I awoke and took a train to meet up with a walking tour. I had to scramble to find an ATM since I only had 10 euros on me and the price was advertised as 15 euros. I finally found one, fot my money, and made it to assembly place just before they left. After an unadvertised student discount, my walking tour cost me . . . 10 euros. Sigh.
I thought that the price was a little high for a walking tour, but I went along with it as my guidebook gave this particular company its highest rating. The walk was billed as "Discover Berlin," containing all of Berlin's essentials. And boy did it ever. I originally thought the tour would last two hours, but it instead lasted 4.5 hours! At two euros per hour for all of Berlin's essentials, I felt like I had underpaid!
Our tour was led by an energetic Scot named Kenny. We kicked off the main part of the tour at Museum Island, where the kaiser and his family had their own private art gallery and cathedral. From there, we hit all the big sights: where the Nazis had the book burnings, Checkpoint Charlie, what's left of the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, and the Reichstag.
I did commit a little faux pas on the tour though. While at Brandenburg Gate, Kenny pointed out the historic Hotel Adlon and listed many of the famous people who had stayed there: President Bush, then Senator Barack Obama, Madonna, etc. And then, in a burst of realization and enthusiasm, I blurted out, "Isn't that where Michael jackson dangled his kid?" "Yes, Jeff," Kenny replied, "thanks for ruining the punchline." Whoops.
After the tour was over, I returned to Museum Island to visit the two famous antiquities museums. The Altes Gallery had an impressive display of Greek and Roman artifacts, including several statues and a plethora of amphoras. But the highlight was an Egyptian piece, the bust of Quen Nefertiti. Used by the royal builder for all of her likenesses in public buildings, the bust is a model. Nefertiti is called the most beautiful woman in Berlin and after a close look, I might have to agree!
The next stop was the Pergamon Museum, named for its most famous piece, the Pergamon alter. Built to commemorate a Pergamese (sp?) military victory, the altar is surrounded by a tremendous freize that depicts the Greek gods in battle against the giant children of the earth goddess Gaia. While only 1/3 of the freize survived, they managed to put together some pretty good streches of it, including this one of a victorious Athena.
The Pergamon Museum also includes the Ischtar Gate of babylonian fame. Built by King Nebukadnezzar, I'm told the gate is mentioned in the Bible.
The last stop of the day was the Museum of the House at Checkpoint Charlie. While the museum did have some interesting displas of ways people used to get over the wall, it was cluttered and unorganized and I would not recommend it. Signs announced they were renovating, so maybe it well be more clear after that. Of course, it was late after a long day of sight-sightseeing, so I'm sure that affected my judgment of it as well!
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