Although I had planned to visit Kustrin, just over the border in Poland, I decided to stay in Berlin and take the train 30 minutes’ west to the city of Potsdam. I wanted to visit Frederick the Great’s Sans Souci, which is now written as Sanssouci.

As our guide explained during yesterday’s bike tour, Frederick the Great (Frederick II) wanted to be outside of Berlin owing to his obsession with privacy. He let his younger brother, Heinrich, live in the two city palaces. Young Frederick is alleged to have had two intimate male friends, one of whom was beheaded by his father while he was forced to watch. Although Prussia was a garrison state during his father’s reign, young Frederick preferred more rarified pursuits, including music, philosophy and art. He was a close friend of Voltaire, from whom he acquired his humanistic character. Nonetheless, he developed notable military prowess after becoming king, and after a series of successful military campaigns, especially against Austria, he established Prussia as a major European power and greatly expanded his crown lands.

His father forced him to marry Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Beven, but they separated early and rarely saw one another. They never had children.

From the Potsdam Hbf, I took the tram to the vast Sanssouci Park, which covers 300 hectares. There Frederick built his favorite palace, Sans Souci, where he is buried. It was completed in 1747 and has been referred to as the Prussian Versailles. In 1769, he completed a much larger palace, the Neues Palais, although Sans Souci was his favorite. He also built massive gardens dotted with classical statues, a huge Orangerie and other large buildings, including the currently closed Chinese House. The forest also has a botanical garden and dozens of pathways, so it’s not hard to get lost.

Sans Souci is a long walk from Neues Palais. There are other notable sites along the way, including the Orangerie and a number of statues. I imagine today’s pathways were originally trodden by Frederick and his courtiers on horseback.

Finally I arrived at San Souci itself. In the front of the palace are immense gardens and a fountain. I had hoped to see the interior, but timed reservations had to be made in advance.

After spending about thirty minutes enjoying the palace grounds, I walked down a hundred steps to the broad pathway leading to the Luisenplatz, where visitors were enjoying the spring afternoon eating al fresco. From there I grabbed a tram back to the Potsdam Hbf and was lucky to jump on the S-1 back to Schöneberg just as it arrived.

Tonight I’ll research some local restaurants. Tomorrow I plan to visit Tempelhof Airport and the Olympiastadion, two structures that weren’t destroyed during the WW2 Allied bombing campaigns.