Potsdam was so fun! I saw many palaces (what's the difference between a palace and a castle?) where Friedrich II spent lots of his time. There is the Neue Palais, his 'big' place (300 rooms -- one decorated entirely with seashells and jewels), the Orangerie (which he built for his sister), Schloss San Souci (the 'summer' residence -- only 12 rooms, but huge rooms nonetheless). The Chinese Tea House, the Dragon House, Roman Baths, etc etc. All decorated ornately in the Rococo style (not so much my thing -- I prefer Neo-Classicism, personally). I wisely purchased the day ticket, so I saved a few bucks on entrance fees. Yeah, frugality!

The fun thing was that there were a bunch of folks dressed as re-enactors for something, taking pictures, so I got some cool pics. I was tempted to ask them to hold the ducks for a pic, but I couldn't explain why, and I figured they'd ask me. So, no go. But the pics will be cool nonetheless.

Oh, and we didn't go into Cecilianhof (the place where the Big Four divided up Germany after the war) -- we didn't even get off the bus! Total bummer.

But other than that disappointment, it was a good day! Topped off by finishing my book, Middlesex, and going to bed early! And yesterday was much of the same, except I did see some movie with Dave Coulier in which his 'son' (who he and his wife really rescued on their boat when the baby was little) turned into a merman when he turned 13. I only watched it because I saw it in English sometime within the past year. Wack, eh?