Roam if you want to...

So I’ve been traveling again. This time I made it down to Switzerland and Italy. There’s so much, I’m not really sure where to begin.

I started out in Geneva. My favorite thing in Geneva was watching the people play chess in the University Park.



Plus, look how pretty the lake is.



I also wasn’t really planning on touring the UN while I was there, but when I was outside of it trying to take a picture of the building, this guy from the Isle of Mann asked me where the entrance was. So I went with him to find the entrance, and by the entrance we got mixed up in this tour group of university students and younger students. I guess the trip leaders weren’t familiar with all the students, because they thought I was one of them. The Isle of Mann guy had to go, but I stayed and posed as a student from this group. I guess it didn’t help that when the leader guy asked if I was with them, I said yes. I also managed to convince him I was German. It got me into the UN for free anyway.

After a couple of days in the Lake Geneva area, I headed over to Zurich to meet up with Nicole. Everyone, meet Nicole.



Nicole and I had only previously met at my going away party before I left for Germany, but we actually traveled really well together. She’s spending the summer doing the backpacker thing, and we happened to want to go to Zurich and then Italy at the same time, so why not go together.

Our first night in Zurich, we spent in a rather nice hotel, although pretty much anywhere in Switzerland is nice. Then we canceled the second night because we were being smart and wanted to take the night train to Florence. Of course the train was booked and we couldn’t get a train until the next morning. So since we decided we’d rather going swimming in Lake Zurich than spend lots of time looking for a hotel, we just decided to spend all night clubbing. We spent most of the night in this club way on the outskirts of the city. It was a hip hop night. I never knew how much the Swiss loved their hip hop, but it was pretty cool hanging out with a bunch of thugged out Swiss. So we danced until 5am when the place closed, and then kept ourselves awake in the train station until we could crash on the train to Florence. I did wake up long enough to say “Look how pretty the Alps are!” I even slept through the passport check, which I learned that if you’re asleep on the train the Italians won’t really bother you for stuff like passports and train tickets.

So in Florence we managed to hit the ground running and pretty much walked straight to the Piazza Michelangelo overlooking the city, armed with sandwiches and wine in the kind of box orange juice normally comes in. Check out the view:



I think my favorite things in Florence were watching Nicole get sold a leather jacket and the food at Mario. Mario is this little family run restaurant, which pretty much any travel guide can tell you about, because it is totally amazing. For €5 you can get really, really good pasta and a decanter of wine. So then you’re all buzzed on good food and wine when you walk out into Market.

Next was Rome. Everyone says there’s so much to see in Rome, which is true, but since I’ve never taken any kind of classics or Roman history classes I didn’t know what the stuff I was seeing was. I did see all the important stuff like the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and the Palatino. We also spent a day doing the Vatican museums, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica. While standing in line for the Vatican museums, we spoke to a couple from Texas who were traveling around Europe and doing some hiking and stuff. (Remember this couple; they come into the story later.) The Sistine Chapel was pretty freaking amazing, by the way.

So on our last day in Rome Nicole’s friend Mary Susan joined the trip. I’m not quite sure if she was ready for the “eating nothing but bread and cheese, and sleeping in mixed room hostel” lifestyle, but she did well at adjusting. The next morning we headed off to Venice, where one of the coolest things I saw was a boat of hippies cruising down the canal just chilling out and playing music. Then we became overwhelmed with the romanticism of Venice and Nicole proposed to me in the Piazza San Marco.



Then on the bus back to our campsite in Venice, it turned out I was sitting next to Josh Bickerstaff. Most of you don’t know who that is, but he graduated the year after me from good ol’ South Iredell. Just one of those “it’s a small world” moments.

So the last stop on the tour was the Cinque Terra national park. Basically there are five small towns on the west coast of Italy and you can hike between them. The views are amazing. While hiking, we ran into the couple from Texas who we’d met by the Vatican. Another “it’s a small world” moment. But anyway, check out this view:



The other awesome part of the Cinque Terra is getting to swim in the Mediterranean.




After Cinque Terra it was time for Nicole and Mary Susan to head on to Spain, and for me to go back to Hamburg. I managed to make it pack to Hamburg on a night train, with only a seat to sleep in, no air conditioning, and an Interrail pass that I wasn’t sure was valid for me in Germany. But I made it!

