The Bear is Back! in Berlin and Museum Island

The Bear is Back!  And what better place to start a new trip than Berlin, a city that has a bear as its symbol.

I am here for two reasons – firstly to visit friends, and secondly on a long-term project to completely cross the earth in multiple trips by land or by boat, without using a plane. I have already crossed Russia by train, the USA by bus and most of Europe by car or rail. I am missing a final section through Eastern Europe, either from Krakow to Kiev (which looks difficult for the moment) or from Berlin to Kaunas in Lithuania. So, after Berlin my trip will carry on through Poland to Warsaw covering about half of the missing section.

On this trip I was also hoping to get some much-needed sun after the wettest, coldest start to a summer in London that anyone can remember. Sure enough, I arrived in Berlin’s new Brandenburg airport (finally complete years late and well over budget) in bright sunshine in the late afternoon and found my flat in the west of the city without trouble. Imagine my disappointment when, contrary to the forecast, I woke up the next morning to hear heavy rain beating against the windows.

I had a visit of the Reichstag terrace booked for the morning, but in view of the weather changed my plans and started with stroll around town, including Checkpoint Charlie, the main point of entry or exit between the west and east parts of the city during the period when the city was partitioned by the Berlin Wall. I was last here in 1985 when I made the crossing to the east and it was a functioning US/Soviet checkpoint. Today it is a popular tourist destination with a small booth remaining from the US side, an interesting display about the history of the Wall, and lots of tacky tourist shops.

From Checkpoint Charlie, I headed east to Museum Island, home to some of Europe’s best museums. Unfortunately, the most famous of them all, the Pergamon, had recently closed for major repairs and is scheduled to reopen in 2028 (but given Germany’s record for public construction projects, don’t hold your breath). But there was still plenty of choice. It had stopped raining, so first I visit Berlin’s impressive cathedral (Dom) with its cavernous interior and then climbed the tower for the good views from its roof.

Next, I visited the Neues Museum, built in the middle of the 19^th century, but looking a lot older, having been damaged by bombs in the second world war and then neglected during communist rule. It was brilliantly restored after reunification – in many of the rooms the original brickwork is left exposed, giving an old, decaying atmosphere that I found was a great way to present the exhibits. Highlights included a famous bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti (no photos allowed here!), a ceremonial gold hat from the bronze age which made me think of Hogwart’s sorting hat in the Harry Potter books, and parts of the treasure of Troy found by the enterprising German business and amateur archaeologist Schliemann.

After a wonderful couple of hours wandering around, I visited the nearby Altes Museum, built slightly earlier and looking much older from the outside, but modern on the inside with bright white walls. Its collection is not quite as good as its neighbour’s, but it does have some great pieces like this statue of a roman actor.

Originally I had planned to visit one more attraction on the island, the Alte Nationalgalerie, but there was long queue outside even for people who already had tickets. I didn’t fancy waiting for an hour in the rain, so headed home to relax. I had dinner with old friends who live in the Charlottenburg area of western Berlin. During our meal it had finally stopped raining, so afterwards we strolled around to explore the area, which had an interesting mix of architecture………

….and was also home to Charlottenburg Palace, whose construction was started around 1700 by Frederick I, King of Prussia and continued through the first half of the 18^th century until it became one of the biggest palaces in Europe. I could only admire the building from the outside but did not mind, since on the next day I planned to visit an even more impressive place…….

Next Post – Potsdam