Bill's Aviation Log

This area has the last surviving intact bit of the complete "Wall System".

Here is a model of the the wall system running through this area, right down Bernauer Strasse.

The border wall was capped by a round pipe used to make it tough to get a grip.

The Berlin Wall fascinates people who have lived free all of their lives and wonder how could such a thing have existed. To me, the Berlin Wall says it all about the difference between Democratic and Communist governments: one has to build a wall to keep people out, and the other has to build a wall to keep people in.

When the Wall was built, the Kapelle der Versohnung (Chapel of Reconciliation), built in 1894, was right in the middle of the death strip as you can see here. It had survived World War II. But the Communists tore it down in 1985.

We were just walking by Museum Island when we spotted this Museum Pergamon Das Panorama. We went in and it was great! Lots of Green and Roman statues, plus the incredible, modern, state-of-the-art, giant 360-degree panorama. We did not get to see the famous Pergamon Altar on our visit to the main Pergamon Museum but the Panorama more than made up for it. Not only did you get to see what the Altar looked like, but also the entire Roman city with people going about their regular lives. Pergamon was an ancient Greek/Roman city in Western Anatolia (Turkey). The 360° Panorama by a creation by the artist Yadegar Asisi.

The main Pergamon Museum from another angle.

An impressive statue.

The Neues Museum was the first museum on the island and opened in 1855. It was heavily damaged by bombing during World war II. During the Cold War, the ruins in the Soviet-occupied part of the city were just left to decay. The museum was finally reopened in 2009.

The grand central stairway.

One of the biggest attractions for visitors to the Neues Museum is the 3,000-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti. It is said to be the most famous piece of Egyptian art in Europe. I saw it myself but they did not allow photography so this picture is a copy from the Museum website. But this is exactly what the display room looked like.

The German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt uncovered the bust in the Egyptian desert in 1912. The Egyptian Department of Antiquities did not recognize the significance of the discovery and allowed Borchardt to take the Queen back to Germany.

A close-up of the ancient Queen, also from the museum webpage.

The dome ceiling is magnificent.

Construction of the current building began in 1894 and was completed in 1905.

Zwingli on the left and Luther on the right.

Elaborate tomb of Frederick I (Frederick the Great's grandfather).

There was a little museum upstairs which contained this huge fascinating painting of Frederick I's viewing.

The view from the dome gallery -- 270 step climb -- was excellent.

Looking straight down in front of the Cathdral entrance at the Lustgarten where young Berliners clearly like to hang out. The Altes Museum is out of sight to the right.

Berlin - Day 3
We started the day by visiting the Berlin Wall Memorial which is in the northeast part of town. We took the S-Bahn to the Nordbahnhoff station which was quite interesting itself as it was one of the "ghost stations" of Cold War Berlin. From Rick Steves: "It was built in 1926, closed in 1961, and opened again in 1989. As it was a dogleg of the East mostly surrounded by the West, Western subway trains had permissions to use the underground tracks to zip through this station (without stopping, of course) en route between stops in the West. The station looks as it did prior to 1961, and has pictures and stories on the wall, a little museum almost.

This area has the last surviving intact bit of the complete "Wall System". Here is a model of the the wall system running through this area, right down Bernauer Strasse.

A nice placard showing how the area looked prior to 1989. The Ghost Station would be on the left end.

From an observation platform across the Bernauer Strasse (street) -- the West Berlin side -- you get this excellent view of the Wall System. In the foreground is the pipe-capped border wall. The no-man's-land death strip is on the other side. Then guard tower, signal fence, and inner wall. There are two small museums on this side of the street that are interesting. One shows a short movie.

The border wall was capped by a round pipe used to make it tough to get a grip.

Now, we're on the East Berlin side. Here Lynnette is standing by the inner wall with the guard tower behind that. The observation tower we were on is slighly visible to the right of the guard tower.

A good shot of the inner wall. No-man's-land on the other side.

Memorial to the Berliners who lost their lives trying to get past the wall to freedom.

