Today was our first time out of the city of Berlin since the start of the trip, and I think we were all a little excited to get outside of the city buzz for awhile. We travelled to the city of Potsdam in the state of Brandenburg, where we walked more in one half day than I've probably ever walked in my life (cue the tylenol and glühwein!). We learned about much of Potsdam history, both from the 18th century and the 20th.
We started in the morning at Park Sanssouci, home of many of the palaces and gardens of Frederic der Große and Frederic Wilhelm. We walked for several hours through the park, visiting many palaces, a Roman Bath (that was purely for decoration!), a Chinoiserie-style Tea house, an Orangerie (place to store fruit plants in the winter, sort of like a greenhouse), and more. We learned all sorts of history about Frederic the Great, the king who brought the Enlightenment to Prussia. Frederic was most notably friends with Voltaire, as well as many other prominent philosophers. THis influence spread to Berlin and other parts of otherwise conservative Germany, causing periods of religious tolerance, promotion of higher education, and cultural booms. Frederic's palace, the original Sans Souci (meaning without troubles), was beautiful, but what I found most interesting was his descendant's home, the New Palace. Constructed shortly after war, materials were short, but FW wanted to show everyone that his kingdom was still mighty, so he constructed a new palace. However, in order to cut back on costs, he had many of the "bricks" of the outer walls painted onto flat plaster! Shortcuts like this made building an elaborate palace possible on a tighter budget.
For lunch we went to a small cafe in downtown Potsdam (sehr schön!), and after we took a tour of the city itself, which is currently one of the wealthiest cities in Germany. This is probably the best time to say a word about our tourguides, Mychal and Heika. They are great friends of Dr. Wolf, and Mychal is also a partner with North Central, occasionally teaching seminar classes back in Chicago. His wife, Heika, grew up in West Berlin before the fall of the wall, and Mychal grew up in Potsdam, part of East Germany. The tour through Potsdam showed us the many different neighborhoods of Potsdam, and both Mychal and Heika were able to give us some context, Heika about the 18th century Prussian origins, and Mychal about the city's state before the fall of the wall. It was fascinating to learn so much about life in East Germany, and it was so amazing to hear firsthand accounts of people who were actually at the protests for the removal of the wall.
Mychal's father was a pastor, and the Church in East Berlin was one of the few ways that people could come together to exchange ideas, particularly anti-regime ones. Everyone from artists to punk rockers, LGBTQIA individuals to political dissenters gathered in churches to talk about what was going on and what could be done, and Mychal was right in the middle of it. His own brother was arrested by the Stasi, and no one could even tell his family that he had been taken or where he had gone, for risk of being kidnapped themselves.
After learning about all of this, we were taken to their home in the Dutch Quarter, where they have a lovely flat in what used to be an organ-maker's shop. They live there with their three young children, and Friday late afternoon they invited us into their home for an absolute feast of cookies, candies, cakes, fruit, and all sorts of drinks, ranging from coffee and tea to Glühwein and Schnaps. The spread was beautiful (oh my gosh the food!) but what was even more amazing was the love and kindness shared with us by people who we had just met. By the end of the evening we truly felt as if we were old friends, and they were the most amazing hosts.
After a couple of hours many of our students went to a hockey game, but the few of us who stayed behind remained at their home a bit longer. We helped clean up a bit, sat around for a bit more, and then when we finally left we decided to go to Hackeschermarkt for some fun. We rode the Ferris Wheel, I ate Goulash, and we even got some desserts (I finally tried Quark! Yum!). It was a lovely evening.
Today was an amazing day, and I'm so glad to have been able to have spent it with such wonderful hosts. Potsdam is an amazing city, but what made it so special was their hospitality and kindness. It certainly won't be forgotten.
I must go to sleep as we have an early start tomorrow. Tschau!
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