Potsdam is home to the Glienicke Bridge . The current bridge is the fourth built on this site, completed in 1907, and later required major reconstruction due to damage sustained during World War II . During the Cold War , the Havel River formed part of the border between East Germany and West Berlin. The bridge became famous as a site for exchanging captured spies, earning the nickname “Bridge of Spies.” The first such exchange took place on February 10, 1962. The United States released Rudolf Abel , who had been convicted of espionage in 1957, in exchange for Gary Powers , the pilot of a U-2 spy plane shot down over Soviet territory in 1960. In 1985, a major exchange saw 23 American agents swapped for Marian Zacharski and three other Soviet agents after three years of negotiations. The final and most public exchange occurred in 1986, when Natan Sharansky , a Soviet human rights activist and political prisoner, along with three Western agents, was exchanged for Karl Koecher and...

The second card from illustrator Inge Look. This one is coming from Hof, in eastern Germany.  Hof is found near the Czech border on the river Saale. There are about 50 000 people living here.  During the Cold War, Hof was of special interest. It was located near the Czech and West German borders. There was also a radar site nearby. On the West Germany side was the United States Army 2nd Arm ored Cavalry Regiment and the 511th Military Intelligence Battalion. Hof was also near the old Berlin-Munich autobahn, which was thought of to be a possible invasion route by the Warsaw Pact forces if the Cold War ever became hot. 

There are a couple of things I would like to highlight on this card. Firstly, this is a night shot of the Brandenburg Gate. It is, of course, one of Berlin's best known landmarks. It was built between 1788 to 1791 under orders of King Frederick William II of Prussia. It is the former city gate and it marked the start of the road from Berlin to Brandenburg an der Havel, which was the capital city of Margraviate of Brandenburg. During the Cold War, the gate marked the division between West Berlin and East Berlin. Today, it is considered a symbol of unity and peace in Europe. Secondly, the postage stamp commemorates the Special Olympics World Games, which were held in Berlin in 2023. At my lawn bowling club, we actually held a regional bocce tournament for teams from Medicine Hat, Calgary, Edmonton, and Whitehorse. One bocce player from this tournament was going to be chosen to represent Canada at the games in Berlin. I wish I could report it was a local bocce player. I'm not sure...