Weltmeisterschaft 2006

It started slowly….
One day in April I went to Berlin and these statues had appeared. First, next to the Reichstag there was a giant aspirin. Then when I walked over by the new train station there were these giant soccer cleats.



The motive became clear. Berlin was preparing for the madness that would be gripping Deutschland June-July 9th. They wanted to show off German accomplishments for the many visitors that would be filling the streets.
When I moved to Hamburg, they had a slightly approach. They had placed these rather ugly neon blue soccer goals all over the city. The goals were a bit more captivating at night though.



So as June approached, everything started to look like soccer balls. Grills, hamburgers, brötchen, hair cuts, kiosks…. Everything was soccer balls. Any company sponsor tried to show their support whenever possible.



On June 9th, it was official. The Weltmeisterschaft 2006 had begun. Melinda and I managed to get a seat at the local beer garden to watch Deutschland v. Costa Rica. Even though it was only the first game, the Germans celebrated like Chapel Hill did when UNC won the NCAA championship.



Later in the week, me and Melinda wanted to watch the game, but we didn’t know where to go. So we decided to follow people dressed up for the game, and see where they were going. That’s how we discovered the Hamburg Fan Fest. Every city hosting a game has a Fan Fest. Every country in the tournament has a tent serving the traditional food of that country. I think the USA tent had popcorn…



Yay America!
The Fan Fest also included games, like Human Foosball.



And of course the Fan Fest has a gigantic television screen and stadium seating for all the people without tickets to the games. Here I saw Brazil v. Croatia.



So as the Weltmeisterschaft went on, Germany kept winning. And the people kept celebrating. I even got into German football spirit.



Germany’s most exciting, and maybe most celebrated win was after Germany v. Argentina. Look how happy everyone is!



The police did have to come tell the people to get out of the street.



Not so valiant as Tieneman Square, but soccer is important here…
A party invite brought me back to Berlin for the weekend as the final. I don’t think the atmosphere was quite as buzzy as if Germany were in the final, but I did get to see the giant soccer ball in front of the Brandenburger Tor.



I had to head back to Hamburg before the final started, but as I was walking to the train station to go home I found myself surrounded by fans funneling into the Berlin Fan Mile.



On the train back to Hamburg, the conductor made announcements as to the status of the game. The electronic signs in the Ubahn stations flashed the score every few seconds.
Soccer brings the world together.
2010! Let’s go!

American x 2

So last Friday my German life crossed paths with Melinda as she makes her way around Germany and Austria studying opera. It was definitely nice having some one around my age who spoke English to do things with. Friday evening we just relaxed and watched the first game of the World Cup, Germany v. Costa Rica. Then things got a bit crazier when we left at 5am Saturday morning to catch the train to Amsterdam. Our train ride was plagued by delays, but eventually we made it there. I really didn’t know what to expect in Amsterdam, since I didn’t know much about the city other than its policy on drug use. I’m still not quite sure how to describe it. It’s not exactly beautiful, just unique and kind of chaotic. We started out in the Heineken brewery, where you get three ‘free’ beers along the tour.



Then we had to go check into the hostel. Amsterdam was also crowded because of the World Cup, so basically we had booked the only reasonably priced place we could find. It turned out our hostel was on a ship, and involved taking a ferry just to get to it. Seriously, the ship in the middle was my hostel. And the smaller boat attached to the side of it was the ‘breakfast boat’.



The hostel was definitely one of the more memorable parts of the trip. The next day we just walked around the town and then saw the Van Gogh museum and hung out in a park. We also went to another art museum, but it was mostly under construction. By the end of the second day we had had enough of Amsterdam, and were glad to make the journey back to Hamburg.

So having some one around got me to do things I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise. We went to the Hamburg Fan Fest for the World Cup and watched Brazil v. Croatia on a giant screen with gobs of other people. I got a hair cut by a stylist that couldn’t speak any English.



I admit it’s not exactly what I wanted, but I was pleased considering the difficulty of communication. Plus, like 50% of the women my age have this hair cut here, so it’s kind of what I expected anyway.

We finished of the week with a trip to the Opera to see ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ and then to finally see the Reeperbahn. The Reeperbahn is the red light/club district in Hamburg. We didn’t really go anywhere since we’re not very good at partying, but I did learn how to recognize Hamburg prostitutes. In Berlin they always where really high shoes and corsets, but in Hamburg it’s fanny packs. I guess that where they keep the money.

