I can now vouch for that. The lavish palace city overwhelmed me while simultaneously delivering magnificent sunburns to most of the students in my group.
In the past few days I have also gone on a boat tour of Berlin and heard multiple lectures, but nothing has been as impressive as the sights and history of Potsdam. (Click the link for a brief history)
To save myself considerable effort, I'm going to give you the Cliff Notes version of the tour, i.e., what I thought was really impressive and thought provoking.
The first was an impressive rococo-style palace in the old garden that had a terraced vineyard and greenhouse sections. Atop the palace are the words "Sans Souci", meaning "without a care". In other words, this was the Prussian King's getaway palace.Not only was this ostentatious structure framed by several hundred steps, but also trees and foliage from all over the world were planted nearby. Perhaps the most interesting is the Japanese cake tree. Sadly, this large deciduous tree does not produce slices of cake. Rather, it smells like cake (or cotton candy).
I also enjoyed our walk through a quiet neighborhood on our way to the Neue Gardinen, but I was transfixed by a miracle along the way. Imagine the scene: about 20 American tourists are following a man of average height and build along a shady sidewalk when they stop in front of an attractive brick structure. An iron gate separates the group from the building but they can clearly see benches, bicycle racks, and and the tell-tale signs of a children play area. Then, the guide simply explains that this was the former KGB headquarters in Eastern Germany and that that whole section of town was sectioned off for their private use. It was here that prisoners were brought, vile plans devised, and murders realized. Yet, now it is a peaceful place. Your mind quickly thinks, "How can this be? Can it be that the taint of evil is vanished from this place?" In fact, it has! It is a miracle! Just as the dead zone, or no-man's land of the Berlin Wall, has disappeared in the city and become forested in the peripheral areas, so too has this place been healed of the blight that once festered in its halls.
The last great stop of our tour was the site of the 1945 Potsdam Talks between the Big Three Powers of World War II: the U.S., Great Britain, and the U.S.S.R.. It took place in a beautiful palace built for the crown prince of Prussia. This was the place where the West, the Allies, we failed the world and abandoned Eastern Europe to 45 years of Soviet oppression, murder, and worse. Stalin pulled a fast one on his allies - he was the only individual to attend all three of the conferences (in Tehran, Yalta, Potsdam). In the middle of the Potsdam conference, Churchill lost his office due to elections and Roosevelt had passed away. The damage that had begun in Yalta continued in Potsdam. If only we had been more cautious, more doubting of the Soviets. Yet, what's done is done.There is simply too much to explain here. I'm considering making an Adobe Presenter Presentation for family (and maybe friends) with all of my photos. That way, I can record my voice (and/or video) explaining everything and it would be like I'm right there with them! That's assuming, of course, that they want to have the pleasure of my virtual presence.
By the way, today was fantastic. The Church services were wonderful and I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at dinner and on a walk with a family from the local ward (congregation). I've been spoiled rotten for the past three weeks now. I suppose this goes to show that the Lord looks after those who stop everything - even their vacations - to worship on His holy day.
No comments:
Post a Comment