yk's Trip Report: Best and Wurst of Berlin/Dresden in 1 week - Fall 2009

Our Berlin Apartment
http://www.privat-apartment-berlin.de/

The apt building is located just a 5-min walk from the Schonhauser Allee S & U Bahn stations, in the Prenzlauer-Berg neighborhood (NE of Mitte). Location-wise, it is farther away from “action” than I would like, but for the price it charges (and positive review from sandy_b), it is a compromise I was willing to take. See this thread by sandy_b: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/great-apt-in-prenzlauer-berg-berlin.cfm

We rented Apartment 1. It is a spacious studio on the 2nd floor (3rd floor American): 44 steps and no elevator. The bed is 2 twins pushed together, with a fill-in gap foam in between. There is an armchair, and a dining table big enough for 3. There is a small TV with BBC, CNN & lots of German channels. The apt is equipped with wifi. It didn’t work the first 24 hours, but it worked well for the rest of our stay.

The windows faces South, so even with overcast skies every day, we still had good light coming through.

The kitchenette is small but well-equipped with toaster, coffee maker, electric kettle, mini-fridge, and a stove with 4 burners w/oven. No microwave and no washing machine in this apartment, but it's not a big deal to us. The owner provides ground coffee, coffee filters, hot chocolate mix, sugar. There are 2 pots (1 med, 1 large) and 2 frying pans for cooking. Plenty of dishes and glasswares.

The bathroom has a shower stall only. Linens and towels are provided, as well as a hairdryer.

The apartment has a balcony, but it was too cold during our stay to enjoy it. The street it is on is very residential and very, very quiet. With windows closed at night, we could not hear any noise. The building has thick walls and floors, which means that we never heard any noise from neighbors next door or above. To me, this is a huge advantage over staying at hotels, where I always get woken up by other guests’ TV noise, conversations, flushing toilets, slamming doors …

This is not a luxury apartment, therefore I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is picky or doesn’t want to climb 44 steps once or twice a day. The only complaint I have is the owner rents to smokers as well, so the apt has a faint cigarette smell. The owner also has 2 other larger apartments in the same building. This smallest Apt 1 is fine for us, esp given that we were hardly there.

I believe the owner lives in the same building, but now he has someone else in the building to manage the apts for him. The manager-lady lives on the 3rd floor and was kind enough to let me use her laptop on the first day to check my emails when the apt wifi wasn’t working. We did not have to pay a deposit to reserve the apartment. Payment is due in cash on arrival.

The rate for Apartment 1 is 50 euro/day. But for a one-week stay, we received a 10% discount, so our total rate was 315 euro for 7 nights.

There is a shopping arcade at Schonhauser Allee station. Inside includes a large supermarket, a smaller organic food market, independent bakeries, cheese shop, butcher shop, take-out food stalls, plus many shops/boutiques. There is also a post office in the arcade. On our street is an Asian food market.

There are multiple restaurants on our street as well as nearby, but we didn’t eat at any of them.

From Schonhauser Alle U-Bahn station, it is 4 stops to Alexanderplatz. The Schonhauser S-Bahn station is along the S41/S42 Ring.

Photos of apt: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4405.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4406.jpg

Apropos of your comment about the honor system on public transportation, there's a great short movie called "Black Rider" that has this system as its core. A person who rides without a ticket is called a "black rider."

In the movie, a young black guy is harrassed by an old racist woman who makes all kinds of ugly comments to him. He's just stoic--doesn't react. But just before the official comes round to check on everyone's tickets, the young guy snatches the old lady's ticket and eats it. The old lady sputters and protests that he ate her ticket, but of course the official doesn't believe her. It's great!

I'm looking forward to reading your impressions and experiences in Berlin, since I visited there a couple of weeks ago.

Okay, now on to the trip report:

Day 1 - Arrival Day
September 27 (Sunday)

We left Boston Saturday evening and flew the red-eye to Heathrow (T3); and then Heathrow T5 to Berlin Tegel. For some reason, our AA flight from Boston had to park at a bus gate at T3, so it added at least another 15-20 minutes just to be bused to the terminal building. Our T3->T5 transfer took 75 minutes. Our connection time was 2 hours, so we had just enough time to stop by the BA Terrace Lounge for breakfast before our flight to Berlin.

[I was able to reserve exit row seats or bulkhead seats for all 4 of our flights on AA & BA. So even though we were stuck in economy, we really had the best seats in economy with plenty of legroom.]

At Tegel, I found the BVG desk (this Tegel map was quite helpful at my jet-lagged state http://www.berlin-airport.de/EN/ReisendeUndBesucher/AmFlughafen/Terminalplan/TXL.html ) and bought our 7-day transport pass. I found an ATM as well, but it was a Reise bank ATM, not Deutsche Bank (we have Bank of America account), so I passed on that. I know from our apartment owner that there’s a Deutsche Bank just around the corner from our apt.

Since we travel light with carry-on only (19” for me; 21” for DH; a day bag each), we took public transit to our apartment. It was very easy and took no more than 40 minutes. We arrived around 12:20pm.

After we dropped off our luggage, we set off to go grocery shopping. To my slight surprise, none of the supermarkets are open on Sundays. There is a convenience store open, but the German version of “convenience store” = 90% beer + 10% snacks (chips/cookies). We did accomplish one thing – found the Deutsche Bank and got cash from the ATM so we could actually pay for our apartment!

Note to self: If staying at an apartment in Europe in the future, avoid arriving on a Sunday or major holiday.

We got back to the apartment and collapsed on the bed. Neither DH nor I could sleep much on the flights; we were exhausted. Plus, we have tickets for the opera tonight, so we’d better rest well or we'd sleep through the opera.

4 hours later, we woke up, showered, and felt somewhat refreshed. We ate some snacks which we had brought with us, and headed off for Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

La Traviata at Staatsoper Unter den Linden
http://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/

There are 3 main opera houses in Berlin, with Staatsoper being the most historic, so I really wanted to attend one there on this trip. I chose to see this on our arrival night (crazy, I know) because our other option was the 4-hr long Der Rosenkavalier!

I was a bit underwhelmed by the interior of Staatsoper. There is no grand lobby or grand staircase (like the opera houses in Vienna and Budapest), and the place needs a major refurbishing! The auditorium reeks of sewage smell. In fact, it is due to close for renovations after the 09-10 season, so I’m glad I got to catch a performance this time, even with the offensive sewage smell.

Exterior of Staatsoper:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4409.jpg

Interior of Staatsoper:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4411.jpg

I bought the 2nd cheapest tickets for 22 euro each. Our seats were okay for that price. The singing was good, even though the cast was from the (IMHO) B-list, but the production was terrible! This premiered in 2003 and the director, Peter Mussbach, has since been kicked out of Staatsoper. I didn’t get it at all, until I read the reviews after we got home. (I've seen Traviata live 5 times before, so I know what it's about.)

Basically, the entire set was black and empty, save for the floor which was made to look like a 4-lane autobahn. There is a see-thru projection screen at the front of the stage during the entire opera, so we felt like we were watching the opera through a screen door. The projection showed rain drops falling on a windshield (with an occasion windshield wiper moving across!). Basically, the director wanted us to feel like we are watching this from inside a car. Yeah right, a total WRECK IMO! In addition, Violetta was on stage the entire time. Supposedly (again, I didn’t get it until I read the review), Violetta was already dead when the opera begins, so she remains on the stage as a ghost. She is dressed in white, complete with platinum blond hair and white-powdered skin. Everyone else wears black. There is no party at her home, no country house retreat, no party at Flora’s. Just an empty stage throughout the entire opera, with the exception of a chair here and there. There is also minimal interaction between the singers. Seriously, the opera would have been 100x better if I had just closed my eyes and enjoyed the music alone; rather than trying to watch this car accident through a screen door!

Ending this rather unsatisfying evening, was another snafu. We tried to find Konnopke’s Imbiss to get currywursts for dinner, but of course, it’s closed on Sundays! By then, we were too tired to bother with a real dinner, so we bought some snacks and beer from the convenience store: ate junk food back at the apartment, and went to bed.

BTW, today is the German election day. We didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, and the streets were fairly quiet.

