Spring 2009 European Tour:  Berlin, Part III
May 8th
By: John B. Holbrook, II
 

Friday morning came, and even though all my *official* business was done in Europe, I still had quite a few plans for Friday and Saturday in Berlin before I flew back to the US Sunday morning.  The Last tour of the trip that Lange had arranged for me came right after breakfast with the gentleman pictured below.  We did about a 2 hour foot tour which was amazing - I've never met anyone with such a command of history, architecture, geography....the man was a walking encyclopedia and made it all come alive.  I've got a friend who travels to Europe nearly every summer with his family, and they spend quite a premium taking guided tour vacations wherever they travel.  Now I understand why.    

 

He picked me up at the Hotel De Rome - here's a photograph of the court yard area where the hotel is located - the hotel entrance is just right of center, where the cream colored cabs are parked.  Immediately to the left of the hotel is St. Hedwigs Cathedral.

 

We first visited the "Neue Wache" or New Guard House.  Originally built as a guardhouse for the troops of the Crown Prince of Prussia, the building has been used as a war memorial since 1931.

 

The interior of the structure is largely empty, save for this enlarged version of Käthe Kollwitz's sculpture "Mother with her Dead Son." This sculpture is directly under the oculus (an opening in the roof of the structure), and so is exposed to the rain, snow and cold of the Berlin climate, symbolizing the suffering of civilians during World War II.

 

Our next stop was the German Historical Museum.  In the DDR era, it was a museum of Socialist Propaganda. Today, it houses a wide-range of artworks and historical artifacts and documents central to Prussian and more recent German history.  Post-Modernist architect I. M. Pei Austellungshalle designed an entirely new wing on the expanding museum in 2003.  Pei was the innovative architect who gave the Louvre Museum in Paris its glass pyramids 

 

Here's an interior shot of the museum's new wing:

 

Between the ravages of war, and Soviet occupation until 1989, much of East Germany is still undergoing massive renovation and reconstruction.  Here's one of the many historical museum buildings which is nearly complete:

 

 

Here we are by the Berlin Dome, and immediately to the right of the church is another famous structure of East Berlin which harkens back to the DDR days.  The Fernsehturm (German for "television tower") is a television tower, originally built between 1965 and 1969 - it's the tallest structure in Germany (4th tallest in all of Europe) and was originally designed as a symbol of Soviet technological supremacy - it has sort of a "Sputnik" feel to it.  It isn't the prettiest structure, and looks rather out of place - but it does have an interesting story.  One of the many evils of the former Communist government which built the TV tower was the suppression of all church institutions in East Germany.  Yet, when the sun shines on the metal sphere atop the TV tower, the reflection that is created forms the sign of the Christian cross. For years, Communist government officials worked to correct what they viewed as the tower's one major flaw by treating the glass sphere at the top with paints and chemicals of every kind in an attempt to get rid of the cross reflection in the sphere, but nothing ever worked.  Isn't God awesome? 

 It was quite overcast in the morning when I took this photo during my foot tour.  But as you'll read later, I did get some better photos. 

 

 

Here's a photo I pulled off the web showing the cross reflection on the TV Tower:

 

Another of Berlin's many churches - unfortunately, (primarily due to religion being outlawed during the DDR period) it is estimated that nearly 70% of Berlin is atheist and have no religious beliefs.  Pray for evangelical efforts throughout all of Germany.

 

After the morning tour, I met up with my watch journalist friend Dody - we met during my trip to Japan last fall.  She's from Rome and works for an Italian watch magazine.  We grabbed a traditional German lunch of sausages and prezels at this German "beer garden" - thankfully they also carry Coke Lite.  :)  Dody ended up joining the foot tour a bit late, so we explored Berlin a bit after we had lunch.

 

We litterally stumbled upon this boutque for a watch company neither of us had ever heard of before called Askania, which is made in Berlin.

 

We then decided to go to the Berlin Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie:

 

 

You couldn't take any photos inside, but I did sneak this photo of the view from the angled windows which overlook the Berlin Wall Memorial:

 

Throughout Berlin you can find markers which show where the actual Berlin wall ran through the city:

 

Later in the afternoon, the sun came out and I went back out to get some better photos:

 

The Berlin Dome:

 

 

 

It costs five Euros to go inside, but it was worth it - it's magnificent!

 

 

 

Check out the organ!

 

 

 

As you exit the Berlin Dome, immediately to your right is the Altes Museum - one of several internationally renowned museums on Berlin's Museum Island.  

 

Another successful day of tours and museums!  Tomorrow would be my last full day in Berlin, but I had plenty left to see, as well as a get together with some German Rolex collectors in Berlin!