Category: Berlin

The Mandala Hotel in Berlin - An Oasis of Peace in a busy city!

12/20/2015

Often, when we are spending a couple nights in a large city in order to catch a flight at the end of a trip, we opt to stay at a full-service business-modern hotel and the Mandala Hotel in Berlin met and exceeded our expectations.

The hotel is located in an area of Berlin filled with contemporary architecture right at the junction between former East and West Berlin. It is also where the Berlin Wall used to run right through Potsdamer Platz and up to the famous Brandenburg Gate, a short walk away.

above photo credit: dooyoo.de

It is right across the street from the famous Sony Center and very close to Berlin’s brand-new shopping mall. It is also within walking distance (or a short metro ride from nearby Potsdamer Metro Station), to many of Berlin’s tourist sites.

The sleek, artistic, Asian influence of the hotel’s design envelopes you in a relaxing contemporary atmosphere as soon a you enter the hotel.

After turning in our rental car at the airport, and taking a taxi to the hotel, it was a relief to find that our suite was a lovely quiet oasis with every amenity we could hope for, including a wet-bar, large desk area, and comfortable sitting room.

The bedroom and bathroom were spacious, beautifully designed and sparkling clean. One note: be aware, the mattress is definitely on the firm side (I personally prefer a soft cushy mattress) but it was not uncomfortable.

After freshening up, we headed to the bar/lounge area for an glass of wine, where the bar-tenders were friendly and attentive.

Since we had only one full day before leaving Berlin and we had the misfortune to be there on a Monday when the majority of the museums and palaces are closed, we put the excellent concierge to work with our many questions about what sites might be open. They were extremely knowledgeable and helpful and went above and beyond to get answers for us!

Though we didn’t have time on this trip, the hotel spa is always one of my favorite places and ONO Spa on the hotel’s 11th floor provides a relaxing place to enjoy their fabulous treatments.

above photo credit: https://www.themandala.de/en/location/mandala-in-berlin/

The delicious breakfast was held in the beautiful FACIL restaurant. Located on the hotel’s inner courtyard, its floor-to-ceiling glass windows flood the space with light, creating a peaceful dining experience. FACIL in the evening is a 2 Michelin star restaurant with creative cuisine provided by chef Michael Kempf.

above photo credit: ubivo.de

Even though we were only at the Mandala Hotel for two nights, we were definitely pleased with the hotel and our stay there and would recommend it to those who prefer to stay in a modern business style hotel.

Click here to learn more about staying at the Mandala Hotel in Berlin.

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Delicious Schnitzel by the Spree River at Brecht's in Berlin

12/19/2015

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Jim and I love to spread the word when we find a really wonderful restaurant, and this is just what we found at Brecht’s Restaurant, located beside the Spree River in Berlin.

We began our evening with drinks at one of the terrace bars beside the Spree, where I was able to enjoy my favorite summer cocktail, an Aperol Spritzer as we relaxed and watched the tourist filled riverboats float by.

Eventually, as our hunger grew, we began to eye the restaurants across the street from the terrace, and we decided to explore Brecht’s, which is an ivy covered beauty with large windows opening out toward the riverside terrace.

The interior of the restaurant is an elegant quiet oasis which was just what we needed after a busy day riding the crazy labyrinth of the Berlin transit system and enjoying the lively terrace café. During our time there, piano music added to the lovely atmosphere.

We ordered a delicious red wine, anticipating that we would both be ordering the Wiener Schnitzel and we weren’t disappointed with the 2012 Umathum Neusiedlersee, from Austria.

The wine was fantastic and the tasting notes I have found perfectly describe its characteristics. “Grown in mineral rich, stony soil in the country surrounding the village of Frauenkirchen, a very warm and dry soil adds a mineral taste. The resulting wine is dark red with purple rim, peppery and fruity aromas in the nose, on the palate cherries and spicy notes with impressions of chocolate, fine, mild and full-bodied finish.”

While we waited for our meal to begin, munching on fresh artisan bread with flavored butter and a summer tomato Amuse-Bouche we enjoyed the view out the large open windows.

