Tejomaya and I were the first one’s up and out in search of breakfast, which we did at a sweet café — Amici — two blocks away from our hotel on the corner of Markgrafenstraße and Jaferstraße 56. Starving, I ordered a three-egg omelet with veggies and ham, a croissant, fruit and hot chocolate. Zelda joined us about 20 minutes later and we began making plans for the day: Juli was sleeping in; Zelda opted to spend the morning sitting at the café writing; and Tejomaya and I decided to explore Museum Island (Museumsinsel), which is the site to world’s must diverse, yet coherent, museum complex. Actually, there are five museums located on the Island that were built between 1830 and 1930 to hold the Prussian royal collections or art and archeology. Having been heavily damaged during WWII, the complex has been completely restored and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999.
On our walk to Museum Island, we discovered an Annette Görtz boutique (Markgrafenstraße 42) and only a block away from our hotel! One of my favorite German designers, I first discovered Görtz clothing at Santa Fe Dry Goods (Santa Fe, NM) where I bought a fabulous raincoat designed by her. Known for avant-garde styling and a "non-color palette", her clothing and my personal style match perfectly. Not open yet, I made a mental note to stop by either later today or tomorrow!
After crossing Bebelplatz, we walk towards the Deutsches Historisches Museum and turn left before crossing over the Spree River. After a couple of failed attempts to access Museums-insel, we find a way over Monbijoubrücke at the Bode-Museum. Located at the northern tip of the island, the Bode was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, it was renamed in honor of its first curator Wilelm von Bode. The Museum holds collections of sculpture as well as Byzantine Art, coins and medals. |
Hot and thirsty, Tejomaya and I left the Bode and continued across the Monbijoubrücke walking along side the Spree to Monbijou Park where we quenched our thirsts and sat for a few minutes people-watching.
Next, we headed back to the island and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old Museum) that houses an international collection of art from 1800 to the present. It is one of the major collections of the Staatliche Museum zu Berlin (National Museums of Berlin), with works located in various museums across the city. The Alte Nationalgalerie showcases 19th century art and its collections range from early Neo-Classical and Romantic period works to the Impressionist school, and holds the largest collection of paintings by Adolph Menzel in existence.
Our next stop was the Neues Museum (New Museum), which was the second museum to be built on Museum Island (between 1843 and 1855) and houses the Prehistory, Early History and Egyptian collections including the iconic bust of Queen Nefertiti that we weren't allowed to photograph.
My fourth grade teacher — Miss Petti — inspired in me a love of Egyptian art history and culture. One of my top bucket list trips is to visit Egypt and experience and soak in the energy of the Valley of the Kings and sail down the Nile River.
My fourth grade teacher — Miss Petti — inspired in me a love of Egyptian art history and culture. One of my top bucket list trips is to visit Egypt and experience and soak in the energy of the Valley of the Kings and sail down the Nile River.
Tired and thirsty, we opted out of visiting the Pergamon Museum once we saw the long line of people queued up in the hot sun waiting to get in. This museum was built over 20 years (1910-30) to house monumental artifacts such as the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon and the Market Gate of Miletus. I look forward to spending long hours here on my next visit to Berlin as it also contains the antiquity, Middle East and Islamic art collections. So for now, I need to be content with seeing photographs of these wonders taken by others.
Instead, looking at our Berlin map, Tejomaya and I decided to weave our way across the Spree left on Burgstraße to MonbijouPlatz, then right towards Hackeschermarkt to the Trippen flagship store (Hackescher Höfe 4&6). On the same trip to Santa Fe where I discovered Annette Görtz’s clothing, I also discovered and bought an incredibly comfortable pair of Trippen boots — they are truly like wearing slippers, so incredibly comfortable.
After trying on literally a score of sandals and shoes, I found my ideal ones . . . just not in my size. Disappointed, my quest is to locate them somewhere in the U.S. I’ll keep you posted!!! Absolutely tired, hot and sweaty, and having learned we have a 7:30 dinner reservation, we retrace our steps back to the Regent Hotel — passing wonderful graffiti along the way! |
At 7:20 we Neust'as met in the hotel lobby to walk 1/2 block to the Gendarmerie Gastronomie, a restaurant we checked out last night while walking back from dinner at the Fernsehturm.
Having put on many miles today, I was feeling good . . . after a hot shower, fresh clothes, two Moscow Mules! We opted to eat outside on their "summer terrace" (sidewalk) as it had cooled down pleasantly. Dinner was excellent. Being a "Chanterelle Week", I ordered Lobster bisque, followed by Chanterelle risotto and a side of Mediterranean grilled vegetables. Being our last night in Berlin, Zelda, Juli and I lingered over several glasses of Prosecco sharing personal stories and highlights from our time thus far together — beautiful evening! |
Again, before going to sleep my thoughts drift to how much I love Berlin and already I am looking forward to my next visit . . . or perhaps a longer stay.