Sunday, July 31, 2011

MozART GROUP www.mozartgroup.org

Thanks to Ann for sharing this video of talented and entertaining Polish musicians,


Saturday, July 30, 2011

Nudny!

Spent much of the day listening to music, studying, reading and not going anywhere because of rain and gray skies.  Hope it will improve tomorrow.  Joan had two conversations with new people on the Exchange.  One of the days when nothing much happens to talk about.

Sp臋dzi艂 wiele dni s艂uchania muzyki, nauki, czytania i nigdzie nie odchodz臋 z powodu deszczu i niebo szare. Nadziej臋, 偶e poprawi to jutro. Joanna mia艂a dwie rozmowy z nowymi lud藕mi na gie艂dzie. Jeden z dni, kiedy niewiele si臋 dzieje, o czym m贸wi膰.

Friday, July 29, 2011

A new film-maker!!

Our grandaughter made her first film and posted it on you tube.  It's a murder mystery :-)
http://youtu.be/tJdR6rqhS_A

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Bye, Bye, view!


Shopping day today and we made it under 100zl for the week, 99.93 :-)

Thanks, Ann, for the correction on my comment reply.  I know better but should have checked it before I posted it.

We went to Browar today to Omnibus book store because an acquaintance made me aware of a book that could help us.  It's a condensed version of several stories and it would be helpful because on the left side of the book the story is in English but on the right side it is translated into Polish.  It will save us a lot of time looking up words we haven't learned or used yet in Polish.  Unforutnately, they were out of the book and won't have it back until next week so we will have to wait.

The weather again was gray, cloudy with a little rain but it doesn't stop the construction of a new building that, I'm afraid, will take away our view of the church from our balcony.  They have been working on it for a few months and it looks like it will be at least two levels high, blocking the view.

Dzie艅 na zakupach dzisiaj i uda艂o si臋 w 100z艂 za tydzie艅, 99.93 :-)

Dzi臋ki, Ann, korekty na moj膮 odpowied藕 komentarz. Wiem, 偶e lepiej, ale powinny mie膰 sprawdzone przed wys艂a艂em go.

Poszli艣my do Browar dzi艣 Omnibus ksi臋garni bo znajomy u艣wiadomi艂y mi ksi膮偶ki, kt贸re mog艂yby nam pom贸c. Jest to skr贸cona wersja kilka opowiada艅 i by艂oby pomocne, poniewa偶 po lewej stronie ksi膮偶ki historia jest w j臋zyku angielskim, ale po prawej stronie jest przet艂umaczone na j臋zyk polski. Zaoszcz臋dzi to nam wiele czasu na szukanie wyraz贸w, 偶e nie dowiedzieli艣my lub jeszcze stosowany w j臋zyku polskim. Unforutnately, by艂y z ksi膮偶ki i nie b臋dzie mia艂 go dopiero w przysz艂ym tygodniu, wi臋c b臋dziemy musieli czeka膰.

Pogoda zn贸w by艂 szary, pochmurny z troch臋 deszczu, ale nie ko艅czy budow臋 nowego budynku, kt贸ry, obawiam si臋, zabierze nas widok na ko艣ci贸艂 z naszego balkonu. Pracowali na to przez kilka miesi臋cy i wygl膮da na to, b臋dzie to co najmniej dwa poziomy wysoki, blokowanie widoku.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Tues-Weds.

Obviously not much happened yesterday. After several exchange conversations I think I finally have a hold on the difference between podoba mi si臋 and lubi膰.  Those are two Polish ways of saying "like" but they are used with different meanings.

Today was our meeting with Z at Kandulski's and of course we told him all about our trip to Potsdam and gave one of the ladies behind the counter a magnetic sign with Potsdam on it because she collects them for her refridgerator.

Kind of a dreary day today with rain in the morning and then just clouds in the afternoon.  I planned out our drive to Prague in September and on the way back we'll stop near Wis艂a to visit with another American who has been living in Poland for a long time.

Aug 12-15 is another big event in Pozna艅, in the Old Market Square will be the culinary capital of the Polish. All through the 5th National Festival of Good Taste. Previously, we had a chance to see the culinary theater.  OFDS is one of the biggest outdoor events of its kind in the country. From Friday until Monday at the Old Market will be able to try unusual dishes from around the world. There will be Polish specialties - drahimski honey, sheep cheese Podhale, or fish with Kashubian. It's a food festival with foods from all over Europe along with competitions in cooking.

Oczywi艣cie, 偶e nie wiele si臋 wczoraj. Po kilku rozmowach wymiany My艣l臋, 偶e wreszcie mamy trzyma膰 si臋 r贸偶nica mi臋dzy podoba mi sie i lubi膰. S膮 to dwa sposoby polskim powiedzenie "jak", ale s膮 one u偶ywane w r贸偶nych znaczeniach.

Dzisiaj by艂o spotkanie z Z w Kandulski i oczywi艣cie powiedzieli艣my mu o naszej podr贸偶y do Poczdamu i da艂 jedn膮 z pa艅 za lad膮 znak magnetyczne z Poczdamie, bo ona je zbiera jej lod贸wk臋.

Rodzaj ponury dzie艅 dzi艣 deszcz rano i po prostu chmury po po艂udniu. I zaplanowane nasze d膮偶enie do Pragi we wrze艣niu i w drodze powrotnej b臋dziemy zatrzymuj膮 si臋 w pobli偶u Wis艂y, aby odwiedzi膰 kolejny Amerykanin, kt贸ry mieszka w Polska przez d艂ugi czas.