For our appetizers, Jim chose the mussels and I chose the fried goat cheese croquettes. They were flavorful and very delicious......

....... but the absolute star was the Wiener Schnitzel accompanied by tangy traditional warm German potatoes. It was super tender and the breading was light and crisp. Easily, the schnitzel was among the best we have ever tasted!

Brecht’s combines sophisticated and loving preparation of Austrian classic dishes with seasonal creative cuisine and a large selection of modern international dishes. We really enjoyed our meal and would highly recommend stopping by to experience the food, atmosphere and fun riverside location.

Click here to learn more about dining at Brecht's Restaurant in Berlin!

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The Pergamon Museum - Fabulous Even Without the Altar of Pergamon

12/7/2015

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Ever since my university days, studying art-history of the ancient world, I dreamed of seeing the Altar of Pergamon located in the world famous Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

The Pergamon Museum is situated on the Museum Island. It was constructed in twenty years, from 1910 to 1930 and was built as a three-wing complex. The museum now houses three of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin’s collections: the Antikensammlung (Antiquities Collection), Vorderaisatisches Museum (Middle Eastern Museum), and the Museum fur Islamische Kunst (Museum for Islamic Art).

You can imagine my disappointment when upon arriving, we found that the Altar of Pergamon, the focus of our journey, was closed as part of the extensive renovation the museum will be undergoing until 2017.

Fortunately, the museum also holds other amazing archaeological treasures that soon captured my attention. Since the museum flow is currently altered, you are greeted, after entering, by the great and beautiful Ishtar Gate.

The Ishtar Gate which was dedicated to the Goddess Ishtar, was constructed by the Babylonian King Nebucadnezzar II around 575 BCE. It was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the city. This massive entrance structure is tiled in bright glazed bricks of stunning shades of blue, yellow and orange and brown, portraying a parade of young bulls, lions and dragons representing Babylonian deities.

Lions are associated with Ishtar, a goddess of fertility, love, war and sex. The bulls are associated with Adad, a weather god, and dragons with Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.

I couldn’t stop thinking “I am gazing up at the same gate portal that Nebuchadnezzar, his army and his priests walked through”

Interest in Mesopotamian and Babylonian archaeology intensified in the late 19th century and the excavation of the Ishtar Gate ran from 1902 to 1914. The recovered bricks were eventually restored and reassembled in Berlin and the reconstruction was completed in 1930.

In its original form, the Ishtar Gate would have opened out to the grand Processional Way. The parade route was a brick-paved corridor over half a mile long with walls over 50 feet tall (15.2 m) on each side.

The walls are adorned with over 120 sculptural lions, flowers, and enameled yellow tile patterns. The Processional Way was used for the New Year's celebration, down which priests and celebrants would parade statues of the deities. The Processional Way lead to the temple of Marduk.

These glazed brick walls now line a long museum hall where you can sit and take in the beautiful designs.

During this period of intense German archaeological excavation, a number of artifacts were unearthed and brought back to Berlin for display.

Above and Below: Human–headed winged lion (lamassu), 883–859 b.c.; Neo–Assyrian period, reign of Ashurnasirpal II -Excavated at Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), northern Mesopotamia

Above: Inscribed Mesopotamian Stele - 8th - 14th century

Above: Part of facade of the Temple of Ananna in Uruk - Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq
Each figure holds a vessel. Commissioned by Kassite ruler Kara-indash in 1413

Above: Bird-headed hybrids (Assyrian. Apkallu) with buckets and cones, Reliefs from the Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud (modern Iraq) 883 - 859 BC - Alabastar - Many of these reliefs portray the king surrounded by winged protective spirits, or engaged in hunting or on campaign.

Above: Lions of Sam'al (southern Turkey) c. 800 BC

Above: Basalt Relief 8th century - Sam'al / Zincirli (Southwest Asia),

Above: Hunting Scene c. 750 BC - Syrian

Above: Stele of King Kilamula dated from the second half of the 9th century

The Ishtar Gate is not the only impressive architectural antiquity in the museum. The Market Gate of Miletus is sequestered in an immense corner room dedicated to the display of Hellenistic architecture and sculpture. The room is accessed through the portal of the Ishtar Gate and is equally spectacular.

