Potsdam

Potsdam is just 20 minutes by rail from our headquarters in Mexikoplatz.  This is an attractive city with a fascinating past.  It was the summer home of Prussian royalty until the 1950s, although the empire disintegrated at the end of World War I.  More recently, it was home to thousands of Russian troops, who did not fully withdraw until 1994.  The KGB also had its German headquarters in the suburb of Berlin, near the Glienicker Bridge which used to mark the border between east and west, and over which spies were exchanged during the Cold War.

This is Schloss Cecilienhof, the last of the Prussian palaces.  Built in the style of an English country house, it is now a hotel.

This is the Orangerie which is associated with the enormous Sanssouci Palace in the vicinity.  Sadly, the building is falling apart, with the towers held up by timber struts bolted together. 

Potsdam has a pleasant shopping street, with a punnet of strawberries for just 1 Euro. Bananas are about 1.99 Euro/kg everywhere.