15/12 sierpnia jest kolejnym wielkim wydarzeniem w Poznaniu, na Starym Rynku b臋dzie kulinarn膮 stolic膮 Polski. Wszystko przez 5. Og贸lnopolskiego Festiwalu Dobrego Smaku. Wcze艣niej mieli艣my okazj臋 zobaczy膰 teatr kulinarny. OFDS jest jedn膮 z najwi臋kszych imprez plenerowych w swoim rodzaju w kraju. Od poniedzia艂ku do pi膮tku na Starym Rynku b臋dzie mo偶na spr贸bowa膰 niezwyk艂ych da艅 z ca艂ego 艣wiata. Nie b臋dzie polskich specja艂贸w - drahimski mi贸d, Podhale ser owczy, lub ryby z kaszubskim. Jest to festiwal 偶ywno艣ci z 偶ywno艣ci z ca艂ej Europy wraz z zawod贸w w gotowaniu.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Reorganization.



I spent a lot of time today reorganizing my picture collection of old and new photos. Now I've got the ones I've taken since we arrived in 2007 put into each year since then, places we visited each month of each year and where they were taken.  Using Paint.Net I've been able to put dates and who is in the picture on many of them.  I dislike looking at photos and not knowing who the person is in it.  When I first started scanning in old photos back in 2001 I was able to put that kind of information on them and, while it does distract a little from the pictures, at least now it will be known who is there and approximately when the photo was taken.  I have so many pictures that were either sent to me in the mail or over the internet from different relatives families that the collection is quite large now.  Combining them with the ones I already had I think I have about 13-14 thousand.

Later in the afternoon and it being nice outside, we took a little trip to our favorite cafe to have coffee and watch the parade of people go by.  I especially like to watch the little kids run around the rynek chasing pidgeons.  They run so fast it's amazing they never fall down.

One very interesting thing happened as we were walking through Sansoucci Park in Potsdam. Down one street we came upon a black and white sign that had one word on it..........Ende.  My grandmothers maiden name was Ende and try as I have to find a trace of her all I found out is her mother and fathers name.  I know she was born in Gr贸dzi膰, Poland, a little town south of Golina and have been there twice but have not found anymore so far.

Sp臋dzi艂em du偶o czasu dzisiaj reorganizacji mojej kolekcji zdj臋膰 zdj臋膰 starych i nowych. Teraz mam te wzi膮艂em od przyjechali艣my w 2007 roku wprowadzone do ka偶dego roku od tego czasu, miejsca, kt贸re odwiedzili艣my ka偶dego miesi膮ca ka偶dego roku i gdzie zosta艂y zrobione. Korzystanie Paint.Net by艂em w stanie wprowadzi膰 daty i kto jest na zdj臋ciu na wielu z nich. Nie lubi臋, patrz膮c na zdj臋cia i nie wiedz膮c, kim dana osoba jest w nim. Gdy zacz膮艂em skanowanie starych zdj臋膰 w 2001 roku uda艂o mi si臋 umie艣ci膰 tego rodzaju informacje na ich temat i cho膰 nie rozprasza膰 si臋 troch臋 od tego na zdj臋ciach, przynajmniej teraz b臋dzie wiadomo, kto tam i mniej wi臋cej kiedy zdj臋cie zosta艂o podj膮膰. Mam tyle zdj臋膰, kt贸re by艂y wysy艂ane do mnie w mailu lub przez Internet z r贸偶nych krewnych rodziny, 偶e kolekcja jest do艣膰 du偶y teraz. 艁膮cz膮c je z tymi, mia艂em ju偶 my艣l臋, 偶e oko艂o 13-14 tys.

Po po艂udniu i bycie mi艂ym zewn膮trz, zrobili艣my ma艂膮 wycieczk臋 do naszej ulubionej kawiarni na kaw臋 i obserwowa膰 parady ludzi mijaj膮. Szczeg贸lnie podoba mi si臋 ogl膮da膰 ma艂e dzieci biegaj膮 pidgeons Rynek goni. Biegaj膮 tak szybko, to niesamowite, 偶e nigdy nie spadaj膮.

Jednym z bardzo interesuj膮cych rzeczy dzia艂o si臋, jak szli艣my przez Sansoucci Park w Poczdamie. W d贸艂 o jedn膮 ulic臋 natkn臋li艣my si臋 na czarno-bia艂y znak, 偶e si臋 jedno s艂owo na to .......... Ende. Moje babcie nazwisko panie艅skie Ende i spr贸bowa膰, jak mam znale藕膰 艣ladu po niej wszystkie dowiedzia艂em si臋, jest matk膮 i nazwisko ojca. Wiem, 偶e urodzi艂 si臋 w Gr贸dzi膰, Polska, troch臋 na po艂udnie miasta Golina i by艂y tam dwa razy, ale nie znalaz艂em ju偶 tak daleko.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Sunday morning.

Nice morning today so we went off the the rynek early and stayed for about two hours. In the afternoon we spent some time studying, reading and finishing up our lesson for this coming Friday.  I had another nice exchange conversation and then in the evening we watched our favorite soap opera, Ranczo. It's a funny show about a young Polish American girl who returns to the small village of her grandmother and rebuilds the manor house left to her.

