Tschus Potsdam and Berlin! (Part 1)

Before Kevin started his new position in at the university in Switzerland we wanted to say goodbye to all that was special to us in Potsdam and Berlin as well as finally push ourselves into a few places we kept putting off for some reason or another. Both cities have a lot to offer and since this was to be our final days in our adoptive country for the last few years, a proper farewell was in order.

Noodle will miss his snuggly spot.

Kevin had personal days from his job in Potsdam left over at the end of his contract, so two whole weeks were open for both of us to see it all and finish the packing and other tedious things that go along with moving.

A last visit to the dentist for both of us shortly before the intended holiday slightly altered our plans however.

I needed surgery, but we were too late to do it before we left. Kevin, it was determined, also needed surgery- namely his wisdom teeth needed to come out, and we had just enough time left before the intended move to have them yanked. 

So, on Kevin's first day of holiday the first two were removed. Here is the result:

In Germany it is normal to have your wisdom teeth removed two at a time, a week apart.

Normally you are also awake for the surgery and you have only 600mg of advil to kill the pain afterward.

To make matters even worse, Kevin's back, which was already in bad shape, was really killing him after hanging out on the couch for two days. Our plans for touring and general adieu saying were re-tooled and off we went to sample the highlights before Kevin had the second set of teeth pulled.

First stop: Berlin's Botanical Gardens

We were there for the re-opening of the main glass house, which was impressive.

The grounds are really lovely too, all 126 acres of them, making this the second largest botanical in the world.

 

I had been here once in the winter by myself but it was pleasant to see it together and on such a gorgeous day!

Next stop: Berlin's Natural History Museum

Where one can see dinos, skulls and a whole wall full of stuffed creatures.

This museum had one of the most impressive fossil collections i had ever seen and by far the most through gem and mineral collection i have ever witnessed. It is also home to the famously rare fossil of archeopteryx- feathers and all!  (quick note to those who care about these things: there are only a hand full of these that have ever been found. Most natural history museums have one, but they are plaster copies of the original, i.e. this one!)

 

Poor Kevin was wheelchair bound for the day, but he did get to ride the wheelchair lift up the stairs- wheee!

Item Number 3: The Berlin Zoo

This is Germany's oldest zoo, built in 1844. It is known for it's lovely walking paths, unusual architecture for the animals (as seen here) and for the wide variety of animals housed there.

And now, gratuitous photos of cute animals!

Sand bath

 

This Panda came right up to Kevin and looked him in the eye. Kevin was too surprised to have captured that moment on film. (some things are better experienced)

 

This little guy was amazingly sweet.

 

This little guy was too.

 

Media darling Knut (the polar bear that was abandoned by his birth mother and raised by humans) going through the awkward teenage years.

 

 The end of part one.

 

Dave in Switzerland

As most everyone knows, Dave showed up for a visit shortly after we moved to Bern. It was a great visit. The weather was occasionally good and occasionally less than good. Anyway, we enjoyed ourselves.

The first couple days it rained off and on in the mountains, so we stayed in the flatlands and went over to Thun, where we saw the town, castles, had some coffee, rode the boats, and finally walked along a moraine that runs along the south side of Lake Thun. Then over to Lake Geneva where we took some more boat ferries (over to France this time) and saw Lausanne and Geneva. It is a pretty spectacular area.

Finally the forecast was for good weather in the mountains, so we made a bee line for Zermatt and the Matterhorn. Dave got us set up to go up to the Kleine Matterhorn, at nearly 3900 meters and walk around inside a glacier. We finished off the day with pizzas and beers.

Again, the Swiss Weather center was calling for two nice days in the mountains, followed by pretty bad weather. So Dave and I made the snap decision to head up into the hills for an overnight hike. We took the train to Lauterbrunnen, and then a bus to Isenfluh, and finally hiked for about 4 hours and a couple thousand feet up to get to the Lobhornhuette, where we stayed overnight and had a great dinner and breakfast. The next morning we took a roundabout path back to Lauterbrunnen (involving a lot of hiking, an old train, two gondolas, and a bus) and got me back to Bern in time for my 5pm meeting with my boss!

After all the wandering, we spent a couple days resting and looking around at some nice surrounding towns (I also, alas, had to work a bit), mostly Sierre, Fribourg, and Bern. On one morning, Dave and I woke up way too early and went up the hill behind our house to see the sun rise. We timed it perfectly, the valley was filled with fog, the sun crept up over the mountains...it was a perfect (if cold) morning.

We also had lots of fun at one of the local rope courses. We got ourselves all harnessed up and swung around the treetops (at one point over 100 feet in the air) for a few hours. And of course, we finished it all up with pizza and wine. mmm.

We were quite thankful to have Dave around, even if it was such a short time.