"we came across a spot-check once on a U2 train. The checker was disguised in street clothes. He just boarded our train car, said something in German, showed his ID, and checked everyone’s tickets."

it happened to me the first time I took U-Bahn.
I had a "short ride" ticket by mistake, the inspector pointed the door to me - sort of " you have to get out at the next stop". I was also surprised at the time laps between the trains at night ( and on Sunday).

yk, your reports are always so informative, looking forward to the next installment!
Sorry to hear La Traviata was a mess. Often, modernized productions are disappointing.

sorry.... lapse

Peg & danon, thanks for your comments. Your Berlin TRs were very helpful to me before my trip.

Peg, any chance you'll finish your TR soon? I'm still waiting for the Austria part!

yk, great trip report! Outstanding, I'd say! Sorry about TRAVIATA ... as I mentioned to you, we had the premiere of the new production of the same opera last Friday in Dresden. Better than the one in Berlin, judging from your description.

The fine for "Black Riders" is 40 Euro, btw. Awww, you didn't know the supermarkets are closed in Germany on Sundays? Sorry to hear that ... just go to a major railway station - shops/groceries are open there on Sundays.

Looking forward to more installments!

I.

"just go to a major railway station - shops/groceries are open there on Sundays."
Good point!

my hotel in Berlin was next to a big S-Bahn station with a number of stores open Sundays and late in the day.

Oh wow, I was just wondering whether your trip was coming up soon, and it's already over? I'm going to start reading now.

Great start, yk. Your reports are always the unvarnished yk-truth--this is very helpful, especially for those of us who tend to wear rose-colored glasses before, during and after holidays.

Looking forward to more!

yk...

Enjoying your report. I've been interested in moving Berlin closer to the top of my "go to" list...this report is certainly making me think I should!

Ingo & danon -

Yes, we noticed that the shops at Berlin Hauptbahnhof were open on holidays. Well, I'll file that info somewhere for next time!

40 euro fine doesn't seem that much to me! I was expecting it to be a few hundred euro.

MFifi, Leely & LCI, thanks for your comments. I've been having some internet trouble at home on/off, so I may not be able to post the following installments as quickly as I would like.

----------------------------------
I made a mistake above regarding our tickets for La Traviata @ Staatsoper. Our 2nd cheapest priced tickets were 16 euro each, not 22. Certainly very affordable.

Here's a photo of the curtain call of Traviata. You can sort of see the traffic lanes painted on the floor. Violetta (Ailyn Perez) is in white, everyone else is in black. BTW, the guests at Flora's party looked like Goth Zombies.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4415.jpg

Ugh, yes, looks like one of *those* modern productions. 16 Euro is definitely cheap, but still 16 bucks too many for a crappy production

Hope the internet trouble is solved soon, cannot wait!

yk, loving the report. Berlin is a great city.

Ingo, nice to 'see' you!

Day 2 Berlin - Cold War Day
September 28 (Monday)

Our first goal in the morning was to go grocery shopping, then went back to the apartment to have breakfast. We were amazed by the low prices of food: 1L of milk is 42 cents; 1.5L of OJ is 65 cents!

East Side Gallery
Our first stop is East Side Gallery – the longest preserved section of Berlin Wall, along the Spree River. We walked the entire length (1300m) starting from Ostbahnhof. On the other end is Oberbraumbruke.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4423.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4426.jpg

(Note to self: Rewatch Run Lola Run this week)

Stasi Museum
http://www.stasimuseum.de/en/enindex.htm

Second stop is Stasi Museum. We had the hardest time finding it, even though I had address and directions! The building is hidden inside a courtyard, and there is NO sign (at least not in English) anywhere. We asked several people where the Stasi Museum is, but they all said they don’t know. Finally, we ventured into a courtyard, but all we saw is a pharmacy and doctors’ offices. There is a fast food kiosk there, so I asked the proprietor. She pointed to the building just 20 feet away, “That’s the museum!” No kidding, there is still no sign in English signifying it is the Stasi Museum.

I found out about this museum from noe847’s trip report. It is okay – probably a lot more interesting for Germans than for foreigners. All displays are in German, but there is an English booklet which one can borrow with a deposit of 5 euro. The 1st floor is most interesting, as it has display cases of various secret surveillance equipment. Eg, cameras & microphones hidden behind rocks or coat buttons; and pistols hidden inside suitcases. It is almost like watching a James Bond movie.

The 2nd floor has remained intact from the Stasi days – still shows the offices of several important officials of the Secret Police, including the office of Erich Mielke. The top floor has room after room of wall panels full of narrative and photos. It was too tedious for me to read the English booklet to match with the panels, so I gave up.

Stasi Prison (Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen)
http://en.stiftung-hsh.de/

I was longing for more Stasi-related sights, and I remember the LP guidebook mentioned a Stasi prison, so off we went. I didn’t do any research on this because I didn’t think we would go… well, that turned out to be quite a mistake!

The prison is located pretty far out, and by the time we arrived, it was just past 1pm. The prison can only be visited by guided tours and the 1pm tour had already left (next tour was 3pm). Fortunately, they let us join the 1pm tour, which began with a 30-min movie in German with no English subtitles. The prison tour is in German (English tours available just twice a week on Wed & Sat), and is led by former prisoners. There are some English displays, but our guide just kept on talking and talking and talking. At each stop, he talks for at least 15 minutes, which for us non-Germany speakers, is almost like torture. We saw the old prison building (with sad-looking prison cells); then the new prison building with its cells and interrogation rooms. And a prisoner transport van. We could have seen all this in 30 minutes, but with the tour, it went on for over 2 hours. I was bored to tears because I couldn’t understand a word of it. I bet it is fascinating to hear former prisoners to talk about their experiences, so I’d still recommend this place if you go on an English tour. I find it interesting to see the buildings, but I didn’t enjoy the 2 hours I spent standing around without getting much out of the tour.

Entrance to Prison complex:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4439.jpg

Old Prison Building (aka "U-Boat) and typical cell:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4429.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4430.jpg

Prisoner transport van:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4435.jpg

New prison building cell & interrogation room:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4436.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4437.jpg

Free Walking Tour
By now, it’s past 3pm and we had to rush back to Brandenburg Gate to join the free walking tour by Sandeman’s at 4pm. We arrived with just a few minutes to spare, so we grabbed to-go sandwiches from Starbucks as lunch (8 euro). This is a 3.5-hr free walking tour.
http://www.newberlintours.com/nbt/content/view/1/2/lang,en/

Many walking tour companies offer this, and we picked Sandeman’s simply because it’s the only company that has a tour this late in the day. I wasn’t expecting much, but it turned out to be most excellent. We had a large group – at least 40 people – but our Irish guide Brian did a fantastic job. He had studied acting, so his voice projected well and we had no trouble hearing him. We saw many of the major sights in Mitte, and he did a very good job briefing us on the history of Berlin. I highly recommend this tour. Tips is welcome at the end of the tour, but not mandatory. If you click on the link above, you can see which sights are covered on this tour.

Here are a few shots:
Brandenburg Gate
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4441.jpg

Finding my way out of the Memorial to Murdered Jews
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4449.jpg

Former Luftwaffe HQ
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4452.jpg

Section of Berlin Wall near Checkpoint Charlie
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4453.jpg

Checkpoint Charlie
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4454.jpg

Bauhaus Exhibiton at Martin-Gropius-Bau
By now it’s 7:30pm but our day is not yet over. Our final stop for the day is the huge Bauhaus Exhibition at Martin-Gropius-Bau. This is the last week of the exhibition, and hours have been extended to 10pm. I had high expectation but the exhibition didn’t quite turn out to be what I thought.

DH & I have been interested in Bauhaus designs ever since we visited Gropius’ house in Lincoln Mass last year, and a Marcel Breuer exhibit at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) this summer. This Bauhaus exhibition has many paintings but not as much displays in architecture or designs.

Finally... dinner
We walked over to Potsdamer Platz for a late dinner. It was very quiet, perhaps because it was a Monday night? We ended up at a place called Mommsen-Eck (aka House of 100 beers). http://www.mommsen-eck.de/

DH had a boiled meat plate, and I had some sort of pasta dish. Honestly, I think the food was just so-so, but given that this is the first real hot meal we’ve had in 2 days, we would have enjoyed it even if we were served boiled shoe leather! Dinner was 38 euro.

YK, welcome back!

You always have the best trip reports. You should be a travel writer.