So now Melinda has continued on to Dresden, and I’m still in Hamburg trying to figure out what to do with my life.

And just because...



I want to spread the asparagus/safe sex message.

American Blitzkrieg Hits Paris

So last week I partied in Paris. Ok, well, mostly I was in art museums, but it was still pretty sweet. I took the bus for 13 hours Sunday night to arrive in Paris Monday morning. Some how, without really realizing it, I had booked a German tour. Of course I knew it was German, I just didn’t know there would be things to do as a group. Not that I couldn’t do what I wanted, there were just options of things I could do with the group if I wanted to pay for them. So the first option was a bus tour around Paris, so everyone could see where everything was. Being with a German group, and my German abilities not so good yet I managed to get separated from the group at our first stop to look around at the Sacré-Cœur. So then I freaked out for awhile and then sat in an internet café emailing people about how stupid Paris is, and then I got some coffee. I did manage to make it to the meet point for the hotel check in. I had opted to stay with three other people in the hotel in the hopes I could meet some other cool young people to hang out with. So when the trip leader announced who would be in a room together, it was me and three 50-something Asian sisters. (Remember these women, because they come into the story later.) Although they were nice people, neither I nor they were excited about the prospect of staying in a room together. Thankfully, some one who had booked a room to themselves hadn’t shown up, so to make everyone happy they gave me that room to myself. Then I headed out into the much prettier part of Paris. I waited 2 hours to get into the Musée d’ Orangerie. Apparently it had been closed for 4 years until just a few days before I got there, so everyone in Paris wanted to come see Monet’s water lily paintings.



Then I ate at a place called ‘Quick Hamburger Restaurant’ and joined others from the group for a tour of Montmarte. It’s one of the prettiest areas of Paris, where many artists used to live. Plus we drank red wine from a box, and I saw a man pee in the street (although it wouldn’t be the last time).

The next day I went to Notre Dame. It has some pretty awesome gargoyles



Then I walked over to Place St-Michael to have lunch where I met a woman from Illinois who had been to Paris many times, so she could give me Paris travel tips. Plus, she was just cool because even though she may have had an inelegant appearance, she could speak perfect French and seemed to know Paris as well as a Parisian. I suppose its always good to have one’s stereotypes challenged.

After lunch I went to the Musée d’ Orsay, where again, I waited 2 hours to get in. This time, it was because a Pissaro and Cezanne Exhibit was ending soon so everyone in Paris wanted to get in before I was gone. Unfortunately because of all the waiting I didn’t have time to see the exhibit, but I did see such masterpieces like this Manet painting of a piece of asparagus.



After the museum closed I headed further down the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. As I was hanging around looking dorky trying to take a picture of myself in front of the Eiffel Tower, I looked over and guess who was there… it was the three Asian women that would have been my roommates. With the energy of people 30 years younger, they hopped the fence onto the forbidden grassy area, and then obviously not recognizing me at all, one of them came up to me and said “Do… you… speak English? Photo?” The way they posed you really couldn’t even see the Eiffel Tower in the picture. Crazy people. So I took their picture and went on my way. I could never quite figure out if they ever realized who I was, but whatever. A bit later walking around by the tower, I managed to get asked out for coffee by a French man… I don’t think that really fit into my schedule though.

That evening I did a boat tour. The idea sounded calming and romantic, but really it was a really big boat with a load speaker announcing the sites in about 6 different languages and a bunch of Asian tourists jumping up trying to take pictures of everything. The word chaotic comes to mind. The best part of it though was seeing the sunset over the Seine. Back at the hotel I met up with two guys from the tour group, and they invited me to venture out to find a cool bar/disco. We eventually found a place, and broke it down with some French people.

The next day I was greeted by my cell phone beeping at 7:30 in the morning to let me know its battery was dead. So I was up and ready to conquer a new day. First I found the Rodin museum, and then headed over to the Louvre. I didn’t find the Holy Grail, but apparently the French think something important might happen at the Louvre.



So on four hours of sleep I dragged myself around the museum. I didn’t see the whole thing, but I saw all the important stuff, including the Mona Lisa of course. They don’t allow photos of her though. The weird thing was that people would stop me and ask me for directions. The Louvre is a confusing place, and maybe I look like I know what I’m doing? I was stopped several times throughout my trip by lost people, even once by some girls asking me something about the Metro in French. So after the Louvre I was total kaputt. I saw an old man in one of the rooms of French sculpture trying to nap on the bench using his jacket as a pillow on the marble wall. The Louvre has the power to suck the life out of anyone I think. So, after some tasty French food, I just went back to the hotel.

