135. Berlin's Museum Scene

Where: Berlin, Germany
When: August 3-4, 2013
With: Dave

When planning our trip to Germany, the city of "Berlin" conjured up thoughts of concrete walls, communism and air raids. The last words to come to my mind were "culture" and "art". Unbeknownst to me though, Berlin is striving to have a collection of museums that is unrivalled anywhere in Europe. And based on the various ones we visited during our trip, I have to admit, they've got a nice headstart in their mission. From history to art, there is a museum for everything, so I've sectioned off my post into the few types we were able to visit. 

Art Museums

Similar to other powerful European countries, Germans did their fair share of 19th century treasure hunting, plundering, and looting. The end result was a vast collection of priceless art and artifacts to fill Berlin's many museums. 

Berlin chose a really interesting way to feature their five most prestigious art and history museums:  they gave them their own island in the River Spree and named it Museuminsel (I leave it to you to translate what that means). Each one has its own unique collection of objects spanning a different period in time. 

The first museum we visited on the island was the Pergamonmuseum. Unlike most museums, with an endless number of floors filled with a countless number of artifacts, this one just housed a few really large pieces. I'm talking an entire temple large. Specifically, the Pergamon Altar that gave the museum its name. Discovered in present day Turkey in the 19th century, this altar dates back to the 2nd century BC. It was excavated,  brought here, and put back together in this museum that was specifically built to house it.  

The striking aspect of the altar is the incredibly long and surprisingly in-tact frieze that surrounded its perimeter. Telling the story of how the Olympian gods fought against the giants for control of the world, the carvings still display enough detail to see what is going on in the battle (though handy, free audio guides helped interpret the story). In this scene, Athena grabs a giant by his hair and knowing that he is about to die, he looks up at her in fear. 

 A small model gives an indication of what the temple originally looked like. 

Further on in the museum, the large artifacts didn't stop. The Market Gate of Miletus sat in the next room. Dating from the 2nd century AD, it would have served as the entranceway to the Agora of Miletus. It was destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century and was also reassembled here in the museum.  

Walking through the center of this massive structure, another jaw-dropping gate awaited: the Ishtar Gate. Dating from the 6th century BC, this was one of the entrance gates to the city of Babylon. After walking through the tall archway, the towering, blue brick walls would have lined the path on either side towards the palace of Babylon. The golden lions patterned into the sides would have followed you as you walked (now these walls lead to the museum's Islamic art collection). It was amazing how vibrant the colors remain and how much still remains in tact 2600 years later. 

The next museum we visited on Musuem Island was the Museum of Prehistory and Early History. It had an amazing Egyptian exhibit containing all kinds of artifacts that boggled my mind with their sophistication. The jewelry looked almost the same as what women wear today and there was an elaborate baby rattle that could have entertained any modern day toddler. 

However, the star attraction of this museum is the bust of Nefertiti. Crafted nearly 3,000 years ago, it was likely made to serve as a model for her portraits. It was amazing to see up close. The brilliance of the colors and the familiarity of the face, with wrinkles under the eyes and a slight smile on her lips, allowed you to picture what she really looked like. No photos could be taken, so here's one I found online. 

We didn't have time to visit the other three museums, but an art lover could easily spend two days just on this island alone. 

Cold War Museums

Museums about the Cold War were much more in line with my initial impressions of what to expect in Berlin. However, what I don't think I expected was so much variety, even on this one particular subject. 

The first museum we visited was the Checkpoint Charlie Museum. At the site of the Berlin Wall's most famous crossing between the East and West, this checkpoint went down in history as a symbol of the Cold War and the struggle faced by the people of Berlin. The name Charlie came from the phonetic alphabet. There was a Checkpoint Alpha, Checkpoint Bravo, and Checkpoint Delta as well, but they just didn't have the same catchiness. 

At this point in time, the wall and the checkpoint are long gone, leaving behind a super touristy gathering of capitalism at its finest. Get your photo taken with the American guards while you drink your Coca-Cola and eat your McDonalds. All the while, a giant poster of a good ol' US army boy watches over the scene. 

