I woke this morning knowing that I am falling in love with Berlin. Like the start of many love affairs, it’s hard to single out one quality or moment . . . it’s just a feeling . . . an undeniable sense. Anyway, that’s how I felt as I came into consciousness this morning!
Our general routine . . . once ready to start the day one of us Nuest’as texts the group to see who is up and ready for breakfast. This morning that was Cat, who needed to eat breakfast early before heading off to an interview that may well lead to a graduate fellowship as she begins her doctorate in art history. A few minutes later, Cat, Zelda and I are sitting in the Regent Hotel dining room enjoying a lovely breakfast and making a plan for the day. Simply, once Tejomaya is ready, she, Zelda and I will walk to the Berlinische Galerie to rendezvous with Cat. While Cat and I spend time at the modern art museum, Zelda and Tejomaya will go on the Jewish Museum. At some point later in the day, we four will meet up for dinner at the Fernsehturm.
Our general routine . . . once ready to start the day one of us Nuest’as texts the group to see who is up and ready for breakfast. This morning that was Cat, who needed to eat breakfast early before heading off to an interview that may well lead to a graduate fellowship as she begins her doctorate in art history. A few minutes later, Cat, Zelda and I are sitting in the Regent Hotel dining room enjoying a lovely breakfast and making a plan for the day. Simply, once Tejomaya is ready, she, Zelda and I will walk to the Berlinische Galerie to rendezvous with Cat. While Cat and I spend time at the modern art museum, Zelda and Tejomaya will go on the Jewish Museum. At some point later in the day, we four will meet up for dinner at the Fernsehturm.
While waiting for Tejomaya, Zelda and I walk around the block to Bebelplatz. This plaza was once envisioned as the cultural and intellectual center of Prussia under the rule of Frederick the Great. Keep in mind that back then Prussia consisted of what today includes Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Bebelplatz is encircled by Greek-inspired architecture including:
- Humboldt University, which was attended by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, the Brothers Grimm, Angela Davis and scores of Nobel Laureates. Albert Einstein taught here before coming to the United States and assuming a position at Princeton University;
- The former State Library;
- An historic bank building, which is now the Hotel de Rome;
- St. Hedwig’s Church, whose nickname is the “upside-down teacup”; and
- The German State Opera.
At the center of Bebelplatz is a glass window embedded into the ground. Below you can see a room of empty bookshelves that represent a memorial repudiating the massive Nazi book burning that occurred on this square. In 1933, more than 20,000 forbidden books were thrown into a huge bonfire on the orders of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, who declared “the era of extreme Jewish intellectualism has come to an end, and the German revolution has again opened the way for the true essence of being German.” |
The Berlinische Galerie is one of Berlin’s newest museums and is focused on a museum of modern art from 1870 to the present, photography and architecture. Below are images or details from images that I found particularly interesting and inspiring.
Several hours later, Cat and I met up in a room dedicated to a major work — “The Art Show” —by U.S. artists Edward and Nancy Reddin Kienholz. The piece was conceived and created from 1963 through 1977, and it became part of the Berlinische Galerie collection in 1996. Its theme is the opening of an art exhibition in gallery, and the installation consists of 19 figures, a number of collage-like works or art that depict the casting of bodies for the sculptures, furnishing and installing the gallery space, and electrical wiring schematics. All of the “people” in the installation wear clothing owned by those who were models. Their faces are replaced by air conditioning vents, fans from old cars, and when one presses a button on the figures, a comment on art by the “person” is heard above background noise from the imaginary opening reception.
After leaving the museum, Cat and I stopped at a couple of private art galleries on Lindenstraße before retracing my steps back towards our hotel. We also ducked into a Miehle showroom — nothing new — and across the street a wonderfully colorful boutique of clothing and homeware by Gudrun Sjödén (Markgrafenstraße 32). Thirsty, we stopped at Gendarmenmarkt in the shadow of the Konzerthaus and the Französischer Dom for an iced kaffee, glass of Prosecco and some people watching!
Back at the hotel, with about 30 minutes to shower and dress, we Nuest’as met in the lobby for a taxi to the Fernsehturm for dinner. Actually a 1,207-foot high TV tower, it is the tallest building in Berlin. Like the Seattle’s Space Needle, it affords incredible 360-degree views. It was built in 1965-69 by the East German government to demonstrate their building ingenuity. |
Arriving right on time, it took another 15 minutes or so to figure out that we needed to purchase tickets to ride the elevator to the Sphere restaurant and then queue up with everyone going to the observation deck. Thankfully, they held our reservation and we were directed to walk up a flight of stairs to the restaurant. The food was surprisingly tasty, as were the drinks . . . and the view was incredible as the restaurant slowly revolves around its own axis every 30 minutes. This was a perfect way to orient ourselves to our hotel, where we’ve already been and where some of our next destinations were situated.
Having realized how close the Fernsehturm is in relation to our hotel, we opted to work off dinner by walking back. Our route took us over the Spree River and across Museum Island with nighttime views of the Berliner Dom, where classically-trained street musicians performed exquisitely. We crossed through Bebelplatz to Behrenstraßse and checked out two restaurants as possibilities for our last dinner here tomorrow night.
As head hits the pillow, my thoughts return to my growing love affair with Berlin!