December 13
It was a sad morning as we said goodbye to the crew and the Viking Beyla this morning. Love being on the Viking ships! We woke up to a fog thick as pea soup on the river. After a light breakfast we were on board the bus for an 8:45am departure. Drove about an hour and a half to arrive in Pottsdam. The small city is known for it being the meeting place for Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, and Winston Churchill at the palace to decide how Germany & Berlin would be divided among the allies at the conclusion of World War II. We walked around the palace - couldn't go in as I did six years ago with my sister as it's under renovation. Back on the bus for a short drive to the town center where we had a two hour lunch break to explore the not one.....not two.....but three Christmas Markets. We were MOST fortunate as there is a Dutch Christmas Market that is held annually in Pottsdam, but it's only open ONE WEEKEND a year and just so happened to be this weekend. We went there as we had way, WAY too much time for our break (two hours and change). But as it turned out I was glad we did as I found a mulled wine stand and asked for the more decorative red cup. But I was told that was for a special kind of holiday drink. Bring it on I said! The cup came with a little metal device on top which the guy put a large sugar cube on. Then he lit the whole thing on fire - and let me tell you the flames were pretty high and lasted several minutes. You have to look closely in the sequence of photos, but I circled the flames which are clearly visible. We then walked back to the second market where we found sausage when we enjoyed as our lunch. And at the third Christmas Market we wandered around and found a stall with socks! WHOOOOO HOOOOO! Found my souvenir socks and they were Christmas-themed, which made them ideal. Kim and I also shared a mug of hot chocolate as we watched skaters glide around the small rink in the center of the market.
After killing off the rest of our free time we were back on the bus for a short ride to Sans Souci, the summer palace of Frederick the Great, king of Germany in the 1500's. It was a "small" palace but the decorations inside were remarkable as was the view off the back area behind the palace. Back on the bus for the final one hour of the trip. As we arrived in Berlin the entire city is lit up with festive Christmas lights and decorations. Once we arrived at our hotel, the Inter Continental, Pam, Bob, Kim and I quickly got our rooms from CJ - remember he's the program director who was with us in Prague, on the ship and now in Berlin - had arrived earlier with all the luggage. We quickly went to our rooms then walked across the street for dinner at a very good Italian place. Afterwards we all agreed to call it a night as our final day tomorrow includes a four hour panoramic tour of Berlin in the morning, followed by a dinner and "Berlin by Night" four hour tour that will put us back at the hotel around 10:30pm. Up and out the door at 6:15am Monday to head to the airport - a whirlwind final day!
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