Nothing says capitalism like this picture here. 

Looking back out towards Berlin, a Russian military poster signifies what waited for you on the Eastern side. I think I'll head back to the McDonalds, thanks. 

The actual Checkpoint Charlie museum was not my favorite. Despite having a ton of memorabilia and history, it was arranged in a jumbled mess and there was just too much information. Couple that with the 90 degree weather and lack of air conditioning in the fairly cramped warehouse, I nearly wilted from the heat. After Dave watched his fill of Ronald Reagan's famous Berlin Wall speech that was playing on a TV in the museum, we headed for a place with cold drinks and cool air so I could recover. Normally, I'd never go for Starbucks on vacation, but thank you capitalism for saving the day. 

In another part of Berlin sat the much more poignant Berlin Wall Memorial. Built on the "no man's land" that sat between the eastern and western parts of Berlin, this provided a really interesting glimpse into life in the city during the Cold War. Much of the wall that ran along this main street has been left partially in-tact and a mock "watchtower" has been erected to give visitors a glimpse into what life as a prisoner of your own city would have looked like.

At the western end of the memorial sits the Nordbahnhof subway station. During the Cold War, the station sat in East Berlin, but its line served the people of West Berlin. As a result, it became one of Berlin's many "ghost" stations, where trains passed underneath, but did not stop. To prevent East Berliners from escaping through the tunnels, a brick wall was put up in the entranceway, today marked by a memorial in the now fully functional station. 

Further along the memorial was an eery, iron structure containing silhouette photographs of the 136 people who lost their lives attempting to cross the wall during its 30 year history. The first lady to die attempted to jump out of her third story window over the wall. Several of the people killed were children. Some died in the fall, some were shot trying to cross the no-man's land in between, giving it the gloomy nickname of the "death strip". Small, circular plaques have now been placed around the memorial denoting the name, age, and location of death for each of the 136 killed. 

Part of the wall still stands, lining the road and covered in graffiti. Further down, only the metal infrastructure that sat beneath the concrete remains. Either way, they both gave an amazing glimpse into how weird it must have been to suddenly be cut off from your family and neighborhood by a 13-foot high slab of concrete.  In today's modern world, with the internet and email, it's a concept most of us can't even fathom.

Sitting in the middle of the death strip is the Chapel of Reconciliation. An old, medieval church once stood here and despite the bombings of two world wars, it survived. However, it could not survive the Soviet bulldozers that tore it down to make way for the wall. This chapel has been erected here in commemoration of the original. 

Art Museum meets Cold War Museum

My favorite type of museum.

Throughout Berlin, the remnants of the Berlin Wall have been used as a blank canvas for art. No matter where you go in the city, you run into some graffiti-laden (or sometimes gum-laden) chunk of concrete and are reminded of what once stood dividing the city in two. 

Some of these chunks are still used to send a message, like these by Checkpoint Charlie reminding passer-bys of the tyrants that still exist today.

However, my favorite museum of the trip was hands down the Berlin Wall East Side Gallery. Containing the longest remaining stretch of wall, artists have been invited to change the formerly bleak, grey slabs into colorful works of art. 

Everything from political messages to funny cartoons were displayed. Walking along with the wall on the right and a highway on the left, my neck hurt halfway through as I found it difficult to tear my eyes away from the array of colors. 

Some had such great 3-D images. They looked like you could walk right into them. 

Many messages were a commentary on life with the wall, some bleak, some funny.

Some showed happiness that the wall is gone, some showed anger demanding it back. 

Many just focused on icons in pop culture. 

And some used those icons to make a statement. 

Some were just an amazing mash-up of color that I couldn't tear my eyes (or my camera lens) away from. 

Some gave Dave and I some inspiration to join in.

At the end of the wall, you can loop back along the River Spree to see the other side. This side had a really cool exhibit called "Wall on Wall" showing blown up photographs of walls that continue to exist today. 

So here I am, assisting Berlin in its plight. Berlin = museums. Lots of museums. All amazing and worth spending a day on. Spread the word.