Apart Hotel Vivaldi Potsdam

... pens that I already have; skipped on the Berlins but did buy just a couple Potsdam ones. Walked back to our hotel; walked around to find the Laundromat and then walked to the Lidl to pick up some groceries. We have been doing the cheap breakfast of boxed cereal. So after a long day of driving, it was another marathon walking spree.


Friday, September 18, 2009 - A Great City Tour

We decided laundry had ...

... Potsdam has been dominated by four architects particularly one called, 'Shinkle' - or similar spelling. He loved columns and your can see evidence of his work all over the place. This area is East Germany; so during the Cold war it was not so salubrious to live in these parts; however when the wall came down the West German well to do - came back to Potsdam to settle once again. Because it is a fave spot of the rich and Berlin ...

... seem appropriate. Leaving Chicago I bought tickets at expedia.com for a round trip plane ride at $705 using US airways. The plane was said to arrive in Berlin at 7:55 pm on friday the 14th (today) but I got there at around 9pm, which is now 21:00 due to the change in time in germany. Arriving at hostel I got to the hostel named ...

It started out harmlessly enough, and by that I mean my friends and I showed up late at the train station meet because we had gone out the night before...in other words five afters a night of clubbing we were still kind of drunk. Rachel offered everyone some of the dark chocolate she carried around, a habit which I later borrowed from her... Potsdam was important because it was the meeting place for JFK and Churchill and some other officials ...

... we happily rode the subway waiting for our stop we realized we were heading north instead of south like we needed to, because we were on the underground instead of the above ground like we should've been. So we rode all the way to the airport! When we headed back in the correct direction we ran into another group of GIF students and all made our way to the restaurant where we enjoyed a hardy German feast ...

... Berlin during the time of the division. It was really interesting, they had all these interactive things, a car that was made by the DDR, a flat, the clothing. You could touch most things, the East Germans used a lot of polyester in their clothing. They also had pictures of naked people on vacation. I can understand why those without a swimsuit went naked in the water, but what excuse is their for playing tennis or volleyball naked? Just weird. After t hat we ...

... in Europe. The park from the very beginning was picturesque, the sort of place that you see in movies where the people are strolling along between long lines of symmetrical trees. When I walked around the first bend I came to the main attraction: The Sanssouci palace. It is a lot bigger than I expected, but then again if there is a king or someone important living in there, then it has to be grand. The most impressive part about it were the grounds ...

... at other people. Then there were couples, their heads inclined to each other, and regardless of age, interested and engaged in each other and conversation. It was a good lesson for me and while I did have sharp pangs of being alone, I again was happy with my own company and thoughts. I keep noting that sharing food, one of the most social activities that we have, must be done in the company of friends, or it is no more than ash. And I truly think that a meal eaten in silence ...

... and globes from the middle part of the last millennium. Looking at some of this cartography, you might think that these people had a bird's eye view of the planet when they went to work - the accuracy, and also the beauty, of their work is astounding. For these reasons, even though the Pergamon is a bit pricey (though only €5 for students), it is well worth the admission - just don't try to "get your money's worth" by seeing everything there is to see unless you're ...

... and I must have been napping or something, I got the impression that the wall was built right after WWII; like, in the 40's. I knew it was a Cold War action, but this was pretty recent! Anyway, so I did a little photo action, walked around, picked up some din-din, and head back to the Hostel. It is now that I sit here, infront of the closet thing I have to home, and think about how the rest of my trip will play out. Tomorrow I am going to see a concentration camp in Orienburg ...