Berlin, Germany - Photo Travelogue - November 2005. |
Map of Germany with a star indicating Berlin's location. |
Entrance to the Zoological Garden (I thought it was Chinatown). |
Me striking a dashing pose along the Spree River in Berlin. |
Bikes outside the Berlin Cathedral with an Italian High Renaissance style dome (built 1894-1905). |
Close-up of the dome of the BODE-Museum (one of several museums on the so-called "Museum Island" in Berlin). |
Cover of a flyer for the Alte (Old) National Gallery in Berlin. |
Postcard of the Alte National Gallery with a statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV, king of Prussia (1840–61) in front. |
The stairs leading up to the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV in front of the Alte National Gallery. |
View of the Alte National Gallery between 2 columns. |
Close-up of the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV in front of the Alte National Gallery. |
Me inside the Alte National Gallery with the statue of Friedrich Wilhelm IV seen through the window. |
Sign for the Pergamon Museum which is named after the city of Pergamon in Asia Minor. |
The Pergamon Museum has exhibits of antiquity, the Middle East and Islamic art. |
Babylonian Ishtar Gate (Tor) lion panel (reconstructed). The original is from 575 BC. |
Roman Market Gate from Miletus in the Pergamon Museum. |
Reconstructed Pergamon Altar, a wonder of the ancient world (dedicated to Zeus and Athena). |
A rear view of the Reichstag (the Parliament) which was completed in 1894. |
Frontal view of the Reichstag with flags flying. |
The modern, metal and glass Reichstag dome was designed Foster and Partners in 1992. |
Interior view of the Reichstag dome. |
Another interior view. |
Me standing in front of a window in the Reichstag dome. |
Interior of the dome seen through metal bars. |
Modern, mirrored funnel shape in the center of the Reichstag dome. |
Another vantage point of the interior. |
Glass and metal spirals inside the Reichstag dome. |
The top of the Reichstag with the German flag flying. |
View of The Federal Chancellery which is adjacent to the Reichstag. |
The Federal Chancellery is one of the most impressive pieces of architecture in the new government precinct. |
The Federal Chancellery was built (1990's) when Berlin became the capital city of the reunified country. |
The Brandenburg Gate (1788-1791) is a city gate and triumphal arch modelled on the entrance to the Acropolis. |
The Quadriga sculpture that crowns the gate was built in 1793 as a symbol of peace. |
The Quadriga sculpture was stolen by Napoleon, but triumphantly returned after the Battle of Waterloo. |
The the Quadriga sculpture. After returning from Waterloo, it changed from a symbol of peace to a symbol of victory. |
Me standing in front of the Brandenburg Gate. |
The Brandenburg Gate as seen from Unter den Linden (the grandest street in Berlin). |
The Holocaust Memorial is dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Nazi reign of terror. It opened in 2005. |
Designed by N.Y. architect Peter Eisenman, it was created by 2,711 grey reinforced concrete blocks. |
Postcard of the Holocaust Memorial. People get disoriented walking through it because of the tilting blocks. |
Interior view looking up at the roof of Sony Centre in Potsdam Square. |
The roof of Sony Centre in Potsdam Square looks like the inside of a parachute. |
Potsdam Square, in the very heart of Berlin, is a shopping and business center. |
Potsdam Square is very modern with glass and steel architecture. |
Ticket for "The Private Collection of Picasso" at the National Gallery in Berlin. |
A photo of Picasso dressing up (something he liked to do). |
An interesting modern sculpture that I saw in Potsdam Square. |
Sign for the Martin-Gropius-Bau (museum) in Berlin. |
This is not the work of Walter Gropius (of the Bauhaus movement), but of his uncle Martin Gropius. |
This building of dusty pink brick, gilded mosaics and stucco was completed in 1881. |
The Martin-Gropius-Bau once was an arts and crafts museum. Today, it hosts touring shows. |
Sign where the Berlin Wall once stood. It was built in 1961 during the Cold War. |
What remains of the Berlin Wall. The rest of it was torn down by the end of 1990. |
The 96 mile Berlin Wall was a concrete wall with barbed wire and an average height of 11.8 ft. |
Me standing along the remains of the Berlin Wall (like a Cold War prisoner in E. Berlin)! |
In 1961, the U.S. military opened a crossing point into E. Berlin known as "Checkpoint Charlie." |
The function of the checkpoint was to register and inform members of the Western Military before entering E. Berlin. |
U.S. soldier standing guard at Checkpoint Charlie. Today, the soldiers are mostly a tourist attraction. |
Close-up of the U.S. soldier guarding Checkpoint Charlie. |
A dated photo of a Checkpoint Charlie sign with graffiti on the Berlin Wall behind it. |
A postcard of the Jewish Museum designed by Daniel Libeskind in 1998 and opened in 2001. |
The museum explores 2000 years of German-Jewish life as depicted by a variety of themes and media. |
Daniel Libeskind, who designed the museum, also won the commission to build for the new World Trade Center. |
Adjoining the modern Daniel Libeskind wing is this more traditional entrance and façade. |
Close-up of the traditional entrance and façade of the Jewish Museum. |
Postcard of the"Fallen Leaves" exhibit. The exhibit is a powerful reminder of the death and suffering of the Jews. |
View of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of the Holy Cross (built in 1888) with a clock tower. |
Postcard of the West Berlin U-Bahn subway line. |
Berlin subway map. When the W. Berlin U-Bahn joined with the E. Berlin C-Bahn, the result was utter confusion! |
An impressive building on Unter den Linden in Berlin. |
St. Hedwig's Cathedral is the diocesan church of the Archdiocese of Berlin. |
Monument of Frederick the Great, mounted on horseback on Unter den Linden. |
He was known as Frederick the Great for his military prowess during the 7 Years War (1756-63). |
He was King of Prussia. By the time he died in 1786, he doubled the area of his country. |
An example of some of the grand architecture on Unter den Linden. |
A classical-style building on Unter den Linden. |
Another classical-style building on Unter den Linden. |
More grand architecture on Unter den Linden. |
The Zeughaus (old arsenal) German Historical Museum of Berlin is the oldest structure on the Unter den Linden. |
My ticket for a performance of Carmen at the German State Opera House. |
Here's an ad for Carmen that I saw on Unter den Linden. |
Postcard of a night view of the State Opera House on Unter den Linden. |