Tulpenfest- Potsdam

 

 

 

 

Backtracking a bit...

 

 

 

Two weekends ago I had the pleasure of going to the Tulip Festival in the beautiful city of Potsdam. The Tulip Festival has been held in Potsdam's Dutch Quarter since 1996. I was told it was a very popular event among locals and tourists so I decided to check it out. I took the S Bahn for about 30 minutes to arrive in Potsdam around 11:30. At that time it was busy, but enjoyable. 

 

There were thousands of tulips and other gorgeous spring flowers everywhere to help welcome in the season. Along with all of the pretty flowers the streets were lined with bands, food, crafts, and much more. I loved watching the cloggers in their huge wooden shoes and listening to the local bands entertain the crowds. It was a lovely atmosphere and I really felt like I was experiencing a weekend in Berlin as a "local." It felt a lot like the summer festivals we have back home with friends of all ages gathering together to have a great time.

 

 

 

 After spending about 3 hours at the festival the streets began to get so crowded that you could barely move. After sitting down to enjoy a snack and some music I decided that I was going to venture out into Potsdam to find the castle of Frederick the Great.

 

The small journey from the festival to Sanssouci was short and easy. As I was leaving the festival I ran into the librarian from JFKS who gave me directions and a map.  I followed the directions and the crowd only a few blocks to find the center of Potsdam where a miniature replica of the Brandenburg Gate lies it was an easy walk to the castle. The walk was quaint and pretty on that Sunday afternoon and it felt as though EVERYONE in Berlin was out and about. It was also the first weekend where the temperatures were reaching the low 70s. The parks were crowded with people sprawled out on blankets reading and playing frisbee. All of the biergartens were in full swing and the streets were as crowded as could be. It was quite the sight especially after experiencing the longest winter Berlin has seen for many years.

As I enjoyed people watching as I strolled along I finally found the elaborate gate that led to Sanssouci. I entered through the beautiful gold gate and walked along the road that was lined with old buildings (possibly servant quarters) and pretty gardens. After walking for about half a mile I turned the corner to see Sanssouci in the distance. It was another one of those breathtaking sights that stops you right where you are to breath in the moment. After admiring the palace I began to continue over a bridge and up the long path. This former summer palace, Sanssouci, is absolutely stunning. It sits on a hill atop an impressive terrace and has a gorgeous fountain at the bottom. The name Sanssouci is a French phrase (sans souci) and it means "without worries" or "carefree." King Frederick wanted a place where he could forget about the stresses of life and he thought Potsdam would be a splendid spot to do just that. There were hundreds of people there the day that I went. The skys were clear and the temperature was just right for a spring afternoon. I took lots of pictures and roamed around the grounds for a bit before heading back towards the S Bahn exhausted and ready to put my feet up after walking for a solid 6 hours.

I had the perfect day for Potsdam but I plan on returning one day after school when the streets are less crowed to get more pictures. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to work on lesson plans and relax before going to bed.

Sending big hugs back home!

Wiedersehen! 

Ha! Ho! Hey! Hertha BSC!

Hello, Hello!

 

I realize I have been missing in action for the past few weeks.  Life has been as crazy as ever!  After spending the weekend with friends in Poland I had one week to prepare for my first BIG travel experience in Europe.  I was away over Easter Break for two weeks traveling to Munich, Florence, Barcelona, and London. After returning home I was fatigued and school was beginning to pick up more and more as I prepared for my solo teaching.  Last week was my first week of solos and I LOVED it! The kids were wonderful (most of the time), we had a field trip, and we are learning about dinosaurs! How cool is that?! 

 



This weekend was bittersweet because one of the other COST students, Keli, left this morning to go home to the States.  Meanwhile, Emily, another COST STUDENT who is here with me, and I went to a fussball match! It was AWESOME!  The game was played at the 1936 Olympic Stadium here in Berlin and we had great seats thanks to Emily's friends who just so happen to have connections. :) I was one happy camper.  Experiencing a REAL European professional fussball game was on my bucket list and I am happy to say that I crossed it off today. 

 

Here is a little lowdown of the game...the two teams who were playing were both Berlin teams, Hertha and Sandhausen.  It was a big game for Hertha because this was their first season out of the top division of soccer in Europe and if they won the game today they would be back in that league.  It was a rough game because Hertha wasn't playing so well however they ended up scoring a goal in the last 10 minutes of the game to beat Sandhausen 1-0. The fans went cRaZZZy! All 55,000 of them who were in attended the match today! 

 

The fans are another topic to talk about.  THEY ROCK!  Fussball in Germany and probably most of Europe is not how we picture sports in America with all of the music, lights, and cheerleaders.  Here there wasn't much music except for the chants and cheers that the fan section was providing as well as the club song that was played at the beginning and end of the game.  When they played the club song (the song for Hertha) it was the neatest thing, all of the fans hold up their Hertha scarves all over the stadium and sing along.

 

 

 

They actually have official fan clubs that lead chants, cheers, and songs.  They have huge flags that they wave and the entire stadium, which holds 75,000 people, all follow their lead. It was an incredible site. 

 

After the win we went to eat some good ol' German döners (dune-er).  This is actually a Turkish food that was brought to Berlin four decades ago and it stuck.  It is said that the döner is to Berlin as pizza is to New York.  German-style döners are seasoned meat (chicken or lamb) processed into a large cylindrical loaf, roasted on a vertical spit (which is not the most appetizing site to be truthful), then thinly sliced with a long knife and wrapped in flat bread with vegetable toppings and, sometimes, a spicy sauce. If you are ever in Berlin I HIGHLY recommend that you try one of these bad boys. :)

 

 After eating a little too much my friends and I headed back to the S Bahn on this exceptionally beautiful, sunny Berlin afternoon to go home. 

 

Now that I am here I have been making finishing touches to my lessons for tomorrow and working on odds and ends around the flat.

 

 

 

Still more to do so that's all I will say for tonight. :)

 

I will write more this week to fill in the blanks for the past 3 weeks!

Missing everyone from home and sending lots of love!

 

Tschüss!