Pfaueninsel and Potsdam

Yesterday I went back to Wannsee but didn't go to the beach. Instead I visited the Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) and then to Potsdam. Potsdam has many, many castles/palaces but I only had time to see part of one, Sansoucci. It was soooo much bigger than I imagined so I couldn't see much. Really, castles here aren't just a castle. They have acres of parks and forests and fountains and many other buildings. So here are the pictures I took:

Some of my friends, David and Dana, walking to the S-Bahn station.

The front of the S-Bahn station at Lichterfelde (the closest one to my place). I really like how old it looks (and actually is).

On the ferry from Wannsee Island to the Pfaueninsel.

The Pfaueninsel Schloss. It was originally just a quaint little villa but then it was bought by Prince Frederick who commissioned the architect Schinkel (who also built the Reichstag and Brandenburger Tor) to rebuild it.

The view from the Schloss.

This is some old church on Wannsee Island that I could see from the Pfaueninsel.

Another building on Pfaueninsel. There were quite a few, so I'm not sure which this is one is. I think it might be the "secret laboratory."

Closer to the "secret laboratory."

Oh this was some random Roman Temple thingy!! There are a lot of these in Germany. It must be part of the Neo-Classical thing.

The dairy. When the prince lived on this island it had a fully functional dairy and farm and stuff. I didn't see any animals because they were restoring the aviary and everything.

I swear the trees were a few centuries old!

This was pretty much the only picture I could get my friends to take of me. It's in front of the fountain Pfaueninsel.

After walking around the Pfaueninsel, which had more old buildings and a fountain, we took the bus from the Pfaueninsel through Wannsee Island to Potsdam.

We walked from where the bus left us to get to Sansouci. Not cool. But this picture is the view of one of the many castles of Babelsberg from across the sea.

Did I mention that all this old stuff is in the midst of modernity? An Aldi is a discount store.

The Potsdam Gate!

I think this is now a restaurant or hotel or something.

This is kind of like the Brandenburger Tor, but much smaller. It is called the Jaegerstor (Hunter's Gate). It is like right in the middle of all these shops and restaurants.

I have also seen a lot of these Egyptian Obelisk things around Germany, especially in Potsdam. I don't know what they signify.

This is the first structure you see when walking into Sanssouci. I have no idea what it is. The Palace itself was started in 1747, but structures were almost continuously built up until 1900.

The view of the main garden path. It's magical ^_^

The view of Sanssouci from the main Garden Path. There were so many of these paths, and you can easily get lost. I guess that's why King Frederick named it Sanssouci, which means "without worries" in French. I guess you're supposed to just wander about and enjoy the sights.

The main garden of Schloss Sanssouci. Can you see it up there, so tiny on the hill? King Frederick purposely had it built without the basement so it was an expression of beauty rather than power.

The main fountain! It was so nice because we sat on the edge of it and when the wind blew the right way we got a nice moist breeze~

Beautiful Sanssouci~

Sanssouci with the fountain...

You can see my friends sitting at the fountain, David has the green shirt on. He's from London ^_^

The Chinese Pavillion.

This is called the new palace, although it is only 20 years newer than Sanssouci. King Frederick had it built as an expression of his power (he was also called the Soldier King).

After the New Palace it was getting kind of dark. And we were tired from all the walking so we went home.

Today I did homework and now I only have a few days left!! I will definitely update again soon~