FYI: When I see this post in the Preview Mode, the spacing is totally wonky; don't know nearly enough about computers to know how to fix it myself and my handy dandy Tech Guru is having a cat nap so I won't disturb him - my apologies to all as it truly does look fine in the non preview mode; AEB in Torun on 8/13.
Museuminsel (Museum Island): Originally built around 1871 when Germany was newly unified as one
nation and Berlin dubbed itself as ‘Athens on the Spree River’; the island’s Neoclassical bldgs host 5 grand museums; the entire ensemble is being renovated and when the project is finished, this will be one of the most impressive museum zones in Europe; Museuminsel was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO
in 1999.
The museum complex was just a few minutes' walk fromour hostel; we spent the entire last day there and also popped into the Berliner Dom, aka the Berlin (Protestant) Cathedral. I had previously bought a 3 day
Museumpass good for over 50 Berlin museums for 24 euros each but was able to sell the passes for 8 euros
each our last night at the hostel as there was still one day left on each; a good deal for us and the buyers as
each admission ticket was about 8 euros.
Museuminsel (Museum Island): Originally built around 1871 when Germany was newly unified as one
nation and Berlin dubbed itself as ‘Athens on the Spree River’; the island’s Neoclassical bldgs host 5 grand museums; the entire ensemble is being renovated and when the project is finished, this will be one of the most impressive museum zones in Europe; Museuminsel was declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO
in 1999.
The museum complex was just a few minutes' walk fromour hostel; we spent the entire last day there and also popped into the Berliner Dom, aka the Berlin (Protestant) Cathedral. I had previously bought a 3 day
Museumpass good for over 50 Berlin museums for 24 euros each but was able to sell the passes for 8 euros
each our last night at the hostel as there was still one day left on each; a good deal for us and the buyers as
each admission ticket was about 8 euros.
Stopped in at the Bode Museum first: Built from 1897 to 1904, it's home to the Sculpture and Nuismatic Collections and Byzantine Art.
 |
| Front of the Bode Museum: the Equestrian Sculpture from the the Schloss had formerly been right where I stood to take this photo. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Sculptureof St. Anne and her 3 Husbands; I think having just my Steven is enough for me; I don't need another husband! |
 |
| The intricracy of this workmanship is amazing to me. |
 |
| Kyle: this one's for you. Neues Museum: Built between 1843 and 1856 but heavily destroyed in WW II; it was closed for 70 yearsbefore reopening in 2009; traces the development of Old World cultures; I particularly enjoyed seeing the huge collection of Egyptian art as that's always close to my heart since my great aunt Nina spent a good part of her life in Egypt copying the paintings in the tombs. |
 |
| Had to crane my neck to take this photo of one room's ceiling. |
 |
 |
| Imagine how many Tylenlol you'd need after wearing this gold hat! Alte (Old) NationalGalerie: The next museum we saw on Museuminsel; built in 1876, it houses the collection of 19th century art; some of my/our favorite pictures etc are below.         A lovely break seeing the Evangelical, i.e Protestant, Cathedral after seeing 3 museums and before seeing the Holy Grail of museums in Berlin, the Pergamon. The photos below are my/our favorites of the Dom's interior.     can see in the photo before this one.  We paid to walk around outside near the top of the Dom, what I would call a Widows' Walk, so we could get a bird's eye view of the city from many different directions; of course, that involved walking up and then down many, many flights of stairs! Not so good if you're like me and you hate heights.  Finally the Pergamon: We had hoped to see it first thing in the morning but the wait was 3 hours, I kid you not, to get in; that's why we decided to see the other museums beforehand; after seeing each one, we'd walk over and see how long the wait time was only to discover it was STILL 3 hours; luckily we were there on a Thursday so all the museums were open til 8 instead of the normal 6; it was built between 1910 and 1930 to house the Pergamon Altar frieze panels discovered in Egypt between 1878 and 1886.      Part of the famous Pergamon Altar: the key is to find Waldo, aka Steven, in this picture! The museum is undergoing a massive renovation so parts of the Altar were not visible unfortunately;  the Altar is a 65 ft wide temple that came from 2nd century B.C. Greek city of Pergamon near the west coast of today’s Turkey.  the entire museum was designed specifically around this frieze and the Altar.    Do you see Waldo again?  Mosaics from Jordan in the Pergamon; tall about full circle since we''ll be there at the very end of our trip in November.  Darlene: I kept thinking of you when we passed this chain of bakeries spelt almost like your last name!  The Old Synagogue in Berlin, above and below, just across the street from our hostel.  |
