Thursday, May 31, 2018

Elegant Elbe: Berlin 1d (5/31/2018)

Thursday, May 31, 2018 (continued)
From St Mary's Church, we wandered down Rosenstrasse.
Women's Protest Memorial/Block der Frauen/Block of Women
(1995, by Ingeborg Hunzinger) commemorates the demonstration
on Rosenstrasse in February and March 1943 by non-Jewish wives
and relatives of Jewish men who had been arrested (for deportation
or registration?), continuing each day until the release of the men
A couple being torn apart (KSS)
Jewish symbols are scattered
throughout the sculpture (KSS)
"1943: The strength of the civilian disobedience,
the strength of love conquers the violence
of the dictator" (KSS)
Meanwhile, a man sitting nearby looks away...
The Weber Grill Academy!
One of many, many Ampelmann shops
Kent with the Ampelmann/traffic light man
In the atrium of the Radisson Blu hotel, the elevator
travels through a vertical tank, the
world's biggest cylindrical aquarium
We visited the DDR Museum, showing life in East Germany.
Daycare collective potty breaks, they all sat until everyone was finished!
A simulated drive in a Trabant
A Trabant limousine! (KSS)
Typical store offerings
An electric lawn mower (KSS)
WTSCHE Line Telephone (high frequency was supposed to be untappable)
for communication between Eric Honecker and Leonid Brezhnev
"Interrogation room"
East German humor
Making use of the ramps on the stairway
Liebknecht Bridge/Liebknechtbrücke (1949,
to replace a wooden pedestrian bridge), with the
former Arsenal/Zeughaus in the background
The annex (1998-2001, by I M Pei) to the Arsenal/Zeughaus
Extensive renovation at the Pergamon Museum (1910-1930, by
Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann) that was purpose-built to house the
archaeological finds from German-supervised digs underway in ancient
Babylon, Uruk, Assur, Miletus, Priene and Egypt (KSS)
The main entrance is not accessible during construction
Entrance to the Pergamon Museum (10/3/1987)
Across from the main entrance of the Pergamon Museum is the
building where Angela Merkel lives with her professor husband
Admiralspalast (1911, as an entertainment venue with a theater,
ice rink, luxury baths, skittle alleys, and cinema),
this is the façade on Planckstrasse
The façade of the Admiralspalast on Friedrichstrasse,
the street that was hopping in the Roaring '20s
"The Sting at the Government Seat" was a
political satire piece at the cabaret theater
Palace of Tears/Tränenpalast was the waiting room for West Germans
leaving by train after visits to East Berlin, so named for tearful goodbyes,
often due to the fear of never seeing a loved one again
Inside the Palace of Tears, at the Friedrichstrasse station
Haferkafer counter in the Friedrichstrasse station,
where we wanted just a light meal
The fish and Spätzle, also came with vegetables and
a whole lotta tartar sauce!
The pedestrian bridge between the Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus
and the Paul-Löbe-Haus, both federal office buildings
Tour boat on the Spree River (KSS)
Memorial crosses to victims of the Berlin Wall
I am a new Berlin city tree, sponsored by
Orthopedic and Emergency Surgery (KSS)
"To the German People/Dem Deutschen Volke"
on the façade of the Reichstag
Memorial to the Murdered Members of the Reichstag/Denkmal zur
Erinnerung an 96 von den Nationalsozialisten ermordete
Reichstagsabgeordnete (1992, by Dieter Appelt, Klaus W Eisenlohr,
Justus Müller and Christian Zwirner) to commemorate the 96
members of parliament who were murdered by the Nazis
The names, birth and death dates, place of death,
and political party are found n the edges
After taking a bus back towards the hotel, we went to check out one more sight.
