Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:15:31 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: my feet ache
hallo,
and they don't just ache, but they ache really badly!
i'm pretty much done with all of berlin in just 2 days. and i was worried that
my flight delay from L.A. would cause me to miss something! i even got a free
room at the Westin Hotel out of it!
today i went to Potsdam. It took a good 2 hours to get there -- 1 bus, then 2
U-Bahn trains, then 2 S-Bahn trains, then 1 tram. that last tram from the
Potsdam Hoptbahnoff (main train station) to the tourist area near Park
Sanssouci is essential -- on the map it looks like "only" a couple of miles,
but that's EACH WAY. Plus some more in between! no thank you.... I've had my
share of walking for the rest of the year! In hindsight, it was also a good
idea to take the bus for the 1/2 kilometer from my hotel to the U-bahn station.
Yesterday i walked that too.
Potsdam is a beautiful city. It looks kind of old, not like Berlin. Earlier I
was told that East Berlin is more interesting to see than West, because many of
the buildings in East Berlin are kept in the same condition/not reconstructed
since WW2. I don't see that anymore in Berlin, but I could in Potsdam. Some
streets are REALLY old - dating back a couple of centuries. But most of my time
was spent in the very large Park Sanssouci ("park without worries"). The main
attraction there was Schloss Sanssouci, the palace of King Frederick the Great
... actually his "summer cottage" away from the hustle and bustle of Berlin.
The SECOND attraction here is "Neues Palais" -- according to my tourbook, "one
of Germany's most beautiful palaces".
I did not see either.
The Neues Palais was closed--its closed every Friday. The Schloss Sanssouci was
open, but they only let people in through tours, and all tours were sold out
until tomorrow morning. Well, I guess that should tell how good it is, but I
didn't buy a ticket anyway. I just spent most of the morning and afternoon
roaming around in the park, taking pictures of a few water fountains, the
palaces, and an old Dutch windmill. After that took the bus to Luisenplatz. The
only thing the tourbook mentions is "This small square with its plain, restored
buildings gives a good impression of Potsdam in the early 19th century." It
should get more credit than that. This is one of those "picture postcard" kind
of streets, with colorful houses with triangular roofs all touching each
other... lot of outdoor cafes on the street, and --- i managed to discover a
little shop around the corner. I bought some boxes of chocolate there, and then
the lady behind the counter asked if I wanted a free sample -- "to find out
what you just bought". How could I refuse? I had a chocolate truffle (one
option she asked me was "with or without alcohol?" --
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....) well, it was delicious, and i'm bringing some
back to san jose.
After hanging around there a bit more (there's also a Brandenburg Gate there),
i took the tram back to the train station, then the S-Bahn back to Berlin, then
the U-bahn back to Ku'damm, then a "Velotaxi" (an Indian-style cycle riksha) to
this Dunkin' Donuts shop where i have some internet time left over.
And THAT's where i am now. tonight on to the Reichstag again and actually go
inside, but after that i'm not really sure what i want to do tomorrow!
I was thinking about spending some more time walking around Berlin, but that
involves walking. Another idea was to go to the airport, rent a car, and drive
somewhere around the country. or countries -- poland and czech republic are
both well within a 1-day driving distance of here. so is denmark, but that
would be stretching it a little. another possibility was take the train to
leipzig in the morning, then dresden in the afternoon, then back to berlin at
night. or just rent a fast car and drive around germany. I dont know yet -- I'm
going to research some prices on the 'net while I'm here.
On Sunday I'm flying back -- 7 AM flight out of Berlin, 4 hour layover in
London, 2 hour layover in L.A., 12 hour layover in San Jose, and then back to
work on Monday.
-me.
Neues Palace:
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Orangerie and Windmill:
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Sanssouci:
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Luissenplatz:
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