In the Polish language I've been working on learning the difference between..podoba mi si臋 and lubi膰.  In English they both mean the same thing....to like...but they are used for different circumstances in Polish.

Nicea dzi艣 rano wi臋c poszed艂 Rynku pocz膮tku i pozosta艂 przez oko艂o dwie godziny. Po po艂udniu sp臋dzili艣my troch臋 czasu na studiowanie, czytanie i ko艅czyli艣my nasz膮 lekcj臋 w pi膮tek nadchodzi. I jeszcze jedn膮 mi艂膮 rozmow臋, wymian臋, a nast臋pnie wieczorem ogl膮dali艣my nasze ulubione opera mydlana, Ranczo. To zabawna serial o m艂odej polskiej dziewczyny, Amerykanin, kt贸ry wraca do ma艂ej miejscowo艣ci babci i odbudowuje dw贸r lewej do niej.

W j臋zyku polskim Pracuj臋 na uczenie si臋 r贸偶nica mi臋dzy .. podoba mi sie i lubi膰. W j臋zyku angielskim oba znacz膮 to samo .... na jak ... ale s膮 one u偶ywane do r贸偶nych okoliczno艣ci w j臋zyku polskim.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Home Again.




Our time in Potsdam is over and we had a wonderful time there. The weather was excellent except for the last day when it rained in the afternoon. We woke up early and it was raining so we decided to pack and leave. We tried to retrace our step arriving in Potsdam but took too many wrong turns and ended up on a road going through a forest towards Magdeburg, the wrong direction. Eventual we found our way to the Berlin ring that headed toward Frankfurt, the right way. Once we croseed the bridge over the Oder river, the border between Germany and Poland, we encountered the usual road construction with truck after truck after truck waiting in line to move on. The delay lasted an hour and a half and event though we left at 8:40AM we didn't reach Pozna艅 until 2:30PM. I swear it's the last time we head west until they have the road construction finished.

One observation Joan and I both made was that very few of the women we saw made an effort to look good when they were out in public. The whole time there were saw only two women wearing high heels and well dressed. Most of the time they wore only sandals and blue jeans. It was different from what we normally see in Pozna艅 so it was curious for us. The palaces we say were all very large compared to what we have seen in Poland and the gardens of each were very extensive. We did not see any dilapatated houses or any „bad” neighborhoods but then we weren't looking for them either. The parts of the city that we are saw were all in good condition and there was also a lot of renovations going on. In general, the people were friendly but it was still strange to hear the German language surrounding us everyday. It is not a language we like. Potsdam itself is a beautiful city and certainly worth a visit to. There are so many interesting places to visit besides just palaces and we didn't have enough time in four days to see it all.

Nasz czas w Poczdamie si臋 sko艅czy艂a i mieli艣my wspania艂y czas. Pogoda by艂a doskona艂a, z wyj膮tkiem ostatniego dnia, kiedy pada艂 deszcz po po艂udniu. Obudzili艣my si臋 wcze艣nie i pada艂 deszcz, wi臋c zdecydowali艣my si臋 spakowa膰 i wyjecha膰. Starali艣my si臋 odtworzy膰 nasz krok przybywaj膮cych w Poczdamie, ale mia艂 zbyt wiele z艂y obr贸t i znalaz艂 si臋 na drodze w kierunku przez las w kierunku Magdeburg, kierunek 藕le. Ewentualne znale藕li艣my drodze na ring w Berlinie, 偶e na czele w kierunku Frankfurtu, we w艂a艣ciwy spos贸b. Po croseed mostu nad rzek膮 Odr膮, na granicy mi臋dzy Niemcami a Polska, spotkali艣my zwykle budownictwa drogowego z ci臋偶ar贸wk膮 po ci臋偶ar贸wki po ci臋偶ar贸wek czeka w kolejce, aby przej艣膰 dalej.Op贸藕nienie trwa艂o godzin臋 i p贸艂 i zdarzenia cho膰 w lewo na 08:40 nie dotrze膰 do Poznania do 14:30. Przysi臋gam, 偶e to ostatni raz na zach贸d, do czasu ich budowy drogi zako艅czeniu.

 Jedna z obserwacji Joan i ja si臋, 偶e bardzo niewiele kobiet widzieli艣my do艂o偶y艂a stara艅, aby dobrze wygl膮da膰, gdy byli w miejscach publicznych. Ca艂y czas tam widzia艂em tylko dwie kobiety noszeniem wysokich obcas贸w i dobrze ubrany. Wi臋kszo艣膰 czasu nosili tylko sanda艂y i niebieskie d偶insy. To by艂 inny od tego, co zazwyczaj zobaczy膰 w Poznaniu, wi臋c to by艂 ciekawy dla nas. Pa艂ace m贸wimy by艂y bardzo du偶e w por贸wnaniu do tego co widzieli艣my w Polska i ogrody ka偶dego by艂y bardzo rozleg艂e. Nie widzieli艣my 偶adnych dilapatated domy lub "z艂e" dzielnice, ale to nie szukali ich albo.Cz臋艣ci miasta, 偶e jeste艣my widzia艂em by艂y w dobrym stanie i nie by艂o r贸wnie偶 wiele remont贸w dzieje. Og贸lnie rzecz bior膮c, ludzie przyjazny, ale jeszcze by艂o dziwne us艂ysze膰 j臋zyk niemiecki otaczaj膮cej nas codzienno艣ci. Nie jest to j臋zyk lubimy to. Potsdam sam w sobie jest pi臋kne miasto i na pewno warto odwiedzi膰. Jest tak wiele ciekawych miejsc do odwiedzenia, opr贸cz tylko pa艂ace i nie mieli艣my wystarczaj膮co du偶o czasu, w ci膮gu czterech dni, aby zobaczy膰 to wszystko.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Last day in Potsdam.


