Well today I held true to my Blogger name as I was an Italian Wanderer in Berlin. I must have been on every U-Bahn (subway), S-Bahn (above ground train), Tram (trolley) and Bus. I sorta did my own hop on hop off version but it was so much fun. Like I said before, Berlin is a huge city but with its great mass transit system, it’s a breeze to get around.
And you know me by now, if there’s a palace nearby I’m going to find it. And given that I was missing little Charlotte, NC, this ones name really drew me in. So my first stop (and picture) was the Charlottenburg Palace. It’s the largest former residence of the royal Hohenzollern family in Berlin and contains the biggest collection of 17th century French fresco paintings outside of France. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century.
Next stop was the Bode Museum. It’s one of a group of museums on what they call “museum island”. It was designed by architect Ernst von Ihne and completed in 1904. Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honor of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956. It includes the stunning Ravenna Mosaic, transplanted here from the Byzantine world of sixth-century Italy.
The next picture I’m not sure what it was. I just saw it while wandering around and really liked it. Is it a house/Church/castle… who knows?
Next I went to Viktoria Park which is this cool urban park on the outskirts of Berlin. The major landmark of the park is a cast iron monument (pic) of 1821 dedicated by King Frederick William III of Prussia to the liberation wars (Befreiungskriege) fought at the end of the War of the Sixth coalition against France in the course of the Napoleonic Wars. The park also had great views back into the city.
Next one was just looking down toward that crazy tower again (you see that thing everywhere) while I was crossing a bridge. I guess you would since it’s 1,200 feet tall and has a giant glittering disco ball on top!
Next was a really cool bridge called Oberbaum. It’s a double-deck bridge crossing the Spree River, considered one of the city’s landmarks. It links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity. If you zoom in under the bridge down stream, you’ll see two very large silver men that look like they’re dancing. That is a sculpture called Molecule Men and the meaning as per the sculptor… “It’s to remind us of the fact that both people and molecules exist in a world governed by probability, and that the objective of all creative and scientific traditions is finding wholeness and unity within the world.” Ummm… you got that?? Lol
Next is perhaps the most famous image that appears in Berlin’s East Side Gallery–a nearly mile-long stretch of the Berlin Wall that’s covered with murals painted by artists from around the world. It’s called “The Kiss” or “The Kiss of Death.” The Kiss depicts Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev giving the East Germany President Erich Honecker what appears to be a passionate kiss on the lips. At first glance, you might think it’s a complete joke, with no bearing on reality. But the image was based on an actual photograph taken in 1979 in honor of the thirtieth anniversary of the German Democratic Republic–East Germany. Fraternal kisses among socialist leaders were not unusual, but as the website, Iconic Images, points out, “Both Honecker and Brezhnev were a little more enthusiastic than your average Communist dictator in kissing.” The site goes on to quote a popular joke in which Brezhnev supposedly makes this observation about Honecker: “As a politician, rubbish…but what a good kisser!” Lol.
And last but surely not least is my “When in Rome” picture. The favorite fast food of Berliners is called Currywurst. It was created in Berlin after World War II when a fast food cook got her hands on some curry and Worcestershire sauce from British troops stationed here. It’s basically a grilled pork sausage, cut up and smothered in curry sauce (tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and curry). They add fries and a dab of mayonnaise just for the health of it! Lol. It actually was pretty tasty but you definitely wouldn’t want to eat it on a regular basis!
But even after all of that, the most fun I had today was at the Turkish Markets. It’s this huge open air market (sorta like a flea market) where they sell EVERYTHING you can imagine. I didn’t get any good pics to share but the people watching was amazing.
OK, that’s all for today. TGIF to all!
Jeff
The Wandering Italian 