Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Our “Excursion Day”: The second congress day focuses on striking contrasts, offering an experience of Berlin and German history in its many different dimensions. You may recall the Oscar-winning film “The Lives of Others,” which critically examines East German history: an authentic place connected with this more recent past awaits you at the Stasi Records Archive. We will receive a guided tour both through the archive itself and the former offices of the Ministry for State Security.
Afterwards, a sightseeing tour through Berlin awaits us. We will visit, among other places, the Berlin Wall Memorial, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the Victory Column, the Tiergarten, and many other landmarks. In the afternoon, the excursion continues to Potsdam with its unique Prussian palaces and gardens, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.
Morning
We visit the Stasi Records Archive in Berlin-Lichtenberg, where we will be guided across the grounds, visit the museum, and gain exclusive access to the archive. Afterwards, we continue on a sightseeing tour through Berlin.
Afternoon
By bus we travel to the boat dock at Berlin-Wannsee. From there we board an excursion steamer that will take us past Peacock Island, Babelsberg Palace, and the Glienicke Bridge (“Bridge of Spies”) to Potsdam. There we will visit the New Palace, the Library of Frederick the Great, and the famous Sanssouci Palace.
Evening
The day concludes with a festive gala dinner in the splendid New Chambers of Sanssouci, a memorable finale to an eventful day. Once upon a time, Frederick II the Great himself played the flute here for his guests, as captured by the painter Adolph von Menzel in his famous painting ‘Flute Concerto at Sanssouci’.
