Fits on the Road: Exploring Berlin Germany: Part 3

Well, here I am, sharing memories from our final day of touring Berlin. (You can read parts 1 and 2 here and here) Part 3 is packed full of museums!

We were up early to get started, stopping quick for a frothy latte along the way, at a place called Die Deponie Nr. 3

Berlin has a cluster of museums close together on what is referred to as “Museum Island.” There are more museums on there than the ones we visited, but we only had so much time! Fortunately, I believe we saw most of the highlights.

We started at the Pergamon Museum.

A large portion of Museum Island is currently under construction, so we were routed through an alternate entrance.

Once inside, you can’t miss one of the world-renowned highlights, the Pergamon Altar. Built in the first half of the 2nd century BC, it was originally located on the acropolis of the ancient city of Pergamon.

“The structure is 35.64 metres wide and 33.4 metres deep; the front stairway alone is almost 20 metres wide. The base is decorated with a frieze in high relief showing the battle between the Giants and the Olympian gods known as the Gigantomachy. There is a second, smaller and less well-preserved high relief frieze on the inner court walls which surround the actual fire altar on the upper level of the structure at the top of the stairs. In a set of consecutive scenes, it depicts events from the life of Telephus, legendary founder of the city of Pergamon and son of the hero Heracles and Auge, one of Tegean king Aleus’s daughters.

In 1878, the German engineer Carl Humann began official excavations on the acropolis of Pergamon, an effort that lasted until 1886. The excavation was undertaken in order to rescue the altar friezes and expose the foundation of the edifice. Later, other ancient structures on the acropolis were brought to light. Upon negotiating with the Turkish government (a participant in the excavation), it was agreed that all frieze fragments found at the time would become the property of the Berlin museums.” source

Next was the market gate of Miletus. This large marble monument is from the second century AD, destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century, and then excavated and rebuilt in the early 1900s.

And the final “showstopper” (trust me, there was a LOT more to the museum, but these are three big ones) was the Ishtar Gate. This was the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, constructed in 575 BC by order of King Nebuchanezzer II.

We spent about two hours in this museum, before moving along to the Neues Museum.

The “highlight” here was definitely the bust of Queen Nefertiti. There were no pictures allowed of her, but here is a picture from my good friend Google. She has a room all to herself at this museum. Special lady!

“The Nefertiti Bust is a 3,300-year-old painted limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, and one of the most copied works of ancient Egypt. Owing to the work, Nefertiti has become one of the most famous women of the ancient world, and an icon of feminine beauty. The work is believed to have been crafted in 1345 BC by the sculptor Thutmose.

A German archaeological team led by Ludwig Borchardt discovered the Nefertiti bust in 1912 in Thutmose’s workshop in Amarna, Egypt. It has been kept at several locations in Germany since its discovery, including a salt mine in Merkers-Kieselbach, the Dahlem museum (then in West Berlin), the Egyptian Museum in Charlottenburg and the Altes Museum. It is currently on display at the restored and recently re-opened Neues Museum in Berlin, where it was displayed before World War II.” source

There was tons to see in the Neues Museum, including the Berlin Gold Hat, which is a late Bronze Age artifact made of thin gold leaf. It once served as the external covering on a long conical brimmed headdress.

And on to the next museum…the German History Museum, or “Deutsches Historiches Museum”.

This is a museum for “enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germany and Europe.”

This museum was huge, as it traced the entire history of Germany. It had a little bit of everything! Of course, there was a grand exhibit on the Nazi regime, and then the Berlin Wall. But we actually found the older history pretty interesting as well.

I mean, where else can you find shields this big?

And what’s a lesson in German history without my pal Martin Luther and his 95 thesis?

We Minnesotans are usually fans of this guy.

I also found this mask fascinating. This was for protection from the plague!

Whew. So you’d think after all that museum time, we’d need a break?

Nope. Just ONE more museum to squeeze into the day. This one was small, but actually really fascinating. Throughout our stay in Berlin, we both became very curious about Communist life in East Berlin, and this DDR Museum shed some light on the topic for us.

Life in East Berlin was definitely unique…Just take a look at this little tidbit of information about the collective potty breaks at the daycares. No one stops until everyone is done!

There was tons of information about life in communist East Berlin, the black market between East and West Berlin, and even a Trabant, the popular car produced in East Berlin.

We also saw the Berlin Cathedral, or the “Berliner Dom.”

With that, you have a pretty good idea of our third day exploring. I definitely feel like we got a really good feel for the city. Of course, the pictures I have posted are mostly the tourist attractions. Yet in between all that, we were able to really explore some neighborhoods, stopping at many different places for a bite to eat or to check out an interesting store.

I fell in love with Berlin’s “Ampelmannchen” or “little traffic guy” as well. He’s the little symbol on their traffic lights. He has become a bit of a cult symbol now too, with stores dedicated to Ampelmannchen wares!

See now? Running isn’t just about exercise. Thanks to running, we had this opportunity to explore Berlin, and learn about life (and history) of this funky city.

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