Visited : Berlin, Pergamonmuseum (âŹ24 double), The Reichstag (free) and Rosenthaler Platz (free).
Stayed : Wohnmobilepark Berlin (Tegel), all the usual service including electricity âŹ21 per night for 3 nights (Camper Contact). N52.59562 E13.28909
Our third and last day in Berlin. We plan another day of public transport, starting with the 10 minute walk to Tegel Station then the U6 to Friedrichstr Station. Just so you can be as confused as us, there are two train lines into Tegel. The U6 or sub-way line and the S25 or suburban line, the stations are about 200 metres apart, one being underground of course.
The Pergamonmuseum claims to be Berlin’s number 1 attraction, however it’s under renovation and only about a third is open. Waiting outside we see the renovations will not be completed until 2025. We feel it will have trouble holding the No 1 spot for another 9 years. The majority of Berlin’s big museums are situated on Museum Island, which sits in the Spree River in the heart of Berlin. It’s only a 10 minute walk from Friedrichstr Station, so we walk rather than catch a tram.
The Bodemuseum on the northern tip of the Island. As the Pergamonmuseum was covered with scaffold it didn’t warrant a photo. Apparently the Bode has a significant collection of sculptures from antiquity and one of the world most extensive coin collections. A little trivia for you.
The River Spree looked wonderful in the morning light and a river cruise may be on the agenda today.
One of the Pergamonmuseum highlights is the Market Gate of Miletus. Excavated in Turkey and rebuilt here in Berlin. Has a nice sculpture of Hadrian, one of our favorite Roman Emperors. But it’s no Sagalassos.
Another amazing reconstruction is the Ishtar Gate with it Processional Way from Babylon. Brought back to German as 200 crates of rubble, each crate weighing 2-3 tonnes it took 20 years to reconstruct. The Pergamonmuseum has an extensive collection and we can only see a part of it because of the reconstruction going on. The could be a bit of ‘Raiders of the Lost Arc’ in a lot of this stuff.
After concluding our visit to the Pergamonmuseum we lunch in a little riverside cafe, where I manage to insult a group of Canadians by asking where in the United States they come from. Luckily they ask if we are from NZ and of course as luck should have it , we are on this occasion. We walk on to the Dom or Berlin Cathedral. It cost an amazing âŹ7 each to enter. So that’s the only photo you get.
Walking along the River Spree in the afternoon. We later find out this new complex is part of the parliamentary library.
Back at the Reichstag again, this time to visit the glass dome above the building. However first comes security, then we are herded into groups and accompanied into the building and up a lift to roof level. The original dome was cast iron and copper, but like most other things in Berlin it was bombed by the Allies.
The Reichstag Dome, there are two circular pathways to the top, one up and one down although it’s difficult to see from this photo. The central piece is hundreds of mirrors that direct reflected natural light through the building below. The mirrors move with the sun, very smart a bit like our Golf.
Looking down from the top of the Dome, the main parliamentary chamber is below.
The Brandenburg Tor and beyond to the Hollocaust Memorial from the Dome.
That’s Berlin, we found it a wonderful city to visit. Three days was enough to get a good feel for the place, there’s still plenty to do but we feel we have visited the main points of interest.
Travelled : 83 kilometres from Ingolstadt to Munich, Bavaria. Visited : Oktoberfest Stayed : Munich Exhibition Centre, in Reim. âŹ35, includes the […]