My last day in Paris was pretty freakin’ sweet, because I went to the Pompidou Centre.



Their regular collection was under construction, but they still delivered by having 5 different exhibitions to see. The best and largest exhibition was on movement and film in art. Sweet.



There was another one where you got to where little felt slippers over your shoes. I like anything with felt slippers.



Since I still had day time left I went to the Père-Lachaise cemetery on the East side of the city. There I paid homage to Jim Morrison, Modigliani, and Oscar Wilde. I don’t totally understand why, but Oscar Wilde’s grave is covered with lipstick kiss prints. With my remaining hours in Paris I dined at a place by the Arc d’ Triomphe, and then rushed back to the hotel to catch the bus back to Hamburg. Although I had a negative first impression of the city, overall I really liked it. Maybe when I have my big well-paying job I can go back someday.

Goodbye Potsdam

So I guess it was a week ago now that I said goodbye to Potsdam, and the friends I had made there. Since I was lucky enough to have a rather sweet aparment, I took advantage of my space and threw myself a going away party. My second going away party in two months... Since it was thrown together rather quickly I even ended up using the same music from my 80s party. Although my laptop didn't provide the same sound quality as an iBoom, which I'm not sure if that's really saying much. Anyway, the best parts about the party was that: 1) my 12-year-old host sister helped me pay for the beer for my party. (Don't worry I didn't let her drink any.) 2) A bunch of New Zealanders showed up. 3) Hearing the conversation switching between German and English. Overall it wasn't a particularly crazy party, but hey, it was just good that people came out.

Sunday was mostly filled with packing and procrastinating on packing. Sunday night was my last meal with the kids. I do miss them, and they miss me. Its kind of a weird position to be in, because my old family hasn't found a new Au Pair yet since they are being so picky. So the kids want me to email them and write them letters and stuff. Which is really nice, and I don't mind at all, its just akward since the parents didn't want me to stay.

Monday was saying goodbye to the parents, and then scrambling to make it out to Sanssousi. Sanssousi is Potsdams most famous park/tourist attraction, and I hadn't made it out there yet. So I took my bike and my camera and spent my last few hours in Potsdam there. After that was just taking the Taxi to the train station. Luckily people took pity on me when they saw me trying to lug my huge suitcase around and helped me getting on and off trains. Otherwise I'd probably still be stuck on the stairs at the Wansee train station.

Now, here's some random musings:
Asparagus is to Germany, as cherry blossoms are to Japan. Everyone here gets really excited about the spring aparagus. Yesterday I ate aparagus and potatoes for lunch. Then I went to dinner at my Aunt's house and had asparagus soup, and then more aparagus and potatoes. Tasty, but I just never knew asparagus could be such a big deal. Also, there's a lot of guys that look kind of like Bob Saget here. Lastly, I miss college basketball. There. I said it. I know I didn't pay that close attention to it, but still I miss it somehow.

Anyone who wants my new address just email me!

In Hamburg I have two families

So, I spent this past weekend in Hamburg getting to know two families in Hamburg. One family is my new host family, and the other family I'm actually related to. My new host family seems pretty cool. The mother is a doctor, and the father is a lawyer for Exxon. (I'll just have to keep my mouth shut on my thoughts on oil companies.) They live in the Ependorf area of Hamburg, which is a very nice area, close to the city center. There is a park that comes right up to the back yard. Also, I'm lucky enough to have a whole apartment again, which is pretty rare I think. I'll be caring for one 12-year-old girl. Basically I just have to hang out with her, and help her with her English. At least they make it sound easy, but I guess I'll find out.

My other family consists of my Aunt Marilyn, Uncle Volker, and my cousins Madeleine, Heinrich, and Cecilia. Marilyn also ran off to Germany when she was 22 and never managed to come back. Now she spends most of the time running after the kids. Look how cute!



This is Heinrich, age 4. We played a game that translates as being called "Zing Zang Chicken Poop".



This is my Aunt Marilyn and Cecilia "Sissy". At first Sissy was scared to touch me, but then it became a game, where I was something new and interesting to touch.



And this is Madeleine, age 8 (which honestly, I don't know how to spell her name). I think here she's conquering the Elbe River.

