Potsdam isn’t just associated with the pomp and elegance of the Hohenzollern rulers. It also has a very different past dating from the Cold War era when it was firmly entrenched behind the Iron Curtain as part of the DDR. So close to West Berlin and yet light years away in so many respects. We …
A little postscript following on from last week’s post about Sanssouci (see here). To the side of the front terrace you come across a curious tomb. Covered with potatoes, this is the final resting place of Frederick The Great! The reason for the potatoes is apparently because Frederick introduced them into Prussia in …
Sanssouci was commissioned by Frederick The Great of Prussia and built between 1745 and 1747. “A crown is just a hat that lets the rain in” he once said! He had modest tastes and wanted a place he could retreat to, far away from the pomp and grandeur of the Berlin Court. The inscription above …
Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg, is only half an hour or so’s train ride from the centre of Berlin. With its elegant imperial buildings, pretty cobbled streets and laid-back vibe, it is a highly popular attraction, especially at weekends. We were introduced to this lovely city on my first …
Back on track with my Berlin series this week after a few weeks detour to Western Australia! To fit into context you can find my previous Berlin posts here. Although only a 5 minute walk from our hotel by the River Spree, we’d somehow managed to miss seeing the Nikolaiviertel (Nicholas Quarter) on our previous …
Apart from taking a walking tour (see here and here for more details ), another great way to see Berlin is by taking a river cruise. We hadn’t done so on our first trip to the city so were keen to make amends this time. There are a large number of pleasure boats cruising along the Spree and …
We’ve visited Berlin a couple of times in recent years – once in 2013 and the other earlier this year (Monsieur also made a day trip to East Berlin with his West German host family as part of a school exchange trip way back in 1978!). Both our recent trips were in spring, when the …
A couple of weekends of Grandmum Le Chic duties hasn’t left much time for blogging! However although I could go on for ever (given the amount of photos we managed to take!) it’s time to say farewell to Lake Como for the time being. I’m just going to finish off the series with a montage …
Another trip down memory lane this week – a quick tour of Como City and its environs (you can find an excellent visitor’s guide here) where we stayed on our first trip to the lake in 2009. We only had 3 nights here on this trip and arrived mid afternoon on the first day, …
Today’s post is a blast from the past going back to our first trip to Lake Como in 2009. However I thought it was worth including in the recent Como series of posts, especially if you’re staying in Como City, as the funicular (funicolare) is a great little trip to take from the town up …
Le Chic En Rose 