Day 3 Onward to Dresden
September 30 (Tuesday)

We took the 8:35am train to Dresden, arriving just before 11am. Our hotel, the Ibis, is a short walk from the train station. We were assigned a handicapped room on the 9th floor. The handicapped room is at least 30% larger than regular rooms.

The Ibis is fairly basic, but for only 59 euro/night, it suits us just fine.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4458.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4459.jpg

GTG
At 12noon, we arrived at the Tourist Information Center and met up with Fodorite Ingo. As I’ve mentioned before, he was kind enough to get opera tickets for us, as I couldn’t buy those online. We went to lunch - I didn't write down the name or the address, though I'm sure Ingo would be happy to fill in the blanks here. Prices are amazing, with the lunch special (turkey with mushroom cream sauce and side of potatoes) for just €4,90. DH & I really enjoyed talking to Ingo... one of our few chances to interact with locals at length.

After lunch, he gave us a personal tour of Frauenkirche. http://www.frauenkirche-dresden.de/offene-kirche+M5d637b1e38d.html It is such a luxury to have him as our guide, as he told us information not available in guidebooks. He pointed out the blackened stones in the church are original stones found in the rubble.

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4523.jpg

And the 2 blackened wings were all that's remained standing after the fire-bombing
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4520.jpg

Zwinger
After we bade goodbye to Ingo, we saw Procession of Princes enroute to Zwinger. It is an impressive, 102 meters-long stretch of Meissen tiles showing all the kings and emperors throughout the ages.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4461.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4462.jpg

We had purchased the 48-hr Dresden Card (21 euro each), which includes free admission to many museums (unfortunately, many are closed for renovation right now), and free use of pubic transit. http://www.dresden.de/dtg/en/travel_booking/offers_for_your_dresden_trip/dresden-cards/dresden-city-card.php

[It would have cost us 23 euro if we paid entrance fees separately, and that does not include our use of public transit.]

Our first stop in the Zwinger is the Old Masters Picture Gallery (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister). http://www.skd-dresden.de/en/museen/alte_meister.html Some of the highlights there are the Dresden Canalettos, Raphael’s Sistine Madonna, several Albrecht Durer & Holbein paintings, and 2 Vermeers. There are also quite a bit of Italian Renaissance paintings but I'm not really into those.

Let me digress about the Vermeers: the 2 paintings are hung side-by-side. The Girl Reading a Letter is beautiful and exquisite. However, the Procuress is (IMO) crude and ugly. After reading a few books and attending a lecture on Han van Meegeren, I honestly think the Procuress is a van Meegeren masterpiece instead of Vermeer.

Rain had stopped when we emerged from the gallery, so we walked around the Baroque courtyard of Zwinger.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4478.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4477.jpg

Porcelain collection (Porzellansammlung). http://www.skd-dresden.de/en/museen/porzellansammlung.html Unfortunately, half of the collection (the upstairs, Meissen portion) is closed; so only the ground floor Chinese KangXi collection is open. The space is quite small, but I really enjoyed the display.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4484.jpg

Clock and Meissen bells adorn the Porcelain collection
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4480.jpg

We were fairly tired, so we went back to Ibis for a nap, then a change of clothes for opera tonight.

Il Trovatore at SemperOper
http://www.semperoper.de/de/oper/willkommen.html

The Dresden opera house was rebuilt in 1985. It is beautiful, definitely more so than Staatsoper. I was surprised to see the "Royal Box" section. I thought that was something the Communists didn't approve of?

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4485.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4486.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4489.jpg

Opera this evening is Il Trovatore. This is our favorite opera production among the 3 we saw on this trip. It premiered in 2008, with modern/minimalist design, but the color scheme is quite stunning. The choreography is great and so is the orchestra and the singing, esp the mezzo and the baritone.

We ate dinner afterwards at Alte Meister right next door to the opera, recommended by Ingo. http://www.altemeister.net/de/ I made a reservation by email a week before, thinking that it is probably a popular place frequented by the opera crowd. Well, that was absolutely NOT needed! We were the only diners on this Tuesday evening. In any case, this was an excellent suggestion by Ingo, as we love the décor, ambiance, and the food. The prices are reasonable too. Each month, it offers a 3-course dinner for 29 euro (38 euro with wine). We ordered a la carte because we didn’t feel like eating 3 courses this late. DH had a sweet potato soup and lamb loin chops. I had a cold almond-basil soup and a buffalo mozzarella/bean salad. Total was 53 euro.

I had hoped we could walk along the river bank after dinner, but it was cold, windy and raining, so we just hopped on the next tram back to the hotel.

What flygirl said. Amazing how many things you packed into ONE day Honestly, if I had known about your interest for the Stasi I had given you a tour of their building (jail and interrogation rooms) in Dresden. Far more intersting, though, is the infamous prison in Bautzen - I visited with American friends two years ago. Very moving.

Thanks for report + pictures!

Oh, and hi to Gomiki. Good to 'see' you too!

gomiki & flygirl, you are too kind. flygirl, I can't wait to see your amazing photos (as usual) when you return from your trip!

Ingo, there's always a *next* visit to Dresden! I'm pretty confident you're still be there in 10, 20, or 30 years.

It was my pleasure to meet you both! Enjoyed our mini GTG very much.

As for the Vermeer: Do you mix up something? I am certainly no expert on Vermeer. However, a quick search on google came up with this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/6238451/Fake-Dutch-Golden-Age-painting-The-Procuress-proven-to-be-genuine.html
The painting in Dresden has been restored not long ago. Provenance is clearly documented. See this link:
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/procuress.html

Glad you liked IL TROVATORE. LOL, yes, the communists didn't approve of Royals ... and if you have a closer look at the crown on top of the Royal Box you'll see that it is not a real crown, more sort of a model that you'd use for carnival. Of course, the opera house was restored after original plans so the communists had no chance to get away w/o Royal Box.

I also hope to still be around in 30 years

Hi Ingo, yes, I saw that article. I just noted such a huge contrast in style between the 2 Vermeers, that they seem impossible to be done by the same person, esp knowing Vermeer's paintings are usually very delicate and exquisite. The Procuress is none of those.

I hope it won't take us 30 years before we make our way back to Dresden! I still need to visit Prague, and Leipzig, and Spreewald . . .

Day 4 More of Dresden
September 30 (Wednesday)

We woke up to cloudy skies, but at least the rain had stopped. I had paid for breakfast at the hotel (10 euro each). It was a decent breakfast buffet spread, with cold cuts, cheeses, yogurt, cereal, fruits, breads…

[You may think it's ridiculous for such "budget-conscious" travelers like us to waste 20 euro on hotel breakfast. Yes, I know it's expensive and we could have gotten breakfast elsewhere for less than half. However, it's one of the "luxuries" that my husband prefers. So, an extra 10 euro buys me a happy husband: a great deal IMO!]

A Walk in Dresden Neustadt
We checked out and left our small overnight bag at the luggage room. Ingo had suggested checking out the Neustadt across the river. As it was still too early for museums, we followed (loosely) his recommended route.

We took the tram across the river and got off at Albertplatz. We walked down Konigstrasse, passing Dreikonigskirche. We didn't go in the church because it looked closed (honestly, we didn't check for sure). Further down the street, we reached the Japanese Palace (now an exhibition space, I think). Finally we made our way to Augustus’ golden statue. By now, the sun was out and the statue was so shiny I was unable look straight at it!

One of the older trams (most we rode are modern ones)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4492.jpg

Augustus the Strong statue
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4493.jpg

We got nice views of the Old Town as we crossed the river via Augustus Bridge.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4496.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4500.jpg

At the end of the bridge is Hofkirche
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4502.jpg

New Green Vault (Neues Grünes Gewölbe)
http://www.skd-dresden.de/en/museen/gruenes_gewoelbe/neues_gruenes_gewoelbe.html
It's now just past 10am; we headed for New Green Vault within the Residenzschloss complex. It shares the same entrance as the Historic Green Vault. At 10:15am on this day, they were selling 12:30p and beyond timed tickets for Historic Green Vault.

I was amazed by how much “stuff” these emperors/electors collected. None of it serves any real purpose except that they look pretty and are impressive. We spent about 75 minutes there, then climbed up the Hausmannsturm tower. It offers a great view of the city and the river; and the best part is that we were the only people up there!

