After our stay in Bielefeld, we drove to Potsdam with Karl's cousin Nicki to meet up with Oli, another cousin of theirs. Upon arriving, it was immediately arranged that we grab some Döner (apparently the best in Germany and though I have yet to disprove this, as long as actively trying to disprove this involves eating more Döner, I am by no means through).
We were then given a drive-by tour of Potsdam. Once the home of the Prussian court, most likely due to it's beautiful lakes and nearness to the capitol, Berlin, it is now the home to many German celebraties. Kate Moss, to name one of many we did not meet.
Where Kate Moss doesn't live
Cruising through Potsdam
After our tour, we returned to Oli's place, where we ate a true a German meal (a suprisingly unsual occurance during our stay in Germany) on the patio. Then it was off to an old Russian army barracks turned disco to party the night away.
Hier stept der Bär
The next day we went to Berlin and whisked by all the neccesary tourist attractions, I imagine because it was quite everday for Karl's cousin's. We walked past the many embassies and into the political center of Germany. Here it became very clear the kind of global stability the "War on Terror" was actually generating. Both American and British embassy set themselves apart by completely cordoning of the block in front of their buildings with concrete barriers and patrolling police officers.
Brandenburg Tor
The next day we awoke late as always and saw the palace and gardens in Potsdam. The palace was created to show off Prussia's might and wealth, and it achieved that quite well. It was an awe inspiring sight, even for our day and age, but to think that they created it all with so much less technology than us is amazing (guess that's the engineer inside me thinking). Around the palace, approximately every meter, was a large and unique statue. The time that must have went in to carving each one is mind boggling. It must have been quite a contract, but even then the amount of money they recieved would have been nothing compared to the vast amounts the Kaiser would have had. After eating some more döner, we returned home for another excellant supper. We then "got ready", and headed off to an even bigger disco for the night.
Sans Souci
In the summer house
I awoke the next morning fairly early and took the train into Berlin to meet up with Don and Rosemarie, distant relatives of mine that had been to Canada to visit. We caught up a bit on each others lives, predictably ate Döner, and all around had an enjoyable time. It was only a brief visit, but later in the trip I would have the chance to have a much longer visit.
Digging in to some Döner
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