Berliner Style

Berlin Day 4

Last day in Berlin and feeling the effects of yesterday's sun; no matter what I do to prevent it, I always end up ill after being in the sun more than a couple of hours, and this day was no exception. But I made it out to the final muesum on my list, the Pergamonmuseum. The Pergamon houses original-sized, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Market Gate of Miletus and the Ishtar Gate, all consisting of parts transported from the original excavation sites.
Antiquity Collection

Islamic Art

More Islamic Art

From ancient Babylonia

For my lovely Leos out there (you know who you are)

Over the course of 4 days I did and saw everything that I wanted to while here. There were definitely a few things I missed that will see when I come back some day. Would like to spend some more time in Eberswalder Strasse, go to the top of the dome in the German Parliament, and see the DDR museum.

Berlin Day 3

Checkpoint Charlie

If you know of Fat Tire Bike Tours, you know they are the best way to see a city; they have tours in Paris, London, Berlin, and Barcelona, and they are a great way to see a city and meet interesting people along the way. On day 3 I took the Berlin City tour; theme for the day was WWII and Cold War. Took many pictures on the tour, but only 2 made it to the blog.

The German Parliament Building

An older part of the wall

Several shots from East Side Gallery (currently being painted for 20 anniversary); I walked this 1km stretch of the wall after the bike tour ended.

After seeing the wall I headed over to the Jewish Museum; I really wish I had more time and energy to take advantage of this wonderful museum. Everything is just very well done, chocked full of interesting history and delivered in many different mediums so that one does not get bored. But it was the end of a long day for me and I just didn’t have the energy to soak it all in. I did learn several new things though, and for the small 5€ entry fee, it was totally worth the trip. The museum also has a nice restaurant on site, which is where I had dinner. I highly recommend this museum.

Berlin Day 2

On day 2 the 4:30 AM sunrise woke me up (ugh). After breakfast took the tube over to Alexanderplatz where I met up with Fat Tire Bikes for an all day tour of Potsdam. We picked our bikes (mine was Janis Joplin) and got on the train for the 40 minute ride out of Berlin. Here are some stops we made in Potsdam...

The New Palace

The Orangerie

The Tea House

Sans Souci Palace

Cecilienhof (location of Potsdam Conference, 1945)

I missed the grave of Frederik the Great, but I did get to see Potsdam's famous nude beach.

After getting back to the city I headed out for dinner and the modern dance show in Eberswalder Strasse. This is a very interesting community that reminds me a lot of Uptown in Minneapolis, however there was an element of gypsy that I was not expecting. Next time in Berlin I want to spend more time in this area.

The dance was definitely the highlight of the trip, simply amazing, spell binding, and worthy of many, many awards. Never in my life have I been so captivated by a dramatic production, and it was just so well done, just so well done. I highly, highly recommend this show. Below is the website; I saw les possédés.

http://www.toula.de/

Berlin Day 1

Flew into Berlin and checked into the Sofitel Gendamenmarkt; very nice room over looking Gendamenmarkt Square. Took a cab to Gemaldegalerie (painting muesum) which had some magnificent old works in a modern building; ticket also gave access to Kunstgewerbemuseum (museum of applied arts); recommend 2-3 hours to see both museums.

After a stop at the gift store, headed back to hotel by foot via Potsdamer Platz; here I received a visa from old East Germany with all the stamps. Continued walking and came upon the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe, very moving.

Made it back to the hotel where I freshened up before leaving for the organ concert Berliner Dom. The music was magical and the church was amazing - a perfect way to end my first day.