The Berlin Wall fascinates people who have lived free all of their lives and wonder how could such a thing have existed. To me, the Berlin Wall says it all about the difference between Democratic and Communist governments: one has to build a wall to keep people out, and the other has to build a wall to keep people in.

When the Wall was built, the Kapelle der Versohnung (Chapel of Reconciliation), built in 1894, was right in the middle of the death strip as you can see here. It had survived World War II. But the Communists tore it down in 1985.

This much smaller chapel now marks the spot where the Chapel of Reconciliation once stood.

We were just walking by Museum Island when we spotted this Museum Pergamon Das Panorama. We went in and it was great! Lots of Green and Roman statues, plus the incredible, modern, state-of-the-art, giant 360-degree panorama. We did not get to see the famous Pergamon Altar on our visit to the main Pergamon Museum but the Panorama more than made up for it. Not only did you get to see what the Altar looked like, but also the entire Roman city with people going about their regular lives. Pergamon was an ancient Greek/Roman city in Western Anatolia (Turkey). The 360° Panorama by a creation by the artist Yadegar Asisi.

Looking across the river at the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island. As you can see, there is quite a bit of construction going on.

The main Pergamon Museum from another angle.

We checked out our second museum on Museum Island: the Neues Museum. From Rick Steves: There are three collections here: the Egyptian Collection (with the famous bust of Queen Nefertiti), the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, and some items from the Collection of Classical Antiquities (including artifacts from ancient Troy - famously excavated by German adventurer Heinrich Schliemann). Here a model of one of the Egyptian Pyramids.

I really liked the large frescoes in the Egyptian courtyard.

As Rick Steves describes it "a sea of large sarcophagi".

An impressive statue.

The Neues Museum was the first museum on the island and opened in 1855. It was heavily damaged by bombing during World war II. During the Cold War, the ruins in the Soviet-occupied part of the city were just left to decay. The museum was finally reopened in 2009. The grand central stairway.

One of the biggest attractions for visitors to the Neues Museum is the 3,000-year-old bust of Queen Nefertiti. It is said to be the most famous piece of Egyptian art in Europe. I saw it myself but they did not allow photography so this picture is a copy from the Museum website. But this is exactly what the display room looked like. The German archaeologist Ludwig Borchardt uncovered the bust in the Egyptian desert in 1912. The Egyptian Department of Antiquities did not recognize the significance of the discovery and allowed Borchardt to take the Queen back to Germany.

A close-up of the ancient Queen, also from the museum webpage.

We headed over to the Berlin Cathedral. Here is the main entrance.

From Rick Steves: This century-old church's bombastic Wilhelmian architecture is a Protestant assertion of strength. The years of Kaiser Wilhelm's rule, from 1888 to 1918, were a busy age of building. Germany had recently been united (1871) and the emperor wanted to give his capital stature and legitimacy. This cathedral, while Protestant, is as ornate as if it were Catholic." It certainly is.

The dome ceiling is magnificent. Construction of the current building began in 1894 and was completed in 1905.

"The great reformers (Luther, Calvin, and company) stand around the dome like stern saints guarding their theology." You can see three of them here. Check out that fabulous organ on the left!

Zwingli on the left and Luther on the right.

A close-up of Martin Luther.





Elaborate tomb of Frederick I (Frederick the Great's grandfather).

There was a little museum upstairs which contained this huge fascinating painting of Frederick I's viewing.

The view from the dome gallery -- 270 step climb -- was excellent.



Looking north at the River Spree and the Alte Nationalgalerie on Museum Island to the left.

A closer look at the Alte Nationalgalerie.

Looking straight down in front of the Cathdral entrance at the Lustgarten where young Berliners clearly like to hang out. The Altes Museum is out of sight to the right.

Looking southeast down the River Spree. St. Nicholas' Church is on the left (the twin spires). That big rectangular building on the right is the Humboldt-Forum Berliner Schloss which is on the site of what once was the Berlin Palace. The Humboldt-Forum is a public venue filled with museums, shops, galleries, and concert halls behind a facade constructed in imitation of the original Hohenzollern palace.


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Berlin - Day 3