Yesterday we went to Potsdam which was really lovely.  The city is adorable, mostly made of cobblestone streets, with gorgeous architecture.  There are actually 15 palaces/gardens in the city of Potsdam, and we just visited one (one of the most famous ones), called Sans Souci.

This was the summer palace for Fredrick the Great, King of Prussia in the 1700s.  He grew annoyed at having to run his family as well as the country, and he wanted a sprawling estate where he could only be surrounded by his dogs, hold parties, philosophize, and listen to [classical] music.  The palace was built in 2 years (!!), and had a separate guest house that is nearly as big as the palace itself.  Amazingly, the wood (and marble) floors in the palace and guest palace are all still the original floors from when it was built, and they are in great condition.  As you will see in the photos (see below post), the windows were huge and they would be opened up during the evening parties, to gaze at the sprawling gardens and watch fireworks over the city.
Fredrick the Great was like the James Franco type - he slept very little, was very organized and disciplined, and ran the country very efficiently.

After touring Sans Souci, we went into the city center of Potsdam and walked around/ate lunch for a bit, and of course took many photos of the architecture.  It is a very nice little town, and my host mother told me tonight that it is where many wealthy people reside (such as film or fashion stars who work in Berlin but want a more suburban estate).  As such, the prices in the town are quite steep.

Lastly, one thing I thought that was really interesting about the tour of Sans Souci was what our tour guide said about how these palaces' histories fit into modern (20th century) history.  Potsdam itself was heavily bombed towards the end of World War II, so much of the city was destroyed (like Berlin).  However the bombing was not a one time raid, but in smaller installments, which (by luck, he insisted) meant that these 15 palaces/estates survived the raids.
A somewhat separate comment that our guide made was equally as interesting to me, as a student of history.  He mentioned Potsdam's situation during the Cold War when the Wall was up.  He said that his father was on the train going to work, as he did daily, when he was taken away and was unable to return to his family (he didn't say if this was for months, or years, but either way).  I then realized that it was the first time that I'd actually heard someone, in person, describe how they were effected by this period in time, which I've spent so much time learning about in school.  It is a great reminder of how few years ago many of these historical "issues" (as they'd say here) happened.

Here's a snapshot from the Sans Souci tour.  To see the rest of the photos, please see/read the below post.