The Roman gate was built in the ancient Greek city of Miletus (modern day Turkey) in the 2nd century AD, most likely during the reign of Emperor Hadrian about 120 to 130 AD. Before the Persian invasion in the middle of the 6th century BC, Miletus was considered the greatest and wealthiest of Greek cities and the gate provided entrance to market or Agora (Greek).

The gate is made of marble and is about 30 meters (approx. 98 ft.) wide, 16 meters (approx. 52 ft.) tall. The two-story structure has three doorways and a number of projections and niches. At roof level and in between the floors are ornate friezes with bull and flower reliefs. The structure's protruding pediments are supported by Corinthian and composite columns.

Already ancient, the gate was destroyed in an earthquake in the 10th or 11th century and what was left of the rubble was covered over the centuries. Work on a series of excavations in Miletus occurred from 1899 through 1911. In 1903, the Market Gate of Miletus was again excavated and from 1907 to 1908, fragments of the gate were transported to Berlin. Kaiser Wilhelm II, was so impressed that he ordered the gate's reconstruction at full scale "like a theater backdrop" in the Pergamon Museum.

Across from the Gate of Miletus is the Trajaneum Hall (stoa) of Pergamon and the Cartinia Tomb from Falerii. The rounded structure at the front center is the Cartinia Tomb from Falerii, Italy; it dates to the third quarter of the 1st century AD. The stoa dates to ca. 114 - 129.

The other Greek and Roman artifacts in the room included beautifully crafted columns with capitals, lintels, pediments, sculptured figures, mosaics, and grave stele.

Above: Mosaic Floor - also from Miletus, depicts Orpheus, dating to the second century AD. An important figure in Greek religion and mythology, Orpheus was known for his ability to charm birds, animals and even humans with his music. He is often depicted with a lyre.

We eventually found our way to the Islamic Art section of the museum. After the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo it is the oldest and one of the most important collections of its kind in the world showcasing a comprehensive collection of masterpieces of art and applied arts and objects of material culture stemming from Islamic societies as well as the Christian and Jewish communities living among them.

Above: The Allepo Room 1600 - 1603 - intact room paneling from receiving room of Allepo Syria dwelling House Wakil. Commissioned by a Christian merchant named Isa b. Butrus ("Jesus, son of Peter") is mentioned in inscriptions. In an inscription he is called simsar.

Above: Archaeological Finds from Samarra in Iraq, Residence of the caliphs 836-892 AD

Above: Prayer Nitch 1226 - Iran

Above: Alhambra Cupola, a fourteenth-century wooden ceiling that once was part of the famous Islamic palace in Granada, Spain. Made from hundreds of pieces of intricately carved and painted wood,
it is one of the earliest and finest surviving Nasrid ceilings.

Above: 13th century glass - Mamluks

Above: Prayer Nitch, 13th century - Seljuks of Rum - Turkish

Abvoe: Basin and Pitcher 1251 - 1275 Ayyubid Dynasty - Iraq Brass with gold and silver inlay

Above photo: Curved Knife - Qajar period (1796 - 1924) from 1st part of the 19th century, Iran - Depicts the Shaw wearing a European hat, with two sons and royal household

Above: Carpets, 16th century - Ottoman - Turkey

The Mshatta Façade is the star of the Islamic Art section of the museum. This impressive architectural façade belonged to the 8th century Palace of Mschatta whose ruins are about 30 km south of the Jordanian capital Amman. It was a winter desert palace and probably dates to the era of the Caliph Al-Walid II (743-744).

Mshatta's decor is particularly interesting in that it suggests the early Muslim community was attentive to distinctions between secular and sacred space. While most of the decoration filling the zig-zag shapes along the facade's walls are populated with animated creatures entirely in keeping with secular elite residential décor, one side lacks animals of any kind. This is the qibla wall, on the side facing Mecca, along which was located the qasr's mosque.