View of Zwinger
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4504.jpg

View of Opera House, Theatreplazt, and Elbe River
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4505.jpg

View of interior courtyard of Residenzschloss, the facades are still being restored
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4507.jpg

We still had 45 minutes to spare before our 12:30pm Historic Green Vault entry, so we walked along Bruhlsche Terrace to the spot where Canaletto had painted his famous painting of Dresden. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Dresden%20Sept%202009/IMG_4519.jpg We walked back to Frauenkirch for a few photo shots given that the sun is out, then hurried back to the entrance for Historic Green Vault.

Historic Green Vault (Historisches Grünes Gewölbe)
http://www.skd-dresden.de/en/museen/gruenes_gewoelbe/historisches_gruenes_gewoelbe.html
At 12:30pm, they are still selling same day entry tickets for the HGV, but only the last timed entry is available. We forgot to put all our stuff in the lockers, so we were sent back by the guard to the locker room. No bags or coats are allowed inside.

Of the 8 rooms in the HGV, 5 are original and 3 are rebuilt after being destroyed by the fire-bombing of 1945. Many of the objects on display are similar to those we saw in the New Green Vault, except they are placed on the mirrored walls here instead of in display cases. I must say, I find the first room – the Amber room – the most impressive. The second most impressive is the jewels room. Not only the diamonds and gemstones are dazzling, so is the room and décor. We didn’t listen to every commentary in each room, but still spent about 75 minutes there.

It’s now time to catch our train back to Berlin. We picked up our bag from Ibis and went back to the train station. We had some extra time, so we grabbed a quick lunch from Marche inside the station. 2 sandwiches and 1 drink cost €9.

Back in Berlin
Our 3:04pm train got us back to Berlin around 5:30pm. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at the Asian market on our street to get some veggies and noodles which we would cook later tonight.

Rigoletto at Komische Oper
http://www.komische-oper-berlin.de/

Auditorium
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4525.jpg

I purchased 22 euro seats for this, and got fairly good seats towards the back of the orchestra stalls. I honestly did not know what to expect. As you know, Rigoletto is a tragic story (I cried the first time I saw it), so how could a “comic” opera house stage this? Their explanation was, “A comic opera that horribly goes wrong…”

I think the Komische Oper tends to stage operas in a modern & alternative way. This production opened just 10 days earlier, and from reading reviews, the director got booed at the premiere. The theme of this production is a circus/magic show. The Duke is the magician and Rigoletto is the clown. There is clever use of trap doors, magic boxes on stage.

While I don’t necessarily love his idea, I thought it worked relatively well with the storyline, at least better than the “Car Wreck Traviata”. There were a number of things I didn't like, esp the way the ending was stage. DH hated this. He's never seen Rigoletto live before, and he said he much preferred seeing it in a more "traditional" opera production. The cast was not bad.

A few things that stood out at Komische Oper:
1) The audience is younger and more “alternative” looking. Dress code is relaxed and almost anything goes.
2) All operas performed here are sung in German (However, the famous La Donna e Mobile was sung in Italian.)
3) The opera house has just completely refurbished their seats, so starting this season, each seat has its own individual seat back surtitles screen; and English translation is available (Both Staatsoper and SemperOper have the projected German surtitles at the top of the stage.)
4) The opera was performed from beginning to end with NO intermission.

We cooked dinner in the apartment after we got back (cost: 3 euro).

While I'm not an expert on Vermeer, didn't he go through a historical period? I think artists go through different periods. Ingres comes to mind. I didn't realize that he painted a lot of "academic" paintings until I went to the Louvre retrospective a few years ago.

In fact, many artists have such variations in styles. Another example -- think of early Jackson Pollock, when he painted in a pseudo-surrealist style. (Did the same apply to Rothko?) Before he achieved immortality with the drip paintings, he was regarded as a merely competent artist.

This website gives the provenance of the Procuress:

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/procuress.html

Unless the provenance is fake also, if this isn't a Vermeer, it can't be a van Meegeren.

ttt to read later.

Great report as always, yk! Looking forward to the rest.

I just saw your post on Procuress, Ingo.

Tried to pull up the Telegraph article, but the link is down right now. I found the introductory paragraph in a Google cache.

Interesting that people did think it was a van Meegeren. I'll read the rest later.

The provenance is interesting. If people could trace the provenance back to 1700s in the first place, how could they have thought that it was a van Meegeren forgery? Unless they had doubts about the documented provenance also.

I'll have to read the Telegraph article when the link is back up.

Ok, the Telegraph link is back up.

But the painting referred to by the Telegraph is at Courtauld. Are there two versions? If you compare the Telegraph photo with the photo in essentialvermeer, you can see that even after allowing for color variations in reproductions, the two paintings don't seem to be same.

There must be an interesting story here....

Welcome back yk! Enjoying your trip report as usual and looking forward to reading more. The industrial goth Traviata made me laugh!

More on the Procuress. There's indeed an interesting story here, but I'm not sure if I really get it.

http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Courtauld%20%E2%80%9Cfake%E2%80%9D%20exposed%20as%20a%20real%20Dutch%20period%20piece/19356

It sounds like Vermeer actually had a Procuress hanging in his home, and the Courtauld version could be the one that actually hung there, but then, maybe not.

In any case, it seems like there's no dispute about the authorship of the one in Dresden.

Well, there's a difference between The Procuress hanging in Dresden with Vermeer's name on it and The Procuress in The Art Newspaper article above. The one that is the subject of the article is at the Courtauld and is one that was (possibly) owned by Vermeer's mother in law and was also an object Vermeer painted into two of his own works in the background. However, it's my understanding that The Procuress by Baburen is at the MFA in Boston...unless my eyes deceive me!

"Provenance/Ownership History: Please note: The history of ownership is not definitive or comprehensive, as it is under constant review and revision by MFA curators and researchers.

1641, Maria Thins (b. ca. 1593 - d. 1680), Delft [see note 1]; by inheritance to her daughter, Catharina Bolnes (b. 1631 - d. 1688) and her husband, Johannes Vermeer (b. 1632 - d. 1675), Delft [see note 2]; possibly by inheritance to their son, Johannes Johannesz. Vermeer (b. ca. 1663 - d. 1713), Delft [see note 3]. Possibly Sir Hans Sloane (b. 1660 - d. 1753), London [see note 4]; possibly by descent within the Sloane family to Lt. Col. Ronald Francis Assheton Sloane-Stanley (b. 1867 - d. 1949), Cowes, Isle of Wight; February 25, 1949, Sloane-Stanley sale, Christie's, London, lot 52 [see note 5], to Colnaghi on behalf of Roderic Thesiger (dealer), Beaconsfield, England; 1950, sold by Thesiger to the MFA for $1960. (Accession Date: June 8, 1950)"

There has been a lot of discussion about Vermeer's Procuress (in Dresden) and whether it is actually his or a forgery. Unfortunately because Vermeer was either not so prolific or so many of his paintings were lost (only 36 known today) there isn't a wealth of work to base studies of his work on to make affirmative judgments. Personally I felt that neither of the works in the National Gallery in London were his...they didn't have the "feel" that the other Vermeers that I've seen do.

yk, did you get to the Vermeers in Berlin?

Hi amyb, thanks for your information. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even though it's a Vermeer doesn't mean that you or I have to like it. I thought you felt the "Wynn Vermeer" wasn't by him either?

It'll be fun if they could put get all 3 Procuress to be shown side-by-side in an exhibition!

Apres_Londee, you would have LOVED that Goth Traviata production! Oh, and you would have LOVED Berlin too, with graffiti covering every inch of the city! (And NO, I didn't take any pictures of graffiti for you.)

Thanks for everyone else's comments. ann, I'm still waiting for you to finish your two (?) trip reports. No pressure, really.

My home internet connection problem seems to have resolved. I'll try to post a few more installments later today.

Great report. Berlin is one of my favorite cities in Europe. Next time we will have to do more of the Cold War stuff, if I can get away with it. My wife is a former Party member (CPSU) so sometimes she gets bored with my fascination of her former life.

Rick

Impression of Dresden

I hope Dresden-lovers won't get offended by what I write next, and please do not take it as a criticism of Dresden. It's simply my point of view.

Perhaps I had a very high expectation before the trip, I must admit I was slightly disappointed by it. The immediate area of the Residenzschloss, Zwinger, opera house, and Augustus Bridge is very nice, but as soon as you step away from it, the rest of the “old town” is either
1) construction zone; or
2) shopping mall

Between our Ibis Hotel and Residenzschloss (~ 1km) is a continuous shopping street flanked by malls on both sides. I know that pretty much all of Dresden was destroyed in WWII but I somehow assumed more of old town was rebuilt back to its original baroque architecture.