Our last day in Potsdam we wanted to go to Babelsburg and visit the park and it's castles. The ensemble of palaces and gardens were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990. Babelsburg park is the work of two important landscape gardeners and was begun in 1833. Prince Puckler-Muskau completed it in 1842-68. More than 20 lookout points were designed to connect the park with the Havel River landscape, as well as the city landscape. Created in an English Tudor style in 1834-49, Babelsburg Palace was built for the later Emperor William I and his wife, Augusta, who used it as a summer residence for more than 50 years. It was also the place where Truman, Stalin and Churchill spent the nights after their Potsdam conference meetings.

It's a really beautiful building with great views of the river and many nice little gardens. Behind the castle is another building of good size that was being occupied when we visited so we couldn't get to close. Unfortunately, the building is going through renovation so it wasn't possible to go today.  It's only open on the weekends.  We walked around for an hour taking pictures but then it began to rain and we decided to leave.

We still wanted to visit Glienecki Palace which is across the river but the rain prevented our walking through Glienecki Park to access it. Glienecki Bridge is a famous bridge because in the center of it was the dividing point between East and West Berlin during the old day. If you look closely at the picture of the bridge you can see that it is painted two different shades of green representing the division. This bridge was also the site of many spy exchanges between the east and west.

We took a little side trip through the forest and found two interesting churches that I also took pictures of. Maybe tomorrow morning, if the sun is out, we will stop and see the Glienecki Palace before we leave for home. Four days is not really enough time to see everything here in Potsdam. There are many interesting places to visit besides the palaces. The Dutch quarter, across from our hotel was interesting because of it's origin. Evidently, Frederick the Great liked Dutch people and their craftsmanship so he built the houses for them hoping they would be filled with craftsmen from Holland. Only 22 families came.

Also just north of where we stayed was a collection of wooden Russian houses built by Frederick and occupied by Russians but the ownership of the house could only be passed on to a son. Today there is only one of the original families descendants living there.

I like this city of Potsdam and would consider coming back again to spend more time here in a future visit.

After reading up on the Potsdam conference I see I made a mistake in stating President Roosevelt was one of the participants.  It was President Truman who was there and also he was the one who gave the order for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Nasz ostatni dzie艅 w Poczdamie chcieli艣my, aby przej艣膰 do Babelsburg i odwiedzi膰 park i zamki. Zesp贸艂 pa艂ac贸w i ogrod贸w zosta艂y dodane do listy 艢wiatowego Dziedzictwa UNESCO w 1990 roku. Babelsburg parku jest dzie艂em dw贸ch wa偶nych ogrodnik贸w krajobrazu i rozpocz臋to w 1833 roku. Ksi膮偶臋 P眉ckler-Muskau ona zako艅czona w 1842/68. Wi臋cej ni偶 20 punkt贸w widokowych by艂y przeznaczone do pod艂膮czenia parku krajobraz rzeki Havel, a tak偶e krajobraz miasta. Utworzono w stylu angielskim Tudor w 1834/49, Babelsburg Pa艂ac zosta艂 zbudowany na p贸藕niejszy cesarz Wilhelm I i jego 偶ony, Augusta, kt贸rzy u偶ywali go jako letnia rezydencja ponad 50 lat. By艂o to r贸wnie偶 miejsce, w kt贸rym Truman, Stalin i Churchill sp臋dzi艂 nocy po Poczdamie na zorganizowanie konferencji.

To naprawd臋 pi臋kny budynek z pi臋knymi widokami na rzek臋 i wiele przyjemnych ogrod贸w ma艂o. Za zamkiem jest kolejny budynek dobrej wielko艣ci, kt贸ry by艂 zaj臋ty, kiedy odwiedzi艂 wi臋c nie mogli艣my dosta膰 si臋 blisko. Niestety, budynek jest obecnie w trakcie remontu, wi臋c nie by艂o to mo偶liwe do dzi艣. It'sw otwarty tylko w weekendy. Chodzili艣my przez godzin臋, bior膮c ale potem zacz膮艂 pada膰 deszcz i zdecydowali艣my si臋 opu艣ci膰.

Ci膮gle chcia艂 odwiedzi膰 Pa艂ac Glienecki kt贸ry jest po drugiej stronie rzeki, ale deszcz uniemo偶liwi艂 nasze spacery po Glienecki Park do niej dost臋p. Glienecki Bridge jest s艂ynny most, poniewa偶 w centrum by艂o punktem podzia艂u mi臋dzy Wschodem i Zachodem w Berlinie w starych dni. Je艣li przyjrzysz si臋 uwa偶nie na zdj臋cie mostu wida膰, 偶e s膮 namalowane dwa r贸偶ne odcienie zieleni reprezentuj膮cych podzia艂u. Ten most by艂 tak偶e miejscem wielu gie艂dach szpieg mi臋dzy wschodnim i zachodnim.