Sun setting over the Landwehr canal
Rosa Luxemburg Memorial (1987), marking the spot where
her body was thrown into the canal by Freikorps troops in 1919
Rosa Luxemburg was a revolutionary socialist. Born in Poland, she joined the left-wing Proletariat Party at age 15. She fled to Switzerland to escape detention for her political activities, and there earned a doctorate in law, one of very few women with a doctorate at the time in 1897. Luxemburg believed that an independent Poland could arise and exist only through socialist revolutions in Germany, Austria, and Russia. So she wanted to move to Germany to be in the center of the action. In order to do so, she married the son of a friend to gain German citizenship. Luxemburg spent most of her life in Berlin, working with the Social Democratic Party of Germany. When her party supported what is now known as World War I, she co-founded (with Karl Liebknecht) the anti-war Spartacus League. Even when imprisoned, she wrote illegal anti-war pamphlets and articles. After the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, she was freed from prison in 1918. Karl Liebknecht proclaimed the "Free Socialist Republic" in Berlin from a balcony of the Berliner Stadtschloss, two hours after Philipp Scheidemann's declaration of a "German Republic" from a balcony of the Reichstag. Luxemburg and Liebknecht were opposed to, but joined the Spartacus uprising in January 1919. The new German government used the Freikorps/mercenary troops to capture, torture and interrogate, and execute both Luxemburg and Liebknecht.
Finally, we returned to the InterContinental!
Today's high temperature was 88 degrees F. Apparently it is unseasonably hot, like it would be in August!
Next: Berlin 2a.

Elegant Elbe: Berlin 1c (5/31/2018)

Thursday, May 31, 2018 (continued)
Continuing along Unter den Linden.
New Guardhouse/Neue Wache (1816-1818, by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
and Salomo Sachs in Greek Revival style) has served as a war
memorial since 1931 and now is called the Central Memorial of the
Federal Republic of Germany for the Victims of War and Dictatorship
New Guardhouse as the Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism
had an eternal flame and the remains of an unknown soldier and an unknown
concentration camp victim were interred, surrounded by soil from
World War II battlefields and concentration camps (10/3/1987)
Today the remains are under the new memorial plaque; the eternal
flame has been supplanted by an enlarged replica of a sculpture of a
mother cradling her dead son/Mutter mit Totem Sohn (1937-1938, by
Käthe Kollwitz to express her mourning for the death of
her own son in World War I; a modern-day Pietá)
Castle Bridge/Schlossbrücke (1821-1824, by
Karl Friedrich Schinkel) suffered minimal
damage in World War II; it was renamed
Marx-Engels-Brücke from 1951-1991
Castle Bridge with the statue Nike Assists the Wounded Warrior
(1853, by Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann) (10/3/1987)
Domes of the Berlin Cathedral, the TV Tower, and the statue
Athena Protects the Young Hero (1854, by Gustav Bläser) (KSS)
Domes of the Berlin Cathedral, the TV Tower, and the
Castle Bridge sculpture (10/3/1987)
Castle Bridge took us to Museum Island/Museuminsel.
Berlin Cathedral/Berliner Dom (1894-1905, by Julius and Otto Raschdorff
in neo-Renaissance style, the dome was completely razed in World War II,
rebuilt 1975-1980 that included the demolition of the intact Memorial
Chapel, likened to the Medici Chapel, but the communists would not abide
this hall built in honor of the Hohenzollern dynasty)
Beth, Kent and Peter in front of the Altes Museum (1823-1830,
by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in neo-Classical style to house
the Prussian royal family's art collection, rebuilt 1951-1966,
by Hans Erich Bogatzky and Theodor Voissen)
Kent in front of the Altes Museum (10/3/1987)
The Spree River with the DDR Museum located below the tree line,
with the DomAquaree CityQuartier above it (KSS)
Marx-Engels-Platz with the "old pensioners"
Sculpture (1986, by Ludwig Engelhardt) of
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels who wrote
The Communist Manifesto, to which
ideology East Germany was dedicated (KSS)
Stainless steel monoliths with photos showing
the struggles of the workers of the world (KSS)
DomAquaree CityQuartier, a tourist and cultural center
with the Radisson Blu, DDR Museum, and SeaLife
Aquarium as well as shops and restaurants (KSS)
The Gatekeepers/Die Torwächter (2004?, by Stephan Balkenhol,
apparently from whole tree trunks)
Neptune Fountain/Neptunbrunnen (1891, by Reinhold Begas on a design
by Karl Friedrich Schinkel) was dismantled when the City Palace
was demolished in 1951, then restored 1965-1969 and
placed here in front of the Red City Hall/Rotes Rathaus
Allegory of the Oder River holding animal skins
and with a goat
Allegory of the Elbe River holding a scythe and fruits
Neptune, god of the sea with his triton and the allegory of the
Rhine River with a fishnet and grapes
There is also an allegory of the Vistula River with wooden blocks symbolizing forestry.
