Germany, Volume II (Berlin)

After a train ride east, I arrived in Berlin.  I had very high expectations for the city, mainly based on its reputation as an historically rich cultural capital of Europe.  Out of anticipation to see the city's Museum Island, my inner-nerd was going crazy as I got to my hostel.  Soon enough, though, I made the 10 minute walk to the orgy of cultural artifacts (oh yeah, it's a UNESCO World Heritage site, too), which has five world class museums on its northern half.  First, I checked out the Neues Museum, which, along with the adjacent Alte Nationalgalerie, has a pretty nice courtyard.

The Neues Museum has a great Egyptian collection and is especially famous for the Nefertiti bust that it owns.  But in a major museum faux pas, I took a picture in the room--the bust has its very own room.  Not too bad, right?  Ehhh.  Apparently, this is the one room in the entire museum in which you can't take pictures (Dear Neues Museum, signs are helpful in explaining your rules.  Respectfully, Eric).  I've still got the picture, but that'd be kind of lame to post it here, so I'm going to resist temptation.  That said, here are some other pieces from the Museum.  You can look at them if you want, but they have to share rooms with other artifacts, so I don't know why you'd want to...

The next stop was the Pergamon Museum, which takes its name from its marquee attraction, the Pergamon Altar.  Along with an extensive collection of Greek and Roman artifacts, the Pergamon has some of the most important pieces of Mesopotamian art, including the Ishtar Gate and the Codex of Hammurabi (although the 'original' is in the Louvre).  Excuse me for a second, I just dropped my pocket protector.  Ok, got it.  Here are some pictures.

Pergamon Altar

Ishtar Gate

Codex of Hammurabi

Just up the road from Museum Island is one of Berlin's biggest tourist attractions, the Brandenburg Gate.  But just because it's a major haunt for visitors doesn't mean the former entry to Berlin isn't something to see.  The only thing that was a problem with it is that in the area surrounding it, vendors charge 3 Euro for a currywurst (one hotdog cut into small pieces and covered in ketchup and curry powder--whoopee).  Trust me, people pay that.  But you see, I'm above that--I keep it classy and spend my money on beer (4 Euro/bottle).  Besides, you can drink on the street in much of Europe so it's worth it.

Had enough of the Black Dot of Brussels?  Sorry, nothing I can do about it...

If you recognize the Gate, it might be because the Berlin Wall used to encroach on it and the two landmarks served as the centerpiece of stock photos depicting the fall of the Wall.  The entirety of the Wall has been gone for 21 years, but there are still remnants throughout the city.  The longest stretch is known as the East Side Gallery and has transformed the Wall into a mural that's just under a mile long.  One famous section depicts former East German and Soviet Union General Secretaries Erich Honeker and Leonid Brezhnev...discussing politics.

Being the third wheel has never been so historic!

Berlin's not-so-distant history of division has lent a hand in making the city a center of artistic expression.  Many parts of the city that were formerly under Communist control are homes to buildings which currently serve as canvases for public art.  Kreuzberg, an area south of the East Side Gallery and across the Spree River, is one such place.

Berlin is one of the most popular cities in Europe and everyone I've talked with who has been there has ranked it high on their lists of best European cities.  For me, it's #1 for sure.  I just wish I was more creative at the moment to keep raving about it.  Instead, I'll take the low road and throw some pictures up.  Enjoy!

Checkpoint Charlie

More of the Wall

Soviet War Memorial.  This was built to honor the 80,000 Soviet soldiers killed during WWII's Battle of Berlin (April-May 1945)

Berliner Dom

Oberbaumbruecke

Volkswagen Beetle, Deutsches Historiches Museum (DHM)

Signs from the 1989-1990 demonstrations that called for reunification, DHM

Boundary marker, DHM

Spiral staircase, DHM

Some crappy car

Potsdamer Platz (lots of authentic German shops here, such as Legoland and Sony)

Fernsehturm.  The glare on the sphere is known as the "Pope's Revenge."  Find out why.

Tiergarten, Berlin's largest park.

Grosse Sternallee, Tiergarten

Tiergarten

Tiergarten

Hauptbahnhof ("central station")

Berlin:  Kind of like Burlington, but without those silly open container laws.  UVMers love it.