Zrobili艣my ma艂膮 wycieczk臋 stronie przez las i znalaz艂 dwa interesuj膮ce ko艣cio艂y, 偶e ja te偶 wzi膮艂 zdj臋cia. Mo偶e jutro rano, gdy s艂o艅ce znajduje si臋, przestaniemy i zobaczy膰 Glienecki Pa艂ac przed wyjazdem do domu. Cztery dni nie naprawd臋 ma艂o czasu, 偶eby zobaczy膰 wszystko tutaj jest w Poczdamie. Istnieje wiele ciekawych miejsc do odwiedzenia, opr贸cz pa艂ac贸w. Dzielnica Holenderska, naprzeciwko naszego hotelu by艂 interesuj膮cy ze wzgl臋du na jego pochodzenie. Oczywi艣cie, Fryderyk Wielki, jak Holendrzy i ich kunsztu tak zbudowa艂 dom贸w dla nich nadziej臋, 偶e b臋d膮 one wype艂nione rzemie艣lnik贸w z Holandii. Tylko 22 rodzin przyszed艂.
R贸wnie偶 na p贸艂noc od gdzie mieszkali艣my by艂a kolekcja drewnianych rosyjskich dom贸w budowanych przez Fryderyka i zaj臋te przez Rosjan, ale w艂asno艣ci domu mo偶e by膰 przekazany tylko na syna. Dzi艣 jest tylko jednym z pierwszych potomk贸w rodzin mieszkaj膮cych tam.

I tak w Poczdamie i rozwa偶y przed powrotem do sp臋dzaj膮 wi臋cej czasu tutaj w przysz艂o艣ci odwiedzi膰.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Potsdam Day 2 & 3

My feet are killing me :-) We walked and walked and walked from 11AM to 4:30PM. We left our hotel and started with breakfast at a cafe on Hegelalaee Strasse. Joan had two fried eggs with ham and salad and I had three scrambled eggs with bacon, baguettes and salad. After breakfast we went across the way to the tourist information center and signed up for a tour tomorrow of Sansoucci Palace.

From that office we started walking to Sansoucci Park, about 6 blocks away. The park is really incredible. The park was actually developed in a vineyard by Fredrick the Great. It's considered one of the most important parks in Europe.

Upon entering the park from the east, there are a series of fountains that are some distance from each other but in a perfect straight line. Surrounding these fountains are semi-circular flower beds with all types of flowers and colors. We turned immediately to our left and went to visit the Church of Peace. It's unique, almost surrounded by water like a castle, with a very tall square tower. No one else was in the church except for an organist who was playing.

We left the church, walked up to the first fountain and then past it to the right and up a series of steps to the first building, the Picture Gallery. The name is not that impressive but the building was. It's an extremely long building of two rooms designed specifically to showcase the pictures owned by the king at that time. Opposite the huge windows hang the portraits and pictures painted by many famous artists. We spent about an hour there and then moved on to view the tiered gardens in front of Sansoucci Palace. They are really quite impressive and move in step like fashion up the hill toward the palace. Tomorrow we'll go inside the palace. One story here is that 100 of the originals pictures are still missing, believed to be in Russia.

We moved next to the Orangary. It was a smaller palace built as a place for the kings guests to stay. When you enter the palace, all the rooms on the left are in different colors.

We started in the blue room, blue because the walls are all marble. An interesting story about this room is that when the Russians took possession of Germany post WWII, celebrations were held in this room and in one of the wall panels a Russian soldier scratched the year, 1945. It's still visible today.

The next room had a wall holding porcelain vases from China, offset by vases made from the Kings staff. It was suppose to show that German vases were just as good a Chinese.

The next room was the music room, a large hall for concerts and balls. It is still used today for that purpose.

The last room on the left to see was the room full of busts from the past. Many different heads are on little shelves and the color of the room is almost rose.

On the right side of the entrance are the sleeping rooms for the guests. Some were more elaborate that others but all would be very easy to spend the night, or a week, or a month.

We moved from there to across the street to view a windmill. It was a huge structure and still in operation.

We walked from the to the Chinese house, then finally starting walking back to our hotel, exhausted from the day. To pick ourselves up a little we stopped and had some ice cream.

 
Unfortunately, there is still no working internet connection with the hotel. They use a company called SwissCom and it's terrible.
Our day started off like yesterday with breakfast in the same cafe. I had the scrambled eggs again but Joan chose to have dry cereal with apples, kiwis, raisins, strawberries and milk. Both were good and we finished in time to walk to Luisenplatz to board our tour of Sansoucci palace. I didn't know it would also include a trip to Cecielenhof Palace, the private residence of Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife, Crown Princess Cecelia. This place played an important role of World War II ended because it was in the courtyard that Roosevelt, Stalin and Chamberlain decided the fate of Germany and unfortunately, the fate of Poland also. The area also houses the offices of the former KGB and, in fact, when Russia took over East Germany it confiscated 122 houses near the palace and it was considered a forbidden zone for anyone to enter. Our tour guide told us about this and pointed out the boundaries of the “forbidden city”. The palace was only used as a meeting place and the participants actually stayed across the lake in Babelsburg castle. During the meeting there was a lot of tension and so each participant entered the conference room from a different doorway at exactly 5PM. It was also from the place that Roosevelt gave the order to drop the atomic bombs on Japan so a lot of history is connected with this place,
From there we went to Sansoucci Palace. Guests would arrive through French doors and proceed straight ahead to the next door in the waiting area. There was another door on the left but only the king could use it. It took him to his gallery and to his library, a build round shaped room with walls covered in cedar wood and over 2,200 books in his collection. All of the following rooms were beautiful and only viewing the pictures can really describe them. We spent about 45 minutes inside and then went to the grave of Frederick the Great. It's to the right of the palace and strangely enough, with him in the same plot are buried 11 of his favorite dogs. His wife is not buried there, she had her own palace some 40 km from Potsdam, in Berlin. Sansoucci was a palace only for men, for friends and military leaders of Fredrick the Great.
We left Sansoucci and our tour guide and walked the the Orange Palace, still in Sansoucci Park. It's another enormous palace with not so elaborate gardens but still very impressive.
From there we walked to another interesting building, the Dragon House and I have to read more about that place. It looks very interesting and is now going into recontruction.
It was 5PM when we were done for the day so we walked back to our hotel to have a rest and wait for dinner time.
One more day tomorrow and still a lot I have had time to write about.

