Day 7 - Sore feet, museumed out
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Berlin,
Germany
Saturday, September 6, 2008
I'll say one thing for Berlin, all the museums and galleries are dead easy to get to. Many are on the Museumsinsel at the end of Unter den Linden, and the whole area is undergoing a huge restoration right now, so you have to avoid areas where building work is going on. But apparently it will all be completed in summer 2009, and access improved.
First call today was the Alte Nationalgalerie which I hadn't been in before. 8€ to enter, it was three floors of 17th and 18th century paintings, mostly (of course) by German artists, many of whom I hadn't heard before. If you like classical landscapes with peasants mulling about, cattle dozing on their feet by dramatic waterfalls and cliffs, this is the place for you. And me. I spent far too long here. The middle floor only had two rooms open due to restoration work. If it had been open fully I would probably have spent all day here.
As a break, I strolled around the street markets set up alongside the museums. It was great to see people trying on such things as East German border guard caps and jackets, Russian fur hats (a sensible idea, but they would look silly going to work in one) and so on. Lots of photos and 'certified' pieces of the Wall on sale, and photo books of Berlin 'then and now'. Also books on the old DDR, with assorted flags, posters and badges. There were several people playing accordions very well, plus one violinist playing badly. A Polish woman was playing guitar and singing, and very young children were safely playing. Not many cities in the UK you can say this about.
After all this it was time for my daily culture injection part two. I next went to the Bode Museum, and this was a big mistake. By 4:40pm I had only just finished the top floor. A return visit tomorrow is a must. This was also €8 admission.
This museum was much more to do with medieval religious works, such as icons, altar pieces, triptychs and statues. Not everyone's cup of tea, but again I was in my element. A good thing about Berlin museums is that you can take photos, and it doesn't cost any extra (like in the UK). The café in this place has to be seen to be believed. It is along the curved wall of the museum, with wrought iron decorations and shiny marble floor, plus the himbeeretorte just has to be experienced (raspberry torte). The interior of the museum is like a cathedral. A huge dome, with Corinthian pillars and elaborate painted ceiling. The wide sweeping staircases were bordered by black and gold rails, which looked fabulous. I would have paid the entry fee just to see the building itself.
But like I say, I ran out of time, and I had to make the 2hr journey back to the campsite.
So tomorrow hopefully it will be Pergamon, my first return there since 1990, then the second half of Bode. Hope my feet recover in time.
