Potsdam and the Museum of Natural History

Yesterday was one of the best days that I think I have experienced in Europe. It involved walking massive distances, but I suppose castles aren't always strategically placed near the baunhof. First of all, we went exploring some different parts of Berlin near the Tiergarden in order to find a theatre house so that we could go see the opera. Sadly, everything was sold out, but we were pretty hyped up so we didn't let this upset us...we had fun walking around anyway. Afterwards, we bought a train ticket and took a lovely ride towards Potsdam, because we wanted to see more historical sites. When you first arrive at Potsdam, it is a little more modern than Berlin but has less traffic and people. I found that I enjoyed my day out in a less urban area. We walked in the wrong direction for a while, then found downtown Potsdam. There were some beautiful old buildings and a nice mosque, but I found it interesting to look at residential areas. It reminded me of the old town in Dusseldorf. We walked...and walked...and walked...until we hit an old castle, Sanssouci, was gorgeous and the view was superb. We wandered around the castle grounds until it started raining, then kept on walking down a path that was heavily lined with huge trees. The grass was still dappled with snow, yet it was warmer than Berlin. The quiet was so complete I felt like it was not possible there was a bustling city some kilometers away. We stumbled into the Chinese House, the New Palace, and (at my insistance) the Roman baths. We walked out past the fields aroudn the baths till we came to a clearing with a lovely pond. We saw some couples ice skating, and somehow Courtney bamboozled me into getting on the ice with my snowboots. It was just a frozen lake, but I happened to recall a book I had just read about ice cracking on a lake and people falling in. Luckily, we found a relatively safe entrance, slid around on the ice for a while. This was fun. We got back on the train and I had a nice nap all the way back to the station, and headed towards the museum of Natural History. AMAZING!! THE BIGGEST skeleton in the world (brontasourus?) was on display here. There was also a planet room, stuffed birds of paridise, and dioramas of animal life. I loved looking at the beautiful quartz and crystal formations. I was dead tired by this time, so we stayed until the museum closed, and headed back to the hotel. Not only was the AIR COLD, but the roads were icy. Cobblestones have multiple uses. At the hotel, we saw the rest of the group at subway, so we joined them in their later excursion. We came home, only to run into Stephie, and she was heading to meet the others, so we went to the same location to find a place for dinner. We ate at this Italian restaurant called Romeo and Julia, where the pizza had names like Paris, Montague, Capulet, and Tybalt. It was delicious and relaxing. I am really starting to develop an addiction of ananasaft. That is all!!!