Moje stopy s膮 mnie zabija :-) Szli艣my i chodzi艂 i chodzi艂 od 11 do 16:30. Opu艣cili艣my nasz hotel i rozpocz膮艂 od 艣niadania w kawiarni na Hegelalaee Strasse. Joan mia艂a dwa jajka sadzone z szynk膮 i sa艂at膮 i mia艂em trzy jajecznica z boczkiem, bagietki i sa艂atki. Po 艣niadaniu udali艣my si臋 w drog臋 do centrum informacji turystycznej i podpisa艂 si臋 na jutro zwiedzanie Sansoucci Palace.
Od tego urz臋du zacz臋li艣my chodzenie do Sansoucci Park, oko艂o 6 przecznic dalej. Park jest naprawd臋 niesamowite. Park by艂 rzeczywi艣cie opracowane w winnicy przez Fryderyk Wielki. Jest uwa偶ana za jedn膮 z najwa偶niejszych park贸w w Europie.
Po wej艣ciu do parku od strony wschodniej, istnieje szereg fontann, kt贸re s膮 w pewnej odleg艂o艣ci od siebie, ale w doskona艂ej linii prostej. Okolice te fontanny s膮 p贸艂okr膮g艂e klomby z wszystkich rodzaj贸w kwiat贸w i kolor贸w. Zwr贸cili艣my si臋 natychmiast na lewo i poszed艂 odwiedzi膰 Ko艣ci贸艂 Pokoju. To wyj膮tkowa, niemal otoczony wod膮 jak zamek, z bardzo wysokiej wie偶y kwadratowych. Nikt inny nie by艂 w ko艣ciele, z wyj膮tkiem organisty, kt贸ry gra艂.
Wyszli艣my z ko艣cio艂a, podszed艂 do pierwszej fontanny a nast臋pnie przesz艂o艣ci w prawo i do serii krok贸w do pierwszego budynku, Galeria zdj臋膰. Nazwa nie jest imponuj膮ce, ale budynek by艂. Jest to niezwykle d艂ugi budynek z dw贸ch pokoi zaprojektowanych specjalnie, aby pokaza膰 zdj臋cia w艂asno艣ci膮 kr贸la w tym czasie. Naprzeciwko ogromnymi oknami wisz膮 portrety i obrazy malowane przez wielu znanych artyst贸w. Sp臋dzili艣my tam oko艂o godziny, a nast臋pnie przeni贸s艂 si臋 do widoku warstwowych ogrody przed Sansoucci Palace. Oni s膮 naprawd臋 imponuj膮ce i porusza膰 si臋 w kroku jak moda na wzg贸rze w kierunku pa艂acu. Jutro p贸jdziemy wewn膮trz pa艂acu. Jedna opowie艣膰 o to, 偶e 100 orygina艂贸w zdj臋cia s膮 nadal brakuje, uwa偶a si臋, 偶e w Rosji.
Ruszyli艣my obok Orangary. By艂 to mniejszy pa艂ac zbudowany jako miejsce dla kr贸l贸w go艣ciom pobyt. Po wej艣ciu do pa艂acu, wszystkie pokoje po lewej stronie s膮 w r贸偶nych kolorach.
Zacz臋li艣my w pokoju niebieskim, niebieski poniewa偶 艣ciany s膮 z marmuru. Ciekawa historia o tym pokoju jest to, 偶e kiedy Rosjanie przej臋li Niemcy po II wojnie 艣wiatowej, odby艂y si臋 w tej sali i w jednym z paneli 艣ciennych rosyjskiego 偶o艂nierza porysowany roku 1945. To wci膮偶 widoczna dzisiaj.
W nast臋pnym pomieszczeniu mia艂 艣cian臋 trzymaj膮c porcelanowe wazony z Chin, zr贸wnowa偶one przez wazony wykonane z pracownik贸w Kings. To by艂o przypuszcza膰, aby pokaza膰, 偶e niemiecki wazony by艂y tak samo dobre, chi艅skie.
W nast臋pnym pomieszczeniu by艂a sala muzyczna, du偶a sala na koncerty i bale. To wci膮偶 jest u偶ywany do tego celu.
W ostatnim pokoju po lewej, aby zobaczy膰 by艂 pok贸j pe艂en popiersia z przesz艂o艣ci. Wiele r贸偶nych g艂owic na ma艂e p贸艂ki i kolor pokoju jest prawie r贸偶y.
Po prawej stronie od wej艣cia s膮 pomieszczenia dla go艣ci. Niekt贸re z nich by艂y bardziej skomplikowane, 偶e inni, ale wszystko b臋dzie bardzo 艂atwe do sp臋dzenia nocy, lub w tygodniu lub miesi膮cu.
Ruszyli艣my stamt膮d po drugiej stronie ulicy, aby zobaczy膰 wiatrak. Jest to ogromna struktura i nadal dzia艂aj膮.
Chodzili艣my od domu do Chin, to w ko艅cu zaczynaj膮 i艣膰 z powrotem do naszego hotelu, wyczerpany dnia. Aby si臋 podnie艣膰 troch臋 zatrzymali艣my si臋 i mia艂 lody.
Niestety, nadal nie ma pracy dost臋p do Internetu w hotelu. U偶ywaj膮 firm臋 Swisscom i to jest straszne.Nasz dzie艅 zacz膮艂 si臋 tak jak wczoraj ze 艣niadaniem w tej samej kawiarni. Mia艂em jajecznica ponownie, ale Joan zdecydujesz si臋 na suchych p艂atk贸w z jab艂kiem, kiwi, rodzynki, truskawki i mleko. Oba by艂y dobre i sko艅czyli艣my na czas, by chodzi膰 do Luisenplatz na pok艂adach naszych tour Sansoucci pa艂acu. Nie wiedzieli艣my, 偶e to r贸wnie偶 podr贸偶 do Cecielenhof Palace, prywatnej rezydencji ksi膮偶臋 Wilhelm i jego 偶ona, ksi臋偶niczka Cecelia. To miejsce odgrywa wa偶n膮 rol臋 w zako艅czeniu II wojny 艣wiatowej, poniewa偶 by艂 na dziedzi艅cu, 偶e Roosevelt, Stalin i Chamberlain postanowi艂 losy Niemiec i niestety, los tak偶e Polska. W okolicy znajduje si臋 r贸wnie偶 w siedzibie dawnego KGB i, w rzeczywisto艣ci, kiedy Rosja przej臋艂a NRD to skonfiskowano 122 dom贸w w pobli偶u pa艂acu i uznano za zakazane strefy dla wszystkich wej艣膰. Nasz przewodnik powiedzia艂 nam o tym i wskaza艂 granice "Zakazane Miasto". Pa艂ac by艂 wykorzystywany tylko jako miejsce spotka艅 i uczestnicy faktycznie przebywa艂 na jezioro w Babelsburg zamku. Podczas spotkania nie by艂o wiele napi臋膰 i tak ka偶dy uczestnik wszed艂 do sali konferencyjnej z r贸偶nych drzwi dok艂adnie godzina siedemnasta. By艂 on r贸wnie偶 z miejsca, 偶e ​​Roosevelt wyda艂 rozkaz do spadku bomb atomowych na Japoni臋 tak wiele historii zwi膮zanych z tym miejscem.

