New Year's Eve and Day

So, I spent New Year's Eve daytime by visting Checkpoint Charlie and reading the information they had posted outside. All very interesting. We didn't get to visit any of the museums in the area due to large lines...maybe later in the week. Then a visit to Schloss Charlottenburg, where not only did we get gorgeous pictures of the outside from the front and from the gardens, but we also got to go inside the New Wing! Frederick the Great had the new wing built, and much of it was rather ornate. There were also some great paintings, including the one of Napoleon on a horse and another where Napoleon was painted to look like Caesar. Then, a nap to prepare for the evening.

New Year's Eve at the Brandenburger Gate was awesome. The fireworks were beautiful! And, we got to meet some interesting people. There were some Australians there, and I had a nice chat with a couple of them. I found it particularly interesting that they wanted to hear more about OUR upcoming presidential election. They seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the candidates, and even had one they supported. We didn't debate the issue much though.

It was also interesting to hear the selection of music played. I was surprised to hear music in English and Spanish, in addition to the German music. Berlin appears to be really multicultural. There was even some German rap, which was a little odd to hear, since the music was really similar to our rap, but the words, of course, were in German.

Today (New Year's Day) a couple of us went to Museum Island, where we saw Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian artifacts, as well as paintings ranging from early Renaissance to the 19th century. Mummies, Monet, and the Madonna. It was quite cool.

Not only that, it SNOWED today! That was really something. Of course, I took several pictures.

For supper, I went with Nancy, Yao, and Michael to a Thai restaurant, where I had Thai food for the first time; it was good. Yay for so many new experiences!