Hello dear readers! I hope you had a great
weekend. Ours was very nice and the weather was kind to us. Thursday was a bank
holiday and, for many of us, it was a long weekend.
We got away to a picturesque Swiss town and
visited an old friend, Mr Charlie Chaplin... I will tell to you all about that
later. Okay?
For now, I leave you with four fantastic
suggestions for cultural visits in Berlin. Two museums, one palace and an open
air gallery.
Note that there is a day ticket that allows
you to visit several museums in one day for an attractive price. However, I
would not recommend more than two museums per day because you will not have the
time to enjoy the exhibits at their just value. Personally I prefer quality
rather than quantity!
Pergamonmuseum
The Pergamonmuseum is a fascinating window onto the ancient world. The
three-wing complex unites classical sculpture and monumental architecture from
Greece, Rome, Babylon and the Middle East.
Note that the Museum is
undergoing renovation works. The Pergamon Altar is closed to the public until
2019.
The Market Gate of Miletus is
a large marble monument built in Miletus in the 2nd century AD and
destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century.
In the early 1900s, it was excavated, rebuilt, and placed on display in the
museum.
Roman Emperor Statue
A Lamassu in the Assyrian
Room
Assyrian Lion
Sculpture in the Assyrian Room
NEUES MUSEUM
The Neues Museum was built between 1843 and 1855 and it was closed at
the beginning of WW2, it was heavily damaged during the bombing of Berlin. The
rebuilding was overseen by an English architect and the museum officially
reopened in October 2009. Exhibits include the Egyptian and Prehistory and
Early History collections. The artifacts it houses the iconic bust of the
Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
Egyptian Courtyard
“Fourteen murals conveyed an impression of the sites of the ancient
monuments in the Nile Valley in the former Egyptian courtyard which emulated a
temple courtyard of the New Kingdom…”
Colossal statue of Helios
Colossal statue of a goddess
Egyptian Tombs Room: Sarcophagus of the
general Pede-Esi, Sarcophagus of Meryt, official of auxiliary forces,
Highpriest of Rê, Sarcophagus of Hori, Highpriest of Memphis
Schloss Charlottenburg
Is an exquisite baroque palace and one of the few sites in Berlin that
still reflects the one-time grandeur of the royal Hohenzollern clan, who ruled
from 1415 until 1918.
Golden Gallery originally known as
the Grand Gallery, is one of the most important creations of rococo interior
design from the reign of Frederick the Great. It is a magnificent example of
the decorative arts of the 18th century.
The Belvedere King Frederick
William II of Prussia had the small garden palace built as a place for private
retreat in 1788. Inside is displayed one of the most important collections of
Berlin porcelain art worldwide.
The Mausoleum, the burial
place of the Hohenzollern family, following the sudden death of Queen Luise of
Prussia King Frederick William III had this mausoleum built for his beloved
wife at the end of a pine avenue in 1810 in the style of a Doric temple.
The Monument for Queen Luise of
Prussia, made between 1811 and 1814, is artistically the most significant.
East Side Gallery
The Berlin Wall is a 1.3 km long international
memorial to freedom. And the world’s largest open air-mural collection, the Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all
over the world.