Stamt膮d udali艣my si臋 do Sansoucci Palace. Go艣cie przybywali poprzez francuskie drzwi i przej艣膰 prosto do nast臋pnych drzwi w poczekalni. Nie by艂o drugie drzwi po lewej, ale tylko kr贸l m贸g艂 z niego korzysta膰. Zaj臋艂o mu to do jego galerii i do jego biblioteki, budowa膰 okr膮g艂e pokoju 艣ciany pokryte w drzewo cedrowe i ponad 2200 ksi膮偶ek w swojej kolekcji. Wszystkie nast臋puj膮ce pomieszczenia by艂y pi臋kne i jedynie podgl膮d zdj臋膰 mo偶e naprawd臋 je opisa膰. Sp臋dzili艣my 45 minut wewn膮trz, a nast臋pnie zszed艂 do grobu Fryderyka Wielkiego. To na prawo od pa艂acu i o dziwo, z nim w tej samej dzia艂ce s膮 pochowani 11 z jego ulubionych ps贸w. Jego 偶ona nie jest tam pochowany, mia艂a w艂asne pa艂acu oko艂o 40 km od Poczdamu, w Berlinie. Sansoucci by艂 pa艂ac tylko dla m臋偶czyzn, dla przyjaci贸艂 i wojskowi przyw贸dcy Fredrick Wielkiego.

Wyszli艣my Sansoucci i naszego przewodnika i chodzi艂 Orange Palace, jeszcze w Sansoucci Park. To kolejny ogromny pa艂ac z ogrodami nie tak wyszukane, ale wci膮偶 by艂a imponuj膮ca.Stamt膮d poszli艣my do innego ciekawy budynek, Dragon House i musz臋 dowiedzie膰 si臋 wi臋cej o tym miejscu. To wygl膮da bardzo interesuj膮co, a teraz wchodz膮c recontruction.
By艂a godzina siedemnasta, kiedy zosta艂y wykonane na dzie艅, wi臋c wracali艣my do naszego hotelu, aby odpocz膮膰 i czeka膰 na czas kolacji.

Jeszcze jeden dzie艅 jutro i jeszcze du偶o mia艂em czasu pisa膰.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Potsdam Day 1

We were suppose to leave at 9AM but I slept until 9:30 and didn't actually get on the road until 11AM. We took A2, the tollway as far as we could toward Germany. Unfortunately it doesn't go all the there yet and so we got off of it onto a normal road, the truck traffic was backed up so badly it took a half hour to go twenty feet. Finally, after an hour delay, we started moving again and reaced the border. In all, it took us about 3 hours from Pozna艅 to Germany. Once in Germany, driving was fast and easy.

