Volume 2, Day 13
As far as I am concerned, Potsdam is just the name of some conference involving FDR, Churchill, and Stalin. However, my visit to Schloss Charlottenburg included so many references to the palaces in Potsdam (including bringing in furniture and works of art to replace those damaged or lost during the war), that I now understand Potsdam to be sort of the Versailles to Berlin’s Paris. So, obviously, the palaces needed to be on the top of my to-do list. Me being me, I didn’t actually do too much research, other than skimming down the list of sites in the Lonely Planet and making a point to avoid Monday when the palaces would be closed.
I took my time getting out the door in the morning, enjoying an abundance of coffee and checking off the standard items from the daily to-do list. Around 10 am, I headed out the door for the day having no key to return and walked the 10 minutes or so towards the New Palace on the west end of the Sansouci Park area. As I walked up to the tourist information building to buy a combo ticket and figure out exactly which buildings were included in it, I was somewhat surprised to find it closed. For some reason, which I think was mainly to foil my plans, the New Palace is closed on Tuesdays while the other buildings are closed on Mondays.
That fact put a real wrench in the works. I considered my options as I walked about, taking copious photos of the building and gardens. The other tourist information center was on the other side of the grounds, some 2km away. Rather than head straight there, I decided to take a zigzagging, scenic route. The first paid building I came to–the Chinese pavilion–was a real monstrosity and clearly not worth the 3 euro independent ticket price. The fact of the matter is, the only way to justify an 18 euro combo ticket is to include two major palaces (each priced at 12 euros), and treat the minor buildings as bonuses.
By the time I reached the ticket counter at Sansouci Palace, I was 95% convinced that touring the insides of the palaces wouldn’t be worth it. The fact that even on a Tuesday, one needs a reservation to enter said palace and the soonest reservation was 2 hours away completely convinced me to skip the palaces on this trip. I can convince myself I’ll come back some day on a Wednesday to see the palaces. To be completely honest, I got a little “palaced” out in Charlottenburg and wasn’t really ready to be overwhelmed by Rococo (or have my world Roc-ed, if you will).
I headed north to get a closer look at some ruins in the park, only to find the path closed due to “risk of falling tree branches.” Thwarted once again, I retraced my steps and visited a few of the other minor sites in the grounds. All in all, the park is nice to walk around, and there is no shortage of statues and fountains to entertain one’s yearnings for art.
Since the palaces were off the itinerary, I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands. I wandered over to a church and got some good news through a sign advertising a organ performance at 3 pm. That gave me something to aim for, and in the meantime, I wandered into the old town.
The old town, which is not really such an old town having been mostly destroyed in the war and not really rebuilt until after the GDR was out, is a very pleasant stretch of cobblestone streets lined with shops and cafes. At the near (western end) lies the Brandenburg Gate, which looks nothing like the famous namesake in Berlin. A cathedral marks the other end of the main stretch, while the “Dutch quarter” occupies the space north of the cathedral.
Walking up to the plaza with the Brandenburg Gate and another fountain, I stopped to read an information sign. A middle aged German man came up to ask me directions. I didn’t fully understand him, but was able to figure out that he was asking if the street I had just come from led to the Sansouci Park. I answered as best as I could in German, while his wife called to him after finding the street sign pointing in that direction. Afterwards, I walked around the fountain to take some photos of the gate and noticed that nearly everyone sitting around the fountain or walking on the plaza had an ice cream in their hands. I was intrigued and looked around to see where they were all coming from. There was a large eiscafe on the corner and it had been a couple days since my last ice cream so I two scoops.
Wandering down the main street after my ice cream lunch, I passed plenty of little restaurants and cafes that would have made a nice, cheap lunch as well. But, I wanted to hold off for dinner. I wandered all over. The ambience of the old town is exactly what one imagines Europe to be. It was sunny, warm and so, so quaint. Of course, like everywhere else, the public restrooms require money. I’ve become something of a camel in my days so far because I refuse to pay for a toilet. Honestly, the city should pay me not to urinate on the street. I didn’t really need to go, but even since the park, I had been keeping my eyes open. I was honestly surprised that the bathroom for the palace (obviously not in the palace, but next to it) had a fee. Neither the Starbucks nor McDonald’s, I passed appeared to have restrooms.
After crisscrossing around old town for a long while, I cut south to find the massive St Nikolaikirche. I considered going up to the top of the dome for a view of the city, but I have strong reservations about giving any money to the church. There is also my contrarian logic about paying for the privilege of climbing stairs not making any sense. On the southern end of that plaza, was an art museum that I would consider paying for. However, they just were closed for two days to change exhibitions. I really can’t get a break. I headed a little further south to the river that bisects Potsdam. It is a little unclear as to whether it is a river or a series of interconnected lakes, but in any case, there is a small island in the river (Friendship Island). I crossed a bridge over to the island and found a restroom on the backside of a cafe.
I wandered about the gardens for a bit looking for a shady spot to sit and rest awhile, but couldn’t find a place that suited me. So I kept walking, and crossed another bridge and headed to another green spot on the Google Maps. Other than the cluster of crowded cafes across from where tourists can board pleasure boats, the park wasn’t particularly great. I did find a bench in partial shade and lay down for a bit.
After my power nap, I headed back into the old town to find a supermarket to get a drink, which I finished on my way back to the church, arriving their exactly at three for the 30 minute organ performance. The organist stopped between pieces to introduce the works. I was not following his German, but his voice sounded just like an NPR announcer. After the concert wrapped up, I walked back through the park, passing through an entirely different section (technically a different park) and enjoying the Roman and Tuscan inspired villas. I killed some more time on bench studying German and wandered back to the apartment at around 5pm, when I knew A would be back from her classes. She was busy on homework, but I drank lots of water and did a bit of studying myself.
I was thinking about dinner, and after an hour, I left to go on a supermarket run. There was leftover rice, cheese, and salsa from the previous night so I was thinking nachos and fried rice. Though avocados seem to be regularly available, none of them were ripe enough to make a fresh guacamole, but I grabbed stuff to make a salad. I got back to the apartment and set to work prepping for dinner. M wouldn’t be back until 8pm, so I wanted to be ready to eat as soon as she arrived, but that didn’t stop me from cracking open a bag of tortilla chips first. Another roommate returned while I was busy in the kitchen. She came in with a ton of groceries and was also intent on cooking. She made a fresh pot of rice and sauteed some vegetables, but it took her a while. Her boyfriend arrived shortly after M returned and the five of us ate together.
The evening came to a close pretty much as soon as dinner was over.
| Ice cream | 3 |
| Club Mate (beverage) | 1.04 |
| Groceries | 7.43 |
| Total: | 11.47 EUR (89.5 RMB) (USD 13) |
Running Total: 5961 RMB (USD 867.62)
Daily Average: 458.5 RMB (USD 66.74)