Posted on Feb 1, 2013 in Berlin |
G. found a great button that says “Ride on without me.” Seems quite apropos after the big day we had.
January 31 was G.’s last full day in Berlin. We had a huge brunch at Cafe Anna Blume to strengthen ourselves for a giant day of sightseeing. We then toured the East Side Gallery Wall Museum, dropped by the Hackesche Höfe so that G. could pick up a few more souvenirs, we visited the Buchstabenmuseum, and then the Neue Nationalgalerie.
In the evening G. packed her suitcase and relaxed while I went to a gallery opening with Nina and then out for beer with her and her neighbour, who was from East Germany and told us about his five years in an East German prison. He said some shocking and astonishing things about how things worked and what he experienced.
This was probably the most packed day I had in Berlin in all of the three months I’ve been here. I have had the luxury of not cramming five things into one day. But it was a fun day and I did want to see all of these things too. I had put some of them off so I could do them with G.
Sculpture of Käthe Kollwitz in the park named after her in Prenzlauer Berg. We walked by there after our huge breakfast at Anna Blume.
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
East Side Gallery / Berlin Wall
Berlin posters. These say “Life is not a subway stop” and intend to spread news about social programs and social support.
At the Buchstabenmuseum Berlin.
We made it to the Neue Nationalgalerie. You can not be in Berlin and avoid confronting its Nazi and its East German Communist pasts. There was a large exhibit on post-WWII art, both East and West German, showing how artists dealt with the fact of a horrible war and its aftermath in their work.
The Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin was designed by Mies van der Rohe.
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