Another thing that threw me off was how black the old buildings are. Initially I thought that was soot and the buildings needed a good wash. Then I learned from Ingo that it is neither dirt nor soot, but simply the way the building material (sandstone) behaves. Brand new sandstone is yellow, but as it gets exposed to air, it gradually turns gray and eventually black over the course of several decades.

The grey, rainy weather didn't help either. I tend to love places when it was sunny during my visit.

We also encountered a couple of young people in Dresden who don't speak English. This came as a surprise, becuase 1) they are young people; and 2) they work in tourism (that's how we came across them). In Berlin, everyone speaks English.

I still enjoyed our stay in Dresden, as it provided a nice retreat/contrast to Berlin. I probably would have liked it more if we had more time in Dresden so that we can actually get to "know" it. Seeing the treasures of the Green Vaults is definitely a memorable experience. I cannot remember the last time I was wow'ed by so many objets d'art for hours on end. And I know I will revisit Dresden again, hopefully when the rest of the museums are open; and perhaps spend time enjoying the scenic river valley and surrounding areas.

I think that's mostly directed at me, right? There aren't so many Dresden lovers here, ya know

Nope, I am not offended. The facts you stated are true and the rest is, of course, subjective. Ok, malls to both sides isn't totally true; there are actually two shopping malls in the city centre, one of them opened a few weeks ago. Maybe you refer to the department stores like Karstadt or Wöhrl or so. The ongoing construction is indeed annoying, but then again, without that we will never fully reconstruct/build the old town, right?

You were really unfortunate regarding the weather. Geez. A few days later temps were up in the high 70s and it was sunny.

And from noon to early afternoon the next day doesn't leave a lot of time to explore and get know the real city. That's what I tell everyone. The outskirts and old residential areas are the nicest areas IMO.

I.

Hi yk!

Thanks for your great trip report. I really appreciate how organized you are with all the information!

I actually like Dresden -- yes many of the old buildings are black and look "dirty" but it didn't affect the atmosphere of this historic city. It did pour rain for most of the day that I was there, though. That was FUN!

'Perhaps I had a very high expectation before the trip, I must admit I was slightly disappointed by it. The immediate area of the Residenzschloss, Zwinger, opera house, and Augustus Bridge is very nice, but as soon as you step away from it, the rest of the “old town” is either
1) construction zone; or
2) shopping mall "

yk, interesting to hear your thoughts on Dresden.

I was right in the "old town" (for for almost 48 hours) and the weather was splendid. My experience was rather enjoyable.
I understand what Ingo is saying about staying longer and seeing more.... few travelers have that luxury.

Ingo, see, it's not all about YOU . I've read many positive posts here on Fodors about Dresden!

A bit off-topic, but related to Dresden:

I attended a Boston Symphony Orchestra concert today. One of the pieces is The Isle of the Dead by Rachmaninoff. I didn't realize Rachmaninoff had lived in Dresden from 1906-1909; and he wrote that piece while in Dresden. According to the program notes, he and his family lived in a "charming Garten-Villa on Sidionienstrasse." I wonder if it is still standing?

Nope, it's not standing anymore. Sidonienstrasse is just east of the Hauptbahnhof - no chance a villa could have survived the bombing there. You would be surprised how many famous musicians, composers, actors, writers ... artists have lived in Dresden for a while. Many of them Russians (thus the Russian-Orthodox church south of the Hauptbahnhof which *did* survive the bombing).

Related music news: It was announced yesterday that Christian Thielemann signed a contract to become Chief Conductor of the Staatskapelle Dresden from 2012 on. YAY! He's probably the best Wagner/Strauss/Bruckner conductor alive.

Hi,

I'm another who just falls more in love with the city every time I go (two times so far). The first time, Ingo took me on a wonderful walk down the Elbe and its villas to see the wonderful Blue Wonder Bridge. The second time, despite a pocketfull of plans, I just flit from cafe to cafe enjoying the sunshine and food and people-watching. I think it just gets under one's skin -- or not.

I hope to go back pretty soon and maybe get to all the cultural events. 2012 . . . hmm. . .

s

What a wonderful trip report, yk. You always make me want to pack and go!

Day 5
A Day on the Museumsinsel, and our first wurst finally!
October 1 (Thursday)

When we were in Berlin, only 4 museums on museumsinsel were open (Pergamon, Bode, Altes, Alte Nationagalerie). The 5th one (Neues) will reopen soon this month.

Pergamonn Museum
http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=27&n=1&r=4&lang=en
We began at Pergamon Museum, which is where be bought our 3-day Museum Pass. One thing I really like about the Berlin museums, is that audioguide is always included with admission fee.

The first thing that hits there is the enormous Pergamon Altar. While impressive, it’s not my favorite in the museum. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4528.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4530.jpg

The next big item is the Market Gate of Miletus. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4533.jpg After you walk through the Gate, here comes my favorite: the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way. I love the blue-glazed tiles and the animals that adorn the walls.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4540.jpg

Upstairs is the Islamic Art section, with beautifully tiled Minrabs, a wooden ceiling from the Alhambra, and the delicately painted Aleppo room. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4556.jpg

We spent less time in the Hellinistic section (we’re not into Greek & Roman sculptures). Altogether, we were at Pergamon Museum for 2 hours.

Berlin's Famous Currywurst!
It’s now lunch time. While we could eat a museum café, we decided to get our currywurst from the famous Konnope’s Imbiss @ the Eberswalder Strasse station. http://www.konnopke-imbiss.de/ Tram M1 conveniently runs between Am Kupfergraben (2-min walk from Pergamon Museum) and Eberswalder Strasse station. The ride is 20 minutes and we welcome this break from the museums.

We each ordered the currywurst with fries, plus a beer. It does taste very good, but is it really the best? That I don’t know as I don’t have others to compare with! To top off this greasy meal, we each had a Magnum Classic for dessert, as if we didn’t ingest enough fat already! It was windy and cold, but that didn’t deter us from having ice-cream!

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4558.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4557.jpg

Bode Museum
We rode Tram M1 back to Museumsinsel, and our next museum is Bode Museum, which houses European sculptures.
http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=28&n=3

We are NOT particularly interested in sculptures, but we went in anyway, roamed through galleries and hallways, and found 1) Donatello's Pazzi Madonna; and my favorite
2) Entire room of works by Tilman Riemenschneider. I find his sculptures very moving.

We were already ready for another break, so we visited the new cafe on the 2nd floor at the Bode Museum. It is a nice, airy and open space. We recharged ourselves with 2 coffees.

Altes Museum
http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=24&n=2
Altes Museum holds mostly Greek and Roman works of art. Again, we're not into those much. We did stop and enjoy quite a few Greek amphoras; but our main goal was to see Nefertiti, which is temporarily there until her move into Neues Museum.

Well, sadly, Nefertiti was NOT on view. We asked one of the guards, and my understanding is that she is "resting" before the big move later this month. I've seen Nefertiti before, but I was looking forward to seeing it again.

Alte Nationalgalerie
http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=29&n=1

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4564.jpg

Our last museum for today. Alte Nationalgalerie houses paintings - mostly by German romantic artists, and some French Impressionists. I was interested in seeing paintings by Casper David Friedrich, esp after Pegontheroad had mentioned those on her TR. Another disappointment! The entire 3rd floor of the museum was closed to the installation of an upcoming exhibition of Carl Gustav Carus (mentioned by Ingo here: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/art-lovers-in-berlinkaspar-david-friedrich-question.cfm#comment-5894396 ).

As a result, only 4 Friedrich paintings were on view; of the 4, I like The Abbey in the Oakwood the best.

We also went to the French Impressionists galleries before we left.

Visit to West Berlin
It's only around 5pm and it's still light out. With our 7-day transport pass, we decided to hop on a city bus to head to West Berlin. DH has read/heard about Ku'damm a lot and wanted to see it, even after I told him it's nothing more than a shopping street.

We got off at Kaiser Wilhelm Church http://www.gedaechtniskirche-berlin.de/KWG/dateien/englisch/index.php to check out the bombed-out building and the new church. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4571.jpg

The mosaic ceiling of the old church is dazzling: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4566.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4567.jpg

There is also displays in English detailing the history of the church.