Even though we couldn’t see the Altar of Pergamon (already planning to go back in 2017!) and the collection on view was abbreviated due to the renovation, the Pergamon Museum is wonderful and well worth the long wait to get inside!

Our tip…. Show up at least 40 minutes before opening time to get toward the front of the line and if in summer, to beat the heat!

Also, if you have the time in your itinerary, plan at least three days, to visit all the museums in the complex. Visiting even one will be exhausting, so spreading them out over a few days will make them much easier to take in. Overload is never fun!

Click here to find out more about visiting the Pergamon Museum in Berlin!

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Ka De We - Berlin's Iconic Shopping and Food Hall

11/22/2015

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If you love shopping and find yourself in Belin, Germany, the “attraction” you absolutely want to add to your itinerary is the grand department store Ka De We (Kaufhaus des Westens) located in the Kurfurstendamm.

The Kurfurstendamm or “Ku’Damm” for short, is an area that lies along the boulevard with the same name. The far eastern end of the boulevard was the center of the former West Berlin and this is where you will find the grand old department store Ka De We.

above photo credit: Jochen Teufel via Wikimedia Commons

Ka De We is purported to be the largest department store in Europe and if is definitely impressive. It was built in 1907 designed by Emil Schaudt and has been extended several times. It has a reputation for being an exclusive store with high-end goods. The store brochure exclaims “… over eight floors, you will find luxury boulevards, three floors of fashion, a beauty world, culture and entertainment, home and living nad the legendary gourmet floor…”

I have to agree with the brochure, to me, the most impressive and fun part of the store is its food hall. I have been to the famous food hall in Harrods of London and this one easily rivals that legendary place.

A gourmet’s paradise, Ka De We is said to have the largest collection of foodstuffs in Europe.

Fresh meats and sea-food chilled on ice are ready to take home and cook. Rows of beautiful fruits and vegetables including exotic choices from around the world call out to you.

Hundreds of varieties of tea and coffee line the shelves. There are over 2,400 wines (my particular favorite!) to choose from.

Counters filled to the brim with collections of lovely cookies, pastries, cakes and tarts draw you to them and the smell of the dozens of cheeses and meets at the deli counter absolutely makes you drool.

And don’t forget the confections! Chocolates and sweets of all kinds smell and taste divine.

These are only a few of the many gastronomic items on sale and you can easily spend hours exploring the fabulous food hall. The thing that most delighted me were the several bars and food counters where you can eat fresh, delicious food. You can have a coffee or glass of wine, a simple bite of champagne and oysters or a full traditional German meal or even try something more exotic. There is also a restaurant in Ka De We called the Wintergarten enclosed by a large atrium.

above photo credit: "KaDeWe winter garden in Berlin" by Piro - Own work.
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons

We decided to go traditional at a food counter, and had delicious bratwurst with mustard and sauerkraut. My mouth waters even to think of it now! Dining at Ka De We is unique experience and lots of fun so be sure to add it to your list. After you refuel you are ready for more shopping!

Click here to learn more about visiting KaDeWe Berlin!

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Three Girls and a Boy - Berlin's Spree River Bronzes

11/21/2015

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Every great city has public art for all of us to enjoy and Berlin has a spectacular collection but my absolute favorite was a Bronze sculpture installation called 'Three Girls and a Boy' by Wilfred Fitzenreiter; 1988.

These naked bronzed young people lounge on the Spree promenade on a wall overlooking the Spree River and across from the impressive Berliner Dom. They seem to be watching the boats go by, relaxing in the sun or lost deep in some contemplation and are a beautiful addition to this relaxing, café lined walk.

The whimsical sculptures are also a magnet for a tourist photo-op moment and naturally we couldn’t resist either!

When you visit Berlin be sure to take time to find the many amazing sculpture and public art installations around the city. They are a delight to explore.

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Seeing Berlin from a Horse and Carriage

11/18/2015

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Jim and I have taken carriage rides in some of the most beautiful cities of Europe, but to be perfectly honest, it never entered our minds to take one in Berlin. When you think about that cosmopolitan city, you just don’t picture touring it in a horse-carriage.

