It's a wonderful lemony confection of a Baroque palace. The rooms were uniquely decorated and beautiful, full of marble and interesting wall patterns. The exteriors were richly decorated, as well.
The gardens were elaborate and fun to walk through - and take pictures of!
Like Versailles, there are a few other buildings throughout the gardens that are worth a visit. We visited the little Chinese House, a tiny little jewel of a building that served as garden decoration and a cute spot for luncheons and other social events. We also visited the New Palace, which is another wonderful Baroque palace that was inhabited by Kaiser Wilhelm II and his family.
We didn't go inside because we didn't have time, but you can see it's equally as ornate as Sanssouci. We had a light lunch at Drachenhaus ("Dragon House" - an eentsy weentsy little pagoda restaurant on the palace grounds) and hit the road back to Berlin for some last beers and dinner.
The nameless spot that had been recommended to us by our wine pourer the previous night was Straßenbräu, a brewery in east Berlin near the Ostkreuz train station. We got a couple of flights to try everything they had!
It was a great spot. The beers were more innovative than you usually see in Germany - there was a sour, an IPA, and more! Big fans.
We took the S-Bahn uptown to Prater Garten, Berlin's oldest beer garden (dating from 1837). Of course, it was a bit chilly when we were there, so you can see it was fairly empty:
Still, the beers were good, local Berlin selections. (If Pilsner Urquell owns Prague, then Berliner Kindl owns Berlin.) I wish we had been there during nicer weather!
For our last dinner, we decided to try a North Vietnamese restaurant called Umami. Boy, am I glad we did. First off, I needed some vegetables and I couldn't take any more huge meat platters. Second, I have never been to a restaurant where I had to sit on cushions and take my shoes off. Third, there is a huge North Vietnamese population in Berlin because the Soviets sent them over as refugees during the Vietnam War. We have some Vietnamese food in Chicago, but I knew I wanted to try whatever Umami had.
I got a delicious chicken, rice, and veggie dish called "The Golden Bird," and Dave got a dish with duck, rice, and veggies. It was OUTSTANDING. One of the best meals we had on the whole trip.
The dish was so utterly good that I am now convinced that I need to take a trip to Vietnam. (That and a few friends have recommended it.)
All in all, Berlin was my favorite city, followed by Budapest, then Prague and Vienna. Berlin and Budapest made you feel like you were really amongst the locals, and the food and culture were amazing. I am cursing my German ancestors who left the homeland in the early 1900s (and before that). I want to live in Berlin so badly now.
So that was my Europe trip; I hope you enjoyed traveling along with me, and hopefully you can go get some Vietnamese food right this second to quell the cravings that I'm sure you're having.
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