While I don't like the exterior of the new church, the mid-night blue stained glass viewed from the inside evokes a sense of peace: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4568.jpg

We picked up another bus and rode down Ku'damm. After 5-6 stops, DH decided he's seen enough. We got off, crossed the street, and rode a bus back to KaDeWe, the famous West Berlin Department store. http://www.kadewe.de/en/

We headed straight up to the Gourmet food floor. We were thinking of picking up some food to bring back to our apt as dinner. But then, we went one more floor up to the top floor wintergarten where the Buffet is http://www.kadewe.de/en/shops-stops/bars-restaurants/lebuffet/ and we decided it's easier to just eat dinner there.

I ate here in 2003 with my parents, and didn't think prices were too outrageous. Perhaps this is now under a new managament, because it IS expensive. Hot main dishes for dinner are 15 euro. We opted for the cold buffet bar (charged by weight), thinking that it may be cheaper. But our bill ended up being 36 euro, and we didn't get that much food!

One "problem" I noticed is that the plate is being weighed and charged as well. The cashiers don't seem to cancel out the weight of the glass plate; which easily weighs 100 or 200 grams. Our plate of antipasto (half a dozen marinated mushrooms, 4 stuffed grape leaves) cost 12 euro. We should have stuck with hot main courses instead.

But the space is really quite nice.

On our way out, I did our only shopping on this trip. A section of Berlin's Ampelmann products caught my eye. In case you're not familiar with Ampelmann, you can read all about him here: http://ampelmann.de/index_english.html

I bought an Ampelmann Sigg water bottle http://ampelmannshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=5&products_id=709 which I've been using daily ever since I've bought it!

Ingo, will you miss Fabio Luisi? He'll be guest conducting the Boston symphony Orchestra next month.

Is Gate of Miletus finally off its scaffolding?

111op, click on the link:

The next big item is the Market Gate of Miletus. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4533.jpg

That's great. Thanks. Have never seen it without scaffolding before.

"While I don't like the exterior of the new church, the mid-night blue stained glass viewed from the inside evokes a sense of peace:"

I had the same experience.
The exterior was so unattractive, I did not even want to go in. A few days later I did - found the interior strangely beautiful .

Another terrific report, yk! I always love the way you incorporate photos into your writing.

We're in the planning stages of a return trip to Berlin and Dresden, the last one being several years ago. As we prefer to stay put for a week or so at a time, I'm intrigued by your Berlin apartment, so I'll be checking it out further.

Well done!

Excellent new installment, yk! I personally don't care for Currywurst, but to each their own ... and if you're in Berlin you have to try it once. Wow, still a load of museums ... I think I'd been extremely tired that evening. I love the Pergamon Museum, been there a couple of times before the wall came down. Sorry about the Caspar David Friedrich paintings. But you said you'll come back one day, eh? When the Albertinum iin Dresden opens you'll get to see a stunning collection of his (and his fellows' like Carus, Dahl etc.) paintings.

Luisi excelled in some Italian operas like Don Carlo, Rigoletto. On the other hand he has NO business in Wagner (awful Meistersinger and Ring) and Strauss (Alpine Symphony) except for Hero's Life which was awesome on tour in New York as a friend told me. No, I won't miss him.

Hi swisshiker, in the planning stages?

I am enjoying your trip report so much! I, also, love the Ampelmann products. I bought a kitchen sponge and enjoy looking at it while doing the dishes. It is so nice to see your photos. Bravo! CJ

The Ishtar Gate is beautiful- I love the indigo tiles. There is a sma bit of it at the ROM in Toronto- one animal's worth, if I remember correctly. I was lucky to see more of it at the Babylon exhibition at the Louvre last year.

The museums in Berlin sound so good I think I'd like to set up camp in one of them.

swisshiker, if you have more specific Qs about the Berlin apt, don't hesitate to ask. I was looking at Apt 1's availability caledar, and it appears to be quiet popular.

CarolJean, I should have gotten an Ampelmann sponge too. But I probably wouldn't want to use it.

Apres, more museums to come in the next 2 days!

Day 6
Old Masters Paintings; Modern Architecture; and more wursts!
October 2 (Friday)

In the morning, we went grocery shopping again, this time in the Schonhauser Allee shopping arcade. We picked up 4 weisswurst from the butcher shop (2,75 euros for 4), milk from the basement supermarket, and baked goods from the bakery. We also picked up veggies and noodles from the Asian market on our street.

Kulturforum
After lots of aggravation with Berlin's public transit, we finally arrived at Kulturforum. This complex is West Berlin's answer to East Berlin's museumsinsel during the Cold War period. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4573.jpg

Across the street from Kulturforum is the odd-shaped home of the Berlin Philharmonic http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4572.jpg

[No, we didn't attend a Berlin Philharmonic concert while we were in Berlin. The program wasn't too appealing, and it wasn't Simon Rattle conducting, and tickets were expensive. Plus, the Berlin Philharmonic with Rattle will be in Boston next month, which I've bought tickets for already. Unfortunately, it appears that I may miss it as I'm being tempted to go on another trip.]

Gemäldegalerie (Old Masters Painting Gallery)
http://www.smb.museum/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objID=5&p=0

I was in heaven. Period.

I visited the Gemäldegalerie in 2003, but at that time, I was still rather ignorant of art & paintings. That's why this is a must-see for me on this trip.

It has a huge collection of Flemish Primitives, one of my favorite time period. van Eyck, Memling, van der Weyden; just to name a few. And of course the famous Bruegel painting: Netherlandish Proverbs. Too bad the display next to the painting only has the proverbs listed in German but not in English; otherwise I could have easily spent an hour just looking at each proverb!

It also has many Lucas Cranach, Holbein, and Durer paintings.

The 2 Vermeers are both lovely: Woman with Pearl Necklace and Glass of Wine

What else? A room full of Rembrandts, a stunning Caravaggio.

We walked through the Italian Renaissance rooms rather quickly. As I've mentioned before, these don't interest me as much. However, we still stopped to see paintings by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Correggio...

Bratwurst for Lunch!
We ate lunch at the 1st floor cafe of the Kulturforum. The food is quite nice, though the setting isn't as nice as some other museum cafes. I had a bratwurst plate (bratwurst with 2 sides: potato salad and green salad). DH had a pasta special of ravioli with pesto. Lunch was 16 euro.

Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts)
http://www.smb.museum/smb/standorte/index.php?lang=en&p=2&objID=37&n=3&r=3

At the other end of Kulturforum sits the museum of Decorative Arts. 4 floors of galleries display items chronologically from Medieval times to modern times.

Based on our interests, we only visited 2 floors. The top floor houses Art Nouveau and Art Deco objects. I thought it was slightly disappointing, as there are few Art Nouveau but plenty of Art Deco.

The basement houses modern designs, including Eames chairs, Barcelona chairs, furniture by Marcel Breuer.

To be continued...

Day 6 continued
Old Masters Paintings; Modern Architecture; and more wursts!
October 2 (Friday)

Neue Nationalgalerie (Mies van der Rohe)
After the 2 museums in Kulturforum (Gemäldegalerie & Kunstgewerbemuseum), we crossed the street to visit the Neue Nationalgalerie. http://www.smb.museum/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objID=20&typeId=1

The building itself is a late masterpiece by Mies van der Rohe (A version of Barnett Newman’s ‘Broken Obelisk’ is in the foreground.)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4575.jpg

I was very much looking forward to see its permanent collection, with works by Kokoschka, Die Brücke, Max Beckmann, Gerhard Richter...

We were met with disappointment! The entire building is devoted to 2 special exhibitions; so no permanent collection is on view currently. We couldn't enter the special exhibits with our MuseumPass. Since we don't know anything about the 2 exhibitions, we moved on.

Looking at my map for Plan B, I decided we'll visit the nearby

Bauhaus-Archiv (Walter Gropius)
http://www.bauhaus.de/english/

Because of the huge Bauhuas exhibition at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, the Bauhaus-Archiv was empty during that show. As a result, the Bauhaus-Archiv decided to put on an architecture "exhibit" of the building itself; taking advantage of its emptiness to showcase Walter Gropius' design.