Therefore, when we saw the line of carriages parked in front of the Brandenburg Gate, we were pleasantly surprised and of course we had to take a ride. It is not your typical carriage ride in that the route takes you through some of the busiest parts of the city, but it is definitely a fun way to see Berlin! And don’t forget to pick up a wine or champagne or beer to sip during the ride!

Most carriages have a few options from which to choose such as ride-length and route. Prices in 2015 begin around 80 euro for 30 minutes.

Take a photographic ride in the carriage with us as we tour the historic parts of Berlin!

Unter Den Linden

Museum Island - Berliner Dom

Alexanderplatz - Rotes Rathaus

Nikolaiviertel - Nikolaikirche

Heading Back!

Gendarmenmarkt

Back to Unter Den Linden and the Branderburg Gate

Time to say goodby to our pretty carriage horses!

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Delving into German History at Berlin's Deutsches Historisches Museum

11/13/2015

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Sometimes when traveling, you experience an amazing place simply by accident, which is how we ended up at the German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum) in Berlin.

It was not on our original itinerary, but Berlin on a Monday can be challenging since many of the museums and sites are closed. I was extremely disappointed to find that the Sanssouci, the Summer Palace of Frederick the Great, was closed as well and since it was our last day in Berli I couldn’t even imagine any replacement site that would live up to it. Fortunately, I was SO wrong!

After searching through our guide-book, I saw that the Deutsches Historisches Museum was open so we jumped in a taxi and arrived just at opening time so for a while we had the museum almost all to ourselves, and a fabulous museum it is. Filled with amazing artifacts, it documents the history of the German people and the later nation state from the Early Medieval Age through WWII and into the modern day. The museum is a fascinating view into the historic and modern culture of Germany.

Above Photo Source: Christian Wolf, www.c-w-design.de - Own work

The museum is located in the Zeughaus (old armory) on the avenue Unter den Linden as well as in an adjacent modern Exhibition Hall designed by renowned architect, I.M. Pei, where temporary exhibitions are held.

Above Photo Only: modern Exhibition Hall designed by renowned architect, I.M. Pei,
Source - Gattom at English Wikipedia - Own work

The museum's home, the Zeughaus, is the oldest structure in Unter den Linden. It was built by the Brandenburg Elector Frederick III between 1695 and 1730 in the Baroque style, to be used as an artillery arsenal for the display of cannons from Brandenburg and Prussia.

The Deutsches Historisches Museum was founded on 28 October 1987 on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the founding of Berlin. Due to the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, reunification, dissolution of the GDR and the transfer of their collections to the DHM, the new museum opening was delayed. The first exhibitions were finally shown in the Zeughaus in September 1991.

Above Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=243737315
Photographer: Pazit Polak

The Permanent Exhibition you visit today, German History in Images and Artefacts was inaugurated in the Zeughaus by Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel on 2 June 2006.

Below is a photographic glimpse of this informative and beautiful museum. I hope it inspires you to visit!

When you are finished exploring the extensive collection, you will be ready for the wonderful array of refreshments at the café where you can choose to dine inside the cozy interior or as we did, on the terrace with a lovely view of the Berliner Dom and Fernsehturm peeking over the trees.

Click here to learn more about visiting the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin

Deutsches Historisches MuseumZeughaus and Exhibition Hall
Unter den Linden 2
10117 Berlin

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Berlin's Magnificent Neptunbrunnen

10/23/2015

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One of the first things that come to mind when you think of Europe are its fabulous fountains and the Neptunbrunnen (Neptune Fountain) in Berlin can easily be added to that list. It truly is a lovely fountain.

Designed in 1886 by Reinhold Begas the bronze sculptural fountain was built 1891. A Berlin native, Begas, the son of a painter, received his early artistic education at the Berlin School of Sculpture under the foremost German sculptors of the 19th century. He was influenced greatly during a period of study in Italy, from 1856 to 1858. This influence was in the direction of a naturalistic style. After coming to notice in 1870, Reinhold Begas dominated the sculptural art in the Kingdom of Prussia, and especially in Berlin.

