Berlin, Germany - Part 2

The Brandenburg Gate, built in 1780, is located at the end of one of the most famous boulevard, Unter den Linden, and originally in East Berlin. The Berlin Wall was located west (in back) of the Brandenburg Gate separating West and East Berlin. The square, Pariser Platz, enclosed on the west by the Brandenburg Gate was densely built up until World War II when most of the buildings, including the house of painter, Max Liebermann, wer destroyed in 1945. Following reunitification, the square was redeveloped. On the north side of the square are the Dresdner Bank building and the French Embassy. On the south side are the US Embassy, the DG Bank head office, and the Academy of Fine Arts. To the east is the rebuilt (1997) and luxurious Hotel Adlon with its comfort, discretion and lavish interiors featuring exotic timber, marble and heavy silk. The main hall of the Hotel Adlon contains an elegant balck marble fountain decorated with elephants which is the only authentic remnant of the original Adlon Hotel (1907) where celebrities including Greta Garbo, Enrico Caruso, and Charlie Chaplin have stayed.


Walking east on Unter den Linden away from the Brandenburg Gate, you will enjoy the area in and around the grand avenue that was developed during the Baroque period. Running from Pariser Platz to Schlossplatz, Unter den Linden was once the route to the royal hunting grounds that were later to become Tiergarten. In the 18th century, Unter den Linden beame the main street gradually filled with prestigious buildings that were restored after World War II. These historic buildings are venues today of specialty shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, State Library (Staatsbibliothek), and exhibition space for the fifth branch of the famous Guggenheim museum.

As you approach the Equestrian Statue of Frederick the Great dating back from 1851 in the median of the avenue, you will have arrive at Humboldt University on the north and Bebelplatz on the south. Humboldt University was founded in 1810 as Berlin University to be renamed in honour of Wilhelm von Humboldt. The university building was constructed in 1753 for Prince Heinrich of Prussion, brother of Frederick the Great. The overall design of the palace with its main block and courtyard has been extended many times. Famous scholars that have worked at the University included pilosophers Fischteand Hegel, physicians Rudolf Virchow and Robert Koch, and physicists Max Planck and Albert Einstein.


Bebelplatz, designed in the 18th century as Forum Friedericianum to mirror the grandeur of ancient Rome, is across the avenue from Humboldt University. This square was the site where the Nazis burned books in 1933 written by authors considered enemies of the Third Reich, and was renamed in 1947 in honour of social activist, August Bebel. East of the square is Unter den Linden's opera house (Staatsoper Unter den Linden) which is Germany's oldest theatre building not attached to a palace residence.


Walking further east and passing Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum)housed in a former arsenal build in 1706 in the Baroque style, you will reach the end of the Unter den Linden at Schlossplatz that turns into Karl Liebknechtstrasse. Lustgarten is the greenery in front of the Altes Museum and the Berliner Dom (Cathedral). Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden) was used to grow vegetables and herbs for the Stadtschloss until the late-16th century. Friedrich Wilhelm I (1888-1740) turned the garden into an army drill ground that finally became a park when the Altes Museum was built. The Altes Museum building is Neo-Classical in structure with a high portico supported by 18 Ionic columns. Since 1998, the Altes Museum houses a magnificent collection of Greek and Roman antiquities.

If museums are of interest in your trip to Berlin, continue past the Altes Museum on Museum Island (Museumsinsel), a Unesco World Heritage site, that nestles the tributaries of the Spree river. The various expositions boast an unrivalled collection of priceless exhibits covering the entire span of human history, from the cradle of civilization in Mesopotamia through Egypt, Classical Greece and Rome, Byzantium, the Islamic World and the Middle Ages right up to the modern age. Behind the Altes Museum are:

Neues Museum housing a collection of Egyptian antiquities;

Alte Nationalgalerie that houses a collection of painting and sculptures of the 19th and 20th century including works of Adolph von Menzel, Wilhelm Leibl, Max Liebermann, Frenchman Gustave Courbet, English John Constable and Eugene Delcroix;

Pergammonmuseum, museum of architecture that is famous for its reconstruction of fragments of ancient towns, housing the most collection of antiquities of Europe, taking its name to the famous Pergamon Altar a magnificent Hellenistic masterpiece of the 2nd century B.C. and one of the wonders of the ancient world in the main hall entrance; and

Bodemuseum, prominent landmark at the tip of the island, houses decorative arts including Renaissance altarpieces, Prussian ivory, cameos, and albaster sculptures in their Papyrus, Early Christian and Byzantine, and Primeval and Early History collections.





There are entrance fees to visit each of the museum collections, but every Thursday all year round from 6PM - 10PM, the majority of Berlin's major museums and galleries are free. A number of the museums are closed on Mondays.


Going back to Lustgarten, is Berliner Dom. The present Neo-Baroque Berliner Dom dates from 1894 to 1905. The central copper dome is 321 feet high (267 steps climb). The original Berliner Dom had included the original crypt of the Hohenzollern family, which as been dismantled in the restoration from the World War II damage. Today, the Protestant cathedral does contain the crypt for an ornate sarcophagi of King Frederick III (1415-1493), the last emporor to be crowned in Rome by a pope in 1452.

As you continue down Karl Liebknecht Strasse and across the bridge and the Spree river, along the river walkway is the DDR Museum. The DDR Museum offers a hands-on experience of everyday life in the GDR. Visitors are welcome to broaden their knowledge as well as reconsider existing cliches by exploring the various thematic areas. Take a seat in an original Trabi and experience a wild ride through concere-slab housing estate. enter an authentic GDR apartment. Flick from one TV channel to the next and choose between East and West Germn programs and do not forget to pick up the phone! But beware of wiretapping. Rummage through a schoolbag before relaxing on an authentic movie chair. And finally, replay the 1974 World Cup on the football table. The DDR Museum is a hands-on museum for both the young and old to enjoy.


Across the street rising behind the early Gothic Marienkirche (St. Mary's Church) is Fernschturm, the television tower and the city's tallest structure and one of the tallest in Europe at 1197 ft. The tower was built in 1969 and is visble from almost any point in Berlin. Two of the attractions of the tower is the revolving cafe in the steel-clad giant sphere and a viewing platform.


At the S-bahn and U-bahn stations is Alexanderplatz. "Alex" is one of the city's busiest spots with the urban train line, many houses and shops that sprang up around the square and a market hall. However, the square is still reminescent of pre-1960s to when Alexanderplatz was the epicenter of East Berlin. A popular meeing place at "Alex" revolves around the World Clock crowned by a model of the solar system that tells the time in all 24 time zones.