Day Trip to Potsdam

Today we started really early, because we had to catch a train at 7:55am headed to Potsdam. The first thing we did when we got there was visit the Einstein Tower, which has been one of the only things that looks exactly like it does when we saw it in lectures, and it's very well upkept, because it was in good condition. Its not in use anymore but they have built many new observatories around the tower to continue work.

After that we headed of to the Nicholakirche by Schinkel, and yes it has the same name as the church we saw a few days ago. We actually arrived just as a service was finishing so we saw the paster and all the people who attended the service. It's hard to believe that people actually go to those churches regularly and think nothing of it. Again this church had very high ceiling and wooden pews, my favorite was all of the paintings on the wall, and above the alter.

Our next stop was the  Brandenburg Gate Potsdam....yes there is another Brandenburg Gate, but its not as big and its right in the middle of this little dutch area. Along the way we saw another chuch that we stopped at, and we found this cool outdoor market. We visited the church, but the ourdoor market was better. The had food trucks, and fresh fruits, and clothes, and other things throughout the market. We ended up taking a break, a few of us ate in the market, and then traveled along the nearby streets and did some shopping, before we met back up at the gate.

From there we went to the Sanssouci Park/Gardens, which was amazing. When you enter, you walk through the gardens and in the distance on the hill, you could see the smaller palace which is where the kings son lived after leaving the main castle. As you continue through you come to  the Great Fountain, and to the right was the  Sanssouci Palace, and it was huge. It sits atop a hill that you have take a few tiers of stairs to get through. Past that is more gardens which we explored as well, and far in the distance you can see The New Palace, its so big that you don't realize that its actually a few miles away from the fountain. We ended up taking a small tour inside the Sanssouci Palace and saw a few rooms that were available for viewing. Many rooms had elaborate detailing on the ceiling, doors, and walls. There was one room toward the end, I can't remember what it was used for, but the king loved animals so the walls and ceilings had brightly painted sculptures of parrots, monkeys, and birds throughout the whole room. There was even an Andy Warhol painting there, model after the portrait of the King. (No pictures were allowed on the inside)