Potsdam 2018

     Today is my second night in Potsdam.  I arrived yesterday about 1 pm and took a taxi to my hotel.  The train trip was simple and just under 3 hours door-to-door.  My hotel is the Hotel Brandenburger Tor.  It is very centrally located which makes it, in my mind, a great choice.  My room was not ready when I arrived but that did not matter.  I left my bag and went for a walk and had lunch and a couple of beers.  I got into the room at about 3 pm.  It is a large nice room and the air conditioning they promised actually works efficiently!  I have never understood why the Germans can not get air conditioning right.  A lot of hotels claim to have it but do not.  At least not what an American would recognize as AC.

     Today I went for breakfast at about 9 am.  It was nice and the standard.  Then I walked across the square, Luisen Platz, and went up the street to a corner of the Sans Souci Park.  That was the corner I wanted because I wanted to go to the mausoleum there to see the grave of the Kaiserin Fredrich.  Aber leider war es geschlossen!  So I walked over to the Gemalde Gallerie and went through the collection.  That gallerie is one of the most beautiful art galleries in the world.  The actual room itself is stunning!  The collection is ok with the exception the Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas".  That is worth the price of admission.
     Then I walked all the way down the Hauptallee, with a quick stop to see the Chinesiche Haus, to the Neues Palais.  I bought a ticket for the "Grand Tour" and also to be allowed to take pictures, once I figured out how to turn off the flash on my camera.  The tour was good but I thought I would see more.  I did go back through to read the info cards for the special exhibit, "Kaiserdammerung".  After, I walked all the way back and went to a tapas restaurant for a beer and 2 tapas.  One, grilled vegetables and the other a salad.

     Yesterday, during my walk,  I had gone down Dortustrasse and there were several restaurants there. Last night I ate a Greek Taverna and tonight I ate at the Italian restaurant next door.  Both were what I expected, very good and the price was right.  Tomorrow I go to the museums at the other end of town and Friday  I go home.   I need to mention that the restaurant next to the hotel serves the Hotel's outdoor seating and they have a 1/2 liter of Sangria for 6 euro that is fabulous!