We followed the directions I had printed out from the internet................and ended up in the southern most part of Berlin, not Potsdam. After trying find our way to Potsdam without a map I finally stopped in a gas station to ask for help, got it and headed back down toward Potsdam. I still didn't have any luck getting to the exact place we were suppose to go so I stopped at a tourist map station to locate where we were. Luckily a young boy was passing by and told me how to get to hour hotel.

We arrived about 4:30, checked in, changed clothes and went out for a little walk. We had dinner in a nice little outside restaurant, walked a little more and returned to the hotel. I asked the receptionist about hooking up to the internet and she said the first thirty minutes were free but after that there was a minute by minute charge. So, in order to avoid a charge, I will write my posts offline first, log into my blog, copy what I wrote and post it. I won't put up any pictures on the blog of our trip until I get home.
Now Joan is looking at the information of places to vist while I am posting this and we'll decide where to go tomorrow.

Byli艣my przypuszcza膰, aby opu艣ci膰 od 9 rano, ale spa艂am do 9.30 i nie faktycznie uzyska膰 na drodze do 11am. Wzi臋li艣my A2, Tollway ile mogli艣my wobec Niemiec. Niestety nie przej艣膰 ca艂膮 tam jeszcze i tak mamy si臋 z niego na normalne drogi, ruch ci臋偶ar贸wek zosta艂a poparta tak 藕le zaj臋艂o p贸艂 godziny, aby przej艣膰 dwudziestu metr贸w. W ko艅cu, po godzinnym op贸藕nieniem, zacz臋li艣my wracaj膮c i reaced granicy. W sumie zaj臋艂o nam oko艂o 3 godziny z Poznania do Niemiec. Gdy w Niemczech, jazdy by艂 szybki i 艂atwy.

 Poszli艣my kierunki mia艂em wydrukowane z internetu ................ a zako艅czy艂 si臋 w po艂udniowej cz臋艣ci najbardziej w Berlinie nie, Poczdam. Po wypr贸bowaniu znale藕膰 drog臋 do Poczdamu bez mapy w ko艅cu zatrzyma艂 si臋 na stacji benzynowej prosi膰 o pomoc, ale to i ruszy艂 z powrotem w d贸艂 w kierunku Potsdam. I nadal nie mia艂 szcz臋艣cia si臋 do dok艂adnego miejsca byli艣my przypuszcza膰, aby go wi臋c zatrzyma艂 si臋 na stacji turystycznej mapie, aby zlokalizowa膰 gdzie jeste艣my. Na szcz臋艣cie ch艂opiec przechodzi艂 obok i powiedzia艂 mi, jak dosta膰 si臋 do hotelu godzin臋.

Przyjechali艣my o 04:30, sprawdzone w, przebra艂 si臋 i wyszed艂 na ma艂y spacer. Udali艣my si臋 na kolacj臋 w 艂adnej ma艂ej restauracji na zewn膮trz, chodzi艂 troch臋 wi臋cej i wr贸ci艂 do hotelu. Poprosi艂am recepcjonistk臋 o podpi臋cie do internetu i powiedzia艂a pierwszych trzydziestu minut by艂y wolne, ale po tym nie by艂o z minuty na minut臋 op艂at. Tak wi臋c, w celu unikni臋cia op艂at, b臋d臋 pisa膰 posty nieaktywny pierwszy zaloguj si臋 do mojego blogu, kopiowanie tego, co napisa艂em i wys艂a膰. I nie znios膮 wszelkie zdj臋cia na blogu naszej podr贸偶y a偶 wr贸c臋 do domu.

 Teraz Joan patrzy na informacje o miejscach, do vist, a ja jestem wysy艂ania i zdecydujemy, gdzie i艣膰 jutro.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Almost ready!

Yes, it's time to pack for Potsdam. My stuff is laid out and I'm just waiting for Joan to get her clothes together. I went to the bank yesterday morning to take out the Euro's we will need in Germany, totally forgetting the bank is closed on Saturday's. Tomorrow morning before we leave at 9AM we'll stop and get the money.

Looking at the weather forecast for the next week in Potsdam only Wednesday is suppose to have rain and the temperature will range between 20-25c all week so that will be nice.

As usual, I'm taking a laptop so I'll be able to load pictures and tell you what we see each day as long as the WiFi works in the hotel .  You'll be able to take the trip with us :-)

Tak, to czas na zapakowanie do Poczdamu. My stuff jest okre艣lone, a ja jestem tylko czekam na Joan, aby uzyska膰 jej ubrania razem. Poszed艂em do banku wczoraj rano do wykupienia euro b臋dzie trzeba w Niemczech, ca艂kowicie zapominaj膮c o banku jest zamkni臋ta w soboty. Jutro rano przed wyjazdemy od 9 rano b臋dziemy zatrzymania i odzyskania pieni臋dzy.

 Patrz膮c na prognoz臋 pogody na nast臋pny tydzie艅 w Poczdamie jedynie 艢roda jest przypuszcza膰, aby mieli deszcz, a temperatura wyniesie od 20-25c ca艂y tydzie艅 tak, 偶e b臋dzie mi艂o.

 Jak zwykle, zabieram laptopa wi臋c b臋d臋 w stanie za艂adowa膰 zdj臋cia i powiedzie膰, co widzimy ka偶dego dnia, tak d艂ugo, jak WiFi dzia艂a w hotelu. B臋dziesz w stanie podj膮膰 podr贸偶 z nami :-)