The "exhibit" is a 25-minute self-guided audio tour of the building. There are a total of 8 stops, starting at the main exhibition hall inside the building, then heading outside to the entrance courtyard, then to the S side along the canal, then the West facade; and eventually back to the main entrance on the Eastern end. We really enjoyed this tour.

Gropius initially designed this building for a different location; but it was finally settled in its current location after his death. Therefore, his plan and design had to be altered in order to fit into this plot.

From the S http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4583.jpg
From the W http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4578.jpg
From the E (walkway leading to the main entrance) http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4581.jpg

Jewish Museum (Daniel Libeskind)
http://www.jmberlin.de/site/EN/homepage.php?meta=TRUE

Since the Jewish Museum is open until 8pm every day, we saved this as our last museum for the day. The main building, as many of you know, is designed by Daniel Libeskind. It is famous for the slashes across the outer facade; as well as multiple "voids" within the building. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4586.jpg

I had thought this museum is all about the Holocaust, and it isn't. It is more of a chronological display of Judaism in Germany and later Berlin throughout the ages. I thought it was well done and I learned a lot about the Jewish culture. Of course, the Holocaust is still featured, but it's not overwhelmingly dominant. We could have spent hours there, as there are lots of interactive (audio, video) displays.

The 2 most memorable spots in the museum are:
1) Shalechet (Fallen Leaves) installation in the Memory Void http://www.jmberlin.de/site/EN/01-Exhibitions/07-Contemporary-Art/01-Menashe-Kadishman/kadishman.php

This is one of those "void" spaces within the building; but the ground is covered with over 10,000 open-mouthed faces made in iron. The guard told us that we could walk on top of these iron faces across the void. DH did so. The noise and echo he made (in this otherwise silent space) was creepy.

2) The Holocaust Tower http://www.jmberlin.de/site/EN/05-About-The-Museum/03-Libeskind-Building/06-Holocaust-Tower/holocaust-tower.php

The bare concrete tower is 24 meters high and neither heated nor insulated. It is lit by a single narrow slit high above the ground.

When we went inside the tower, it was dark already. Once we went through the thick heavy doors, I was in complete darkness, except for very very dim light coming through that slit. It was cold, impersonal, and scary. I couldn't see my fingers held in front of me. It gave me a taste of what a concentration camp prisoner must have felt - helplessness and hopelessness. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

Quartier 207 (Jean Nouvel) & 206 on Friedrichstrasse
http://www.q207.de/en/architektur.html
http://www.quartier206.com/

Quartier 207 is home of the Galeries Lafayette. http://www.galerieslafayette.de/ The building is designed by Jean Nouvel. We looked at the giant glass funnel in the middle of that store. The gourmet food level in the basement was rather small actually.

Through a passsageway we entered Art Deco-style Quartier 206. It is a shopping mall with a dizzying floor pattern: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4589.jpg

Wursts for dinner
We pan-fried the weisswursts for dinner back at the apartment. They were delicious. I also made veggies noodle soup. We ended our dinner with a slice of cheesecake bought from the bakery this morning. This lovely dinner cost about 7 euro.

I was in complete darkness, except for very very dim light coming through that slit. It was cold, impersonal, and scary. I couldn't see my fingers held in front of me. It gave me a taste of what a concentration camp prisoner must have felt - helplessness and hopelessness. I couldn't wait to get out of there."


I was there on a sunny summer day but felt the same way.
I have never imagined an empty space could be so moving.
Some people came out weeping.

danon, off-topic completely, may I ask which Habitat Apt in Barcelona you stayed in last year? I saw you referred to that company in several threads, but I didn't see which particular apt you rented. I may need further apt location assistance from you as you seem to be very familiar with Barcelona.

Day 7
Modern to Contemporary Art
October 3 (Saturday) - German Unification Day

Today is our last full day in Berlin; as well as Day 3 of our 3-day MuseumPass.

We began our day at the several museums in Charlottenburg, right across from Schloss Charlottenburg. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4593.jpg

Bröhan Museum (Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Functionalism)
http://www.broehan-museum.de/en_museum.html

I really like Art Nouveau, so I enjoyed this small-ish museum a lot. Ground floor exhibits both Art Nouveau and Art Deco objects (ceramics, glass vases) plus furniture. I'm not too familiar with Art Nouveau artists names, but at least one set of furniture there was designed by Guimard.

First floor mainly shows Art Nouveau silverware - dinnerware and coffee/tea services - from different European countries. So one can compare and contrast AN styles of say, Great Britain vs Denmark, or Austrian vs Belgian. The other half of first floor is the paintings gallery.

The top floor is closed for an installation of a new exhibition. Per the website, On the 3d floor a cabinet is dedicated to the Belgian Art Nouveau artist Henry van de Velde and another to the Vienna Secession artist Josef Hoffmann. Sadly, I wasn't able to see any of this.

Museum Berggruen (Modern art)
http://www.smb.museum/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objID=22&typeId=1

Located right next door to Bröhan Museum is Museum Berggruen. Its main collection is works by Matisse, Picasso, and Klee.

The building is circular, so one follows a circular route through the galleries, which hangs the works (mostly) chronologically.

Ground floor begins several galleries with Matisse. The last room or 2 is Picasso earlier years (1900-1910).

1st floor is completely dedicated to Picasso. Since it doesn't have an overwhelming collection, I find it perfect to get a taste of various styles & stages of Picasso throughout his life. We went from his Blue Period to Cubism, then Guernica/WWII period. There were also many portraits of Dora Maar in different renditions. The last paintings by Picasso there are from 1960s.

I am not a huge fan of Picasso, but mostly because of his long career and his HUGE oeuvre. Every time I go to an exhibition of his, I get exhausted by the overwhelming number of works. Therefore, I really liked this Picasso collection at Berggruen. It covers 60 years of Picasso's career in a manageable fashion.

2nd floor has one room of Giacometti's sculptures. The rest of the galleries filled with works by Paul Klee. This is another artist I'd like to know more about. However, because of time-constraints, we didn't have time to listen to the audioguide. Next time, maybe.

Collection Scharf-Gerstenberg (Surealism)
http://www.smb.museum/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objID=12807&typeId=1

This is housed in a building across the street from Museum Berggruen. They must be part of the palace buildings as they are identical.

But Collection Scharf-Gerstenberg also extends beyond the circular building into the next door former Royal stables. This entire building used to be the Egyptian Museum. When I was in Berlin in 2003, this was where I saw Nefertiti.

This surrealist collection is a quite disappointing, with few paintings by well-known artists.

Having had enough art and museum for the morning, we ate lunch at the new cafe here. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4594.jpg

It only serves sandwiches, soups, and salads. Choices are limited but quite good. We also like the airy setting. We shared: brie sandwich, green salad with feta, tomato soup, and flaky pastry filled with spinach and cheese. Our lunch was 16 euro.

To be continued...

I also like Giacometti and Paul Klee a lot. Basel and Zürich are *must* see places for you then.

Too bad so many collections were closed or not on display. See, you need to return soon

I just returned last night from a week in Switzerland (gulp . . . being a budget traveler, had quite the shock, pricewise!), so am late reading your wonderful report.

Your reports are so much better than any guidebook, and I copy each of them for future travels.

Thank you so much for posting and for posting so entertainingly.

Sandy (in Denton)

yk,
I rented from Habitat twice , both 2 bd. apt.:

Via in L'Eixample
and Princesa 1 in El Born
I visited Barcelona 3 times in the last three years. The first time, we stayed in a private home in a residential part of the city Les Corts which was a nice way to see the areas of Barcelona usually not on the tourist map.
I just love the city . We are going to Spain in April and will ,most likely, go to Barcelona again.

Your reports are always so good and informative.
I did not have the energy ( after Prague and Dresden) to see all the museums you have seen.... hope to go to Berlin again some time in the future .

YK
I didn't say I USED it. I just look at it. I absolutely love it. (Yes, I'm wierd.) Love your report and admire your stamina. Oh, to be young. I envy all of the trips and memories you have ahead of you. CJ

Wow, you went through those museums and it's only lunch time?!

danon, thanks for the info. I didn't realize you rented 2BRs, which is probably too much room & too pricey for me.

sandy_b, thanks for reading this! I hope you enjoyed your trip to Switzerland. Thank you again for all the assistance you've offered me!

MFifi, I think we saw those 3 in 3 hours. Bröhan Museum doesn't have audioguide; and not very much English displays. Since the top floor is closed, and I'm not interested in the painting galleries, we really only have to see 1.5 floors of that museum.

