The Park of Palaces in Potsdam

Palace Sanssouci - it's yellow!

Today we jumped into the car and headed about 45 minutes south to Potsdam. Our destination was Park Sanssouci -- and the bunch of palaces located there.

It was incredibly easy drive down. And once on the freeway we could have been anywhere! For a minute, we could imagine we were on 78 heading west to PA. The city of Potsdam, which is quite historic in its own right, looked charming on the drive through. We even spotted a farmer's market. I could imagine spending a long weekend here someday.

So Park Sanssouci is named after Schloss Sanssouci -- a summer palace built by Frederick the Great in the early part of the 1700s. It was built on vineyard and is at the top of a hill, with great views around the manicured park. It's only one story high, but it's long and ornately decorated. And yellow!

The girls enjoying the view of Sanssouci

The grounds of the park are wonderful. There long avenues of wooded park, and then there's a well-tended garden or statue to remind you you're in a very royal place. Leah found a stick, and was making rainbows, Ss and circles in the gravel paths that connected all the buildings. Alice just ran, and ran, and ran.

The Orangerie

The second palace we walked to was the Orangerie. It was built to house all the guests who would come visit in the summer and party, including Fredrick's sister who was married to Tsar Nicholas I. The palace had a very tropical feel with palm trees and lighter brick. It also had two greenhouse wings, to winter those palm trees and other tropical plants.

It was also on a hillside with a maze of fountains and statues. In fact, the entire park was full of fountains at every turn. Had I known that, I would have packed a towel and a change of clothes for Alice -- as she was mesmerized and near-falling in several times. Even her barbie was in danger of going for a swim.

Neues Palais

The final palace we looked it (and we missed a few, to give you an idea of how BIG this park is) was the Neues Palais. It was my favorite. Pink brick, columns and a green dome. Very Baroque and feminine! More than 200 rooms, according to the guide book. I'll take it!

It was chilly today, with an even cooler breeze. I think it's definitely fall!