Up early, skipped breakfast and to the S-bahn at Nordbahnhof by 07:00. Bought a cappuccino and a Schokocroissant (mmmm!) in the DB shop and joined the commuters on the S1. Changed to the S7 at Friedrichstraße and was on my way to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof by 07:12. Arrived at 08:00 after a very quiet and pleasant journey, with plenty of seats to go round in the wide carriage, a few bicycles, and many people catching up on sleep. Once out of Berlin there is a long stretch with no stops, then a flurry of stations near Wannsee and Potsdam.
I crossed the Lange Brücke and walked along the busy main road until I could turn off towards the old town. Brandenburger Straße, the main street, was almost deserted now, with just one or two people crossing the cobbles. The umbrellas outside the cafés were still furled as they waited for customers later in the day. I took photos of Potsdam's 1733 Brandenburg Gate in the strong morning sunshine, smaller and less severe than its Berlin namesake.
Then to the Green Gate (Grünes Gitter) entrance to Park Sanssouci and along the long avenue of trees beside the Marlygarten (originally the kitchen garden of Frederick I) before turning right-angle right for the long straight view towards Schloss Sanssouci – Frederick the Great’s summer palace and one of my main photographic targets. Someone obligingly turned on the fountain as I approached. The Schloss, fronted by its many terraces of vines, faces due south; the strong sun was over my right shoulder – textbook stuff for landscape photography. There were only a few people around, enjoying the sun and taking photos of the Schloss like me, and many of these photos are quite deserted.
The ticket office opened 10 mins early at 09:50 and I had no problem getting on the first (audio) 'tour' of the relatively small but very important Schloss Sanssouci, with a Premium Tageskarte giving me access to all the buildings in the park. A €3.80 discount with my Berlin Welcome card, and an extra €3.00 for a photo pass, making a grand total of €18.20. Fantastic rooms, and a good audio guide not overloaded with too much information. I can't remember any details of course, but I hope I have absorbed some of it and have come away with some reasonable photos.
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