Even though this was only the second time I had met my Aunt and Uncle, I suppose family always still is family no matter how long you've been away. Moving to Hamburg will pose difficulties for me in starting all over again, but its nice that they'll be close by.

An Announcement

I've spent the last month and a half adjusting to life in Potsdam, and now I'm must endure another challenge. Within the next three weeks I will be packing up my things and starting again in Germany with a new host family. As I have just found out today that I'm going to be leaving, I'm not sure where I will be moving to. There is a possibility that I might go to Hamburg, because there is a family there in need of an au pair. I haven't talked to the agency yet to know what all my options are. I understand that my family must do what's best for them, but I am not thrilled with the thought of trying to find new friends again. I am just getting to know Berlin, and I love it. Everyone keeps telling me how awesome summer is in Berlin, and how in June or July there's some kind of massive party for the Love Parade. All the things I was looking forward to are being taken away. With that brings the possibility of new things to look forward to. Maybe I will find a new host family that I enjoy more or a new city with just as much to offer. I guess I will find out. I'll keep everyone posted on where I end up.

bis denn

Prague Part II

For my last full day in Prague, I figured I should see the rest of the stuff that most people come to Prague to see. I had yet to cross the Charles Bridge, so that’s where I decided to start my day. The bridge was built in 1402, and is lined with many beautiful religious statues.



Since it was near by, I went in search of one of the more quirky attractions in Prague, the John Lennon Wall. Even though it’s been white washed once already, apparently people in Prague insist on putting graffiti tributes to John Lennon here.



Then it was time to return to the more historic attractions in Prague, so I wove through to streets of Old Town, to the Old Town Square. The most notable attractions in Old Town Square are the Astronomical Clock



and the Church of Our Lady Before Týn.



I got to see the Astronomical Clock do its little hourly show where the statues move around a bit and things. Unfortunately Týn Church was closed, but from peaking in the window it seemed very cool. Since food hadn’t really been a priority the first two days, I decided to go in search of a decent meal. I decided on the angsty Franz Kafka café, where I enjoyed an original Czech Budweiser (Budvar). The décor included quotes from Kafka painted on the walls in German, but I’m not quite advanced enough to translate any of it.

Then I continued with my touristy-ness by touring the Jewish sites in Prague. There is the Jewish cemetery and maybe 4 or 5 synagogues to visit, but the most popular are the Old-New Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue. Sadly, the Old-New Synagogue was closed, but the Spanish Synagogue was pretty sweet.



Also the Franz Kafka memorial was outside of the Spanish Synagogue.



At that point I was tired of reading little captions underneath items on display, so I decided to take in some greenery at Petřín Hill. I just wandered around the hill and took more pictures of the city and things. Here is Prague Castle from Petřín Hill:



Since food was a priority for the day, I walked down to the Sushi Bar that Erica had recommended. I think this meal cost almost as much as my entire hostel stay, but look how pretty!



Then it was time for some modern dance. The Komedie theatre seemed to have much fewer tourists than the State Opera House, and it didn’t occur to anyone to try to speak to me in English until I had to say “Uh… English?” It was a good show; one of those super modern ones, where people are dancing to the sound of dripping water and things like that. After the show I decided to say goodbye to Prague by going back up to Prague Castle and getting some night shots of the city and of the Cathedral.



Thus concludes my story of Prague

Prague Part I

My journey to Prague began jammed in a window compartment of a Regional Express train to Berlin Ostbahnhof. When I say window compartment, I don’t mean a seat with a window, I mean I was sitting on the little ledge were there was a window. Once at Berlin Ostbahnhof, I was able to catch the train to Prague were I had a proper seat and everything. The train ride to Prague was pretty much without incident. Then when I arrived in Prague, I was greeted by absolutely shit weather and the anxiety of being in a completely new place all alone. It was cold, and raining. Plus, what the hell was I doing in Prague by myself. One of the first things I did in Prague was pay way too much for an umbrella. After that, I wandered around the shops at Wenceslas Square. Then I remembered I don’t really like shopping, and going in the H & M in Prague, isn’t much different from going in the H & M in Potsdam. I attempted to buy a ticket to the Opera for the next night at the Estates Theatre, but it was all sold out. Though next to the box office, was this random outdoor exhibit with all these weird people statues.