Ichthyocentaurs (head and torso of man, front hooves of horses, and
serpentine tails of fish) hold the shell upon which Neptune sits
The TV Tower/Fernsehenturm had an hour's wait to take the lift to the top, so we went to a place to have drinks, but it was self-serve. Ended up buying something from a convenience store in the Alexanderplatz station. Peter & Beth decided to head back to the hotel.
Since we were here at Alexanderplatz, we took a look around.
But wait! It's a Grillrunner!
A walking sausage griller, which seems
to be unique to Alexanderplatz
He even has his own shade umbrella!
Chalk artist in Alexanderplatz
Galeria Kaufhof (1967-1970, as the HO-Centrum-Warenhaus
replaced a department store built in 1904 by Hermann Tietz,
destroyed in World War II), the HO-Centrum department store
was the shopping mecca for East Germans
People's Friendship Fountain/Brunnen der Volkerfreundschaft
(1970, by Walter Womacka)
Hotel Park Inn (1967-1970, by the team of
Roland Korn, Heinz Scharlipp and Hans Erich Bogatzky
as the Hotel Stadt Berlin, acquired by Park Inn in 2003)
is the tallest building in Berlin and the fourth tallest
structure in Berlin, and the tallest hotel-only
building in Germany
Alexanderhaus (1930-1932, by Peter Behrens, rebuilt 1951)
was the headquarters of the Berliner Sparkasse Bank since 1930 and
was renovated 1993-1995 by Landesbank Berlin
World Clock/Weltzeituhr (1969, by Erich John) has 24
sides to correspond to the 24 main time zones of Earth
The World Clock turns one revolution in 24 hours, and each minute the solar system sculpture on top spins. The names of major cities are noted for each zone.
Berolinahaus (1929-1932, by Peter Behrens for restaurants and offices)
housed municipal offices and a post office 1951-1998, then was vacant
until renovation in 2005-2006 when C&A moved in, and later
the city district Mitte and post office moved back in
The Alexanderplatz Bear
Children play in the water cascade (1970-1972)
St Mary's Church/Marienkirche (12C foundation,
renovations over time, Protestant in 1817, not
heavily damaged in World War II) is next to the
TV Tower/Fernsehturm (1965-1969, supposedly
as a symbol of Communist power)
The TV Tower is the tallest structure in Berlin, and the second tallest in Europe. It's nickname is the TV-Asparagus/Telespargel. At certain times of day the sunlight reflects off the circular area in the shape of a cross, called the Pope's Revenge/Rache des Papstes. During the Cold War, the joke was, if the tower fell, they would have an elevator into the West.
Surprise! St Mary's Church is open!
But the tower was full of scaffolding, so this information panel
was our view of the dance of Death/Totentanz fresco (1475)
Pulpit (1703, by Andreas Schlüter) with the
cardboard box project (KSS)
Main altar (1762, by Andreas Kruger in Baroque style) with triptych (by
Christian Bernhard Rode) depicting Christ on the Mount of Olives,
the Deposition from the Cross, and Doubting Thomas 
Gothic baptismal font (1437) supported
by three dragons (KSS)
Tomb of Ehrentreich and Anna von Robel
(circa 1630, in Mannerist style)
Wooden relief of church fathers (KSS)
Organ (1721-1722, by Joachim Wagner,
case by Johann Gottlieb Glume)
Next: Berlin 1d.