The magnificent Neo-Baroque fountain originally stood in front of the former Stadtschloss (Berlin Palace). When the palace was demolished in 1951, the fountain was restored and finally moved to its present location in 1969.

The naturalistic elements of the beautiful fountain ring the Roman god Neptune in the center. The four women around him represent the four main rivers of the Prussia at the time the fountain was constructed: the Elbe (with the allegorical figure holding fruits and ears of corn), the Rhine (fishnet and grapes), the Vistula (wooden blocks, symbols of forestry), and the Oder (goats and animal skins).

The Neptune Fountain in Berlin is a delight to look at even when gray and overcast as it was that morning and you must take time to carefully explore all of the intricate design elements and sculptural figures that make this piece of public art fabulous!

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Gemaldegalerie Berlin - Everything I Dreamed a World-Class Collection of Old Master Paintings Would Be

10/18/2015

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If you love art and art-history as much as I do, you absolutely MUST visit the Gemaldegalerie (Old Master Paintings Museum) in Berlin. The wonderful museum houses one of the most important collections of European art from the 13th century through the early 19th century.

Masterpieces from all epochs in the history of European art and many important masters are on permanent display. Paintings by Jan van Eyck, Pieter Bruegel, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, and Jan Vermeer take your breath away. As always though, my favorites are the French 17th and 18th century paintings by artists like Poussin and Watteau!

It was heaven to wander through the museum’s rooms looking at artworks that are famous throughout the world.

This amazing collection was first brought together in 1815 and opened to the public in 1830. Works of Art were chosen from the royal palaces and purchased from private collections and the gallery collection was steadily expanded during the 19th century.

The collection was originally installed as part of a larger exhibition in what was at that time the Royal Museum (now called the Altes Museum "Old Museum"). The paintings were moved to the Bode Museum in 1904. The collection was split up for many years after World War II and eventually reunited at the Gemaldegalerie in 1998. The Berlin State Museum (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) owns the 3000 piece collection (1500 on display) and the museum is located in an area of Berlin called the “Kulturforum”, an area planned to be a museum and arts district west of Potsdamer Platz.

above photo only: http://www.smb.museum/en/museums-and-institutions/gemaeldegalerie/home.html

Since this museum is all about visual engagement, I will simply give you a taste of this fabulous experience through the photos below. Each room exhibits artists in a certain period or following a certain style and these are a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy and are spurred on to visit Berlin and this exceptional museum!

Above Photo: Venus and Cupid by Lucas Cranach the Elder c. 1530's

Above Photo: The Fountain of Youth -
Lucas Cranach the Elder & Lucas Cranach the Younger 1546

Above Photo: Nativity Altarpiece of Pieter Bladelin 1452-55 by Rogier van der Weyden

above photo: Portrait of a Woman with White Headress - by Rogier van der Weyden 1440

Above Photo: The Miraflores Altarpiece c. 1442-5 by Rogier van der Weyden

Above Photo: Detail of One Panel of The Miraflores Altarpiece
c. 1442-5 by Rogier van der Weyden

Above Photo: Neptune and Amphitrite by Jan Gossart 1516

Above Photo: Esau Sold His Birthright 1558-1629 by Hendrick ter Brugghen

Above Photo: Malle Babbe, c. 1633/35 by Franz Hals

Above Photo: The Wine Glass 1660 by Johannes Vermeer

Above Photo: Woman With a Pear Necklace - by Johannes Vermeer 1662/1665

Above Photo: The Draughtsman by Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin c. 1737

Above Photo: Love in the French Theater by Jean Antoine Watteau (1684 - 1721)

Above Photo: French, 18th century - Fete Galante Genre Painting

Above Photo: Grand Canal from Campo Santa Sofia toward the Rialto Bridge
by Canaletto c. 1756

Above Photo: Amor Victorious (1602–1603). by Caravaggio

Above Photo: The Portrait of Ugolino Martelli iby the Italian artist Agnolo di Cosimo, known as Bronzino, 1536 or 1537

Photo Above: Leda and the Swan by Correggio 1532

Above Photo: The Madonna with Child, St. John and a Child Saint by Raphael, 1504-1505.