Since the Opera at the Estates Theatre was all sold out, I had to figure out some entertainment for my next two nights in Prague. I saw a sign that had an arrow pointing the way for tourist information. Perhaps the information people would know about other shows to see. My intuition was correct! There was a ticket counter right in the information center, and all I had to say was “I would like to see some dance and opera in the next two days.” Bam! I had a ticket to a Verdi opera at the state opera house for Tuesday, and Wednesday night I would be seeing modern dance. This stroke of luck finally lifted the anxiety I had been feeling for the past few hours and made me realize I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was 6pm. For some reason, it’s much harder to choose a restaurant when you’re on your own, but I eventually ended up eating at a somewhat traditional Czech place where it seemed like everything on the menu was served with potatoes. I had an omelet with potatoes.

Then, since pretty much all the other tourist stuff closes by 6, I headed to the Prague TV Tower. It is the tallest thing in Prague, and it has these crazy baby statues crawling up the side. Check it out:



I took some time to relax and have some dessert in the TV Tower café and enjoy the view over the city. After I finished my second-rate Tiramisu, I headed back to my hostel to see what strangers I would be sharing my room with. I think nearly everyone in the hostel was American, which was a little disappointing to me. The first night there were 3 girls traveling together, another girl traveling alone, and some random guy. And we were all American. Everyone was at least nice enough, although the guy snored a bit.

After a horrible nights sleep, I was ready for my first full day in Prague. I can never resist a modern art museum, so I started my day with a trip to the Centre for Modern & Contemporary Art.



This museum was huge! I managed to go through everything in about four hours, but it could easily be a several day trip. Most of the exhibit was modern Czech art, which was pretty sweet since it’s something you don’t get to see often. There was also a temporary exhibit with Klimt, Warhol, Munch, and a Roy Lichtenstein among others. They also had a section of 20th century French art.

Next it was time to see Prague Castle. Prague Castle quickly became my favorite part of Prague. Walking up the hill to the Castle is this amazing view over the city.



Then once inside the Castle is the St Vitus Cathedral. I don’t even know how to describe how awesome this church is.



I climbed the church tower’s 280 some odd steps to get even more amazing views of the city.



After seeing everything there was to see at the Castle, it was time to get ready for the opera. I had a ticket to see Verdi’s I Vespri Siciliani, so I had to go put on my good clothes. Of course getting ready took longer than I expected, and I got a bit turned around trying to find the State Opera House, so by the time I figured out where it was I only had about 15 minutes to eat. So the lamest part of my trip to Prague was eating at McDonald’s before the Opera. In my defense, it was close by, and I was pressed for time. I just kept picturing myself getting tartar sauce from my fish sandwich on my nicest skirt. The opera itself was really cool. I had never seen an opera before, and even though it was sung in Italian and subtitled in Czech I could still follow the basic story line. Plus, everyone died at the end, so that was pretty unambiguous. Then, I was quite tired and it was time to rest up for my second full day in Prague.

A Short Walking Tour of Potsdam

I thought I would show you all a bit of where I am living. Potsdam is a 20 minute train ride from Berlin, but there are actually quite a few things to see in Potsdam.

First we'll start right by where I live on Heiliger See.



This is the Marmorpalais. Frederick William II had it built. And I did manage to walk out on the lake to take this picture. Yay frozen lake!



If you keep walking around Heiliger See you get to the Gothic Library. Apparently at one point it held over 1,000 books.



If you keep walking a bit out of the city, you get to the small Russian Colony in Potsdam. This is the Russian Tea house. Mmmmm...lecker.



Then, if you walk back towards the city center you get to the Nauener Tor, which is the gateway to...



the Dutch Colony!



If you keep walking past the Dutch Colony, you get to Brandenbugerstraߟe. It's a pedestrian's only street with lots of shops and things. At one end is die Kirche St. Peter und Paul (which I'm sure will look much nicer once the renovation is done.)



And at the other end is Potsdam's own Bradenburger Tor. It's a lot smaller than the one in Berlin, but still pretty nifty.



Then next to the Brandenburger Tor, there was this Rhinosaurus. One of the kids told me it had something to do with some TV show and it was really cool that I saw it. I don't really understand though.

So that's all for the tour today. There's still lots of other things around Potsdam I haven't gotten to see yet. Oh, and all you people who think Europeans don't eat peanut better are wrong. I can even buy Barney's Brand USA quality peanut butter if I want or there's also a German one. Right now though, I'm enjoying lots of cheese. Although caramel flavored cheese is not so good.