes in a flat green bottle. Oh, and it is 38% alcohol. It cures all ills, so they say.
We drove along the Elbe Valley to Dresden...
...also known as Florence on the Elbe.
Dresden is known for its remarkable Baroque architecture...
...as seen in the village square.
Theatreplatz
Zwinger Palace...
...is one of Germany's most famous baroque buildings.
Nymphenbad or 'the bath of nymphs'.
Procession of the Princes.
A mural that is 102 meters long and consists of about 23000 tiles made of Meissen porcelain...
depicts the Saxon princes.
The Stalhof or 'Stable Courtyard'...
part of the Dresden Castle complex.
Bruhl's Terrace...with the Cathedral in the background.
The Martin Luther Monument in Dresden was erected in 1885 in front of the Dresden Frauenkirche. The church was destroyed in WWll (was rebuilt in the 1990's) but the statue survived.
Potsdam on the Havel River was a key city on the border between east and west Germany.
The Glienecke Bridge (also known as the 'Bridge of Spies') is a historic bridge over the Havel where spy exchanges occurred during the Cold War.
Our next stop was Potsdam...just 25 kms south of Berlin.
Potsdam was the residence of the Prussian kings and German Emperor until 1918.
We toured the Neu Palace which was built by Frederick the Great in 1763.
It was not the king's official residence but where he received guests.
It later became the official residence of Frederick 111 and his empress Victoria.
Grotto Hall
Marble Hall
Grand Bedroom
Throne Hall
The Communs ~ Sansoucci Park
The Palaces and parks of Potsdam are all designated as UNESCO sites.
View through Brandenburg Gate down Potsdam's promenade.
We had lunch at a bakery cafe on Brandenburg Strasse and then walked to the St. Peter and Paul Church where we took in part of the Sunday service.
The Dutch Quarter of Potsdam...
built for Dutch builders who were invited to Potsdam by Frederick the Great in the mid 18th century.
On to Berlin...
where we wondered what the pink pipes were for.
Because Berlin is built on a marsh...
the 60 kms of pink pipes serve to pump out excess drainage water.
Berlin Victory Column.
Berlin's famous Ampelmann, or traffic light man are leftovers of the communist era.
That says it all!
Graffiti on the remnants of the wall.
Near the Brandenburg Gate we could stand with one foot in 'West Berlin' and one in 'East Berlin'...
where the foot of the wall was still clearly visible.
We were in Berlin on Septemeber 21st along with 55,000 marathon runners.
We watched runners crossing the finish line beneath the Brandenburg Gate.
And we fought the crowds wherever we went!
Runners posing with the Berlin bear.
Why are there so many bear statues throughout the city?
The bear is their mascot...symbolizing power, endurance and safety.
Monument to the murdered Jews of Europe...
with the Reichstag in the distance.
Bebelplatz ~ Site of the famous Nazi book-burning
National Gallery
Kolonnadenhof ~ courtyard on Museum Island
Kupfergranden Canal in Mitte Berlin.
Though we had been in Berlin just two years ago...
we saw it through new eyes with a tour guide.
So much history...
and some quite recent that we would rather forget.
Next stop...
Warsaw.
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