Above Photo: Venus Pudica by Sandro Bottecelli c. mid 15th century

Above Photo: Netherlandish Proverbs 1559 by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Above Photo: Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels by Rembrandt 1656-1657)

Click here to learn more about visiting the Gemadegalerie in Berlin!

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Haus am Checkpoint Charlie - Learning About the History of the Berlin Wall

10/13/2015

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From the moment Jim and I decided to visit Berlin, I knew that somewhere near the top of our itinerary would be the site called “Checkpoint Charlie” and it turned out to be everything we had hoped. If you have any interest at all in the Cold-War and the stark expression of this conflict that was the Berlin Wall, you have to take time to visit the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie / Mauer Museum (The Checkpoint Charlie Museum).

The museum gets its name from “Checkpoint Charlie” which was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing gate between East Belin and West Berlin.

This amazing museum began as a small two and a half room exhibition by human rights activist Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt on 19 October 1962, in an apartment just outside the Berlin Wall and what is now The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie opened in its present location in 1963 and his widow carries on today as director and not surprisingly, it is one of the most visited museums in Berlin, telling the story of the barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.

Above photo credit: "Berlin-Mauermuseum am Checkpoint Charlie" by © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Commons

Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) with permission from the Soviet Union, starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall completely cut off and isolated West Berlin from the surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, barbed wire, anti-car trenches and several other deterrents.

The Wall remained a fortress-wall until it was opened up for passage in November 1989 and was finally demolished from 1990-1992.

While East Germany claimed that the Wall protected the people and helped in the building a socialist state in East Germany, the reality was the Wall was built to prevent the massive panicked escape of people from East to West that plagued East Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc right after World War II.

The extensive exhibition portrays not only the history of the Berlin Wall and the stories of those affected by it, but also includes exhibits exploring the struggle for worldwide recognition of human rights and freedom.

The collection is fascinating! We were amazed at ingenuity of the intricate plans and the objects used to escape over, under, and through the Berlin Wall, and you can read the stories of those escapees who risked their lives to win their freedom. It also includes the stories of others who died in the attempt to escape to the west as well as examples of how the structure of the Wall changed and became more deadly over time.

Tunnels

Flexible Ladders

Home-Made Hot Air Balloons

Home-Made Flying Machines

Armored Cars

Hiding Places

The display includes East German Army surveillance items used to prevent the escape of East Germans to West Germany.

The display also includes letters, speeches and artifacts exposing the diplomatic drama that played out from the years before the Wall was built through its final demise in the 1990’s. The impressive collection includes donations from many of the people and nations who live through this period in Europe's history.

These fascinating items including the historic speech given by Ronald Reagan bringing the tense international times to life. "Tear down this wall!" was the challenge issued by United States President Ronald Reagan to Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to destroy the Berlin Wall, in his speech at the Brandenburg Gate near the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987.

The view from the far rooms of the museum looks down at the old checkpoint and out over what was East Berlin. Before leaving the museum you should definitely check out the colorfully gratified chunks of the demolished Wall on display and stop to take a selfie at the old checkpoint kiosk!

Here is a little note to remember also…… as you travel around Berlin, be sure to keep your eyes open for the double-brick line that is the “footprint” of the Wall and which can be found along many of Belin’s streets and walkways.

Click here to find out more about visiting the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin!

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<<Previous

The Mandala Hotel in Berlin - An Oasis of Peace in a busy city!

Delicious Schnitzel by the Spree River at Brecht's in Berlin

The Pergamon Museum - Fabulous Even Without the Altar of Pergamon

Ka De We - Berlin's Iconic Shopping and Food Hall

Three Girls and a Boy - Berlin's Spree River Bronzes

Seeing Berlin from a Horse and Carriage

Delving into German History at Berlin's Deutsches Historisches Museum

Berlin's Magnificent Neptunbrunnen

Gemaldegalerie Berlin - Everything I Dreamed a World-Class Collection of Old Master Paintings Would Be

Haus am Checkpoint Charlie - Learning About the History of the Berlin Wall

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