We didn't use audioguides for the other 2 museums; so we went through them rather quickly. Honestly, by Day 7, we are museum-ed out. I try to make sure the first museum of each day is the one that matters most to me; as I have the most energy and attention in the morning.

CarolJean, nothing wrong with looking at Ampelmann sponge and not using it.

Ingo, there was a Giacometti exhibit in Dallas (@ Nasher Sculpture Center) a few years ago and we absolutely loved it.

Great report as usual, yk - thank you much. I really never had much interest in Germany but those museums sound great. For Klee, you should go to the Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern - I took a trip there about 4 years ago.

yk,
Habitat has a number of one bdms .in the same areas of Barcelona ( even the same buildings)

Day 7 Continued
Modern to Contemporary Art
October 3 (Saturday) - German Unification Day

Hamburger Bahnhof
http://www.hamburgerbahnhof.de/text.php?id=94&lang=en

http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4597.jpg

Hambruger Bahnhof is the museum for Contemporary Art. It picks up from where Neue Nationalgalerie drops off.

Unfortunately, we only have one hour there. The space is huge and one can easily spend hours there.

Therefore we spent our hour in:
1) East Gallery - Works by Anselm Kiefer, Rauschenburg, Cy Twombly, and Warhol
2) West Wing - full of works by Joseph Beuys

This shows one of the Beuys gallery with Dan Flavin's light installation: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4599.jpg

Sammlung Hoffmann
http://www.sammlung-hoffmann.de/index.php?/site/sammlung/en

I found out about this private collection through 111op's & caroline_edinburgh's Berlin trip reports. One has to email in advance to reserve a spot, as it is only open once a week on Saturday. English tours are available. Tour lasts 90 minutes and costs 8 euro.

Erika Hoffmann changes the artwork once a year during the summer. Each year she has a different theme.

We were the only 2 people who showed up for the 4pm tour. There were a few others who had signed up but didn't come. This year's theme, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall, has to do with Germany & Berlin's recent history.

Our guide who grew up in East Germany, added her own personal point of view too. While we don't know most of these artists (mostly German), it was fascinating to see works done as a reaction to contemporary history.

If you are going to Berlin this year or early next year, I highly recommend coming here for a visit.

BTW, we got to meet & speak with Mrs. Hoffmann during our tour!

Ending our trip with a blast!
After a brief rest and change of clothes back at the apartment, we set off for our final destination on this trip - the Reichstag!
http://www.bundestag.de/htdocs_e/visits/kupp.html

I made a dinner reservation for this evening about 2 months ago. I chose tonight simply because it would be our last night in Berlin, and I thought that would be a lovely way to end the trip (and celebrate our wedding anniversary). In addition, I had no desire to wait in line to get into Reichstag. With a restaurant reservation, one can use the handicapped entrance and bypass the line.

Of course, when I made the reservation, I had NO IDEA that today is German Reunification Day, which of course is a BIG DEAL in Berlin, esp around Reichstag & Brandenburg Gate!

Because of traffic and crowds, we were 10 minutes late for our 8pm reservation, but we didn't have trouble with the guards at the handicapped entrance (they have a list of names who have reservations).

DH decided to go for the 4-course dinner for 68euro. One can choose any dishes from any courses for that. He had scallop tartare topped with 3 types of caviar as starter; then ravioli with chanterelle mushrooms as "primi"; veal coated with mustard sauce as "secondi"; and finally dessert (which I can't remember what it was).

I ordered a la carte: carrot-ginger soup to start, followed by black cod (I think).

Here's the dinner menu PDF in German only: http://www.feinkost-kaefer.de/fileadmin/speisekarten/Juli-August_Abend_a_la_carte.pdf

We received chef's amuse bouche before our meal. We must be getting old, because neither DH nor I can remember what it was (I didn't write anything of the food down, GASP!).

We were offered a plate of petits fours at the end of our meal.

Our bill was 119 euro. I asked the server about tip and he said it was included. We added another 6 euro tip (not sure if that was okay, too little, or too much?)

Our dinner took 2.5 hours. Service was slow initially when the restaurant was completely full.

Reichstag is open until 12 MN, but last entrance is 10pm. Therefore, by the time we were done with dinner and ready to visit the dome at 10:30pm, the crowd was thinning quickly.

There is a huge outdoor concert going on right at Brandenburg Gate. From the rooftop of Reichstag, we see a sea of people and we could hear the music loud and clear. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4622.jpg

We then made our way into the dome and up the spiral ramp. By now, there were no more than 2 dozen people left in the building. It was GREAT! I love looking down at the mirror funnel into the Parliament chamber below.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4614.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4619.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Berlin%20Sept%202009/IMG_4623.jpg

At the top of the spiral ramp is a landing with a large circular bench. The bench is shaped in a way that one can lie down on it and look up at the sky. The top of the dome is open to air, so we basically were lying on our backs and watching the dark sky. It was just magical. It reminds me a bit of James Turrell's skyscapes. It was a perfect ending to our trip.

We happened to leave Reichstag right when the concert ended, so we walked along Unter den Linden with thousands of Berliners, most of them very happy and quite drunk.

--------------------------------------------
If you want to visit Reichstag but without spending the $$$ at the restaurant, I think you should consider arriving around 9:30pm or so. The fact that so few people remain past 10:30 or 11pm makes the visit much more pleasant!

Day 8
Home - 15 hours and 5 meals later...

Don't ask me why, but I decided to book us on a 7:15am flight out of Tegel Airport. I think I had 2 options when I was booking flights, either this early one which would get us on the morning flight out of London to Boston; or a late morning flight from Tegel that connects with the afternoon flight out of London to Boston.

We didn't go to bed until 1 am the night before; and our alarm was set for 4am. Initially, I was going to pre-order a taxi for us. But feeling quite frugal, I thought we could just use public transit (€2,80pp). I used the BVG Journey Planner to double-check the train and bus schedules.

We were able to leave our apartment key on the dining table and close the door behind us. The manager-lady had no desire to check the apt with us that early in the AM.

We left the apt just before 5am and walked over to Schonhauser Allee S-Bahn station. I expected the entire place to be deserted, and was a bit worried about safety.

OMG, how wrong was I! There were TONS of people out and about at 5am on this Sunday morning. Even the wurst/gyro stand was open for business. DH remarked that there were more people out right now than the Sunday afternoon when we arrived a week earlier.

The S-Bahn train arrived on schedule. Almost every seat was taken. We got off at the Beusselstrasse Station to change for the TXL bus. There were about 8-10 people waiting at the bus stop. This was 5:30am!!! When the TXL bus came, the bus was almost full. I could not believe so many people are out and about in the wee hours in the morning!

At Tegel Airport, we stopped at the BA Lounge for breakfast. Tegel is similar to Vienna's airport: each 1-2 gates have its own security and immigration check. Therefore, the BA Lounge is located OUTSIDE security.

The Lounge is small, with very mediocre food for breakfast. We didn't stay for long.

On our short flight to Heathrow, we were served a breakfast sandwich.

At Heathrow, we had to do the reverse T5->T3 transfer. This took about 40 minutes. Now that the new BA Terrace Lounge has opened in T3, that's where we went, instead of the AA Lounge which is undergoing renovations.

The BA Terrace Lounge is very nice. It's huge, light and airy, and lots of good food. Naturally, we ate our third breakfast there.

I booked flights with the shortest connection time possible, so sadly it was time to leave the Terrace Lounge. It is so nice that I really wish we had more time to hang out there!

I swooped through the duty free shop to pick up some skin care products (still much cheaper than US, thanks to the weak £), then headed to our AA flight home.

On our flight, we were served an edible (in fact, quite tasty) lunch; followed by the usual cheese pizza (I passed) right before arrival.

Our plane touched down at Logan at 1pm ET. With no line at immigration on this Sunday afternoon, and with no checked luggage to collect, we were out on the curb by 1:15pm!

As soon as we stepped out, we saw the courtesy shuttle for our parking lot. We were home in no time.

I checked my notes and apparently we met Mrs. Hoffmann also. I guess she really makes a point of meeting her guests.

Out of curiosity, do you remember any of the German artists in Sammlung Hoffmann? I remember a c. 1960s German kinetic art piece from an artist whose name escapes me at the moment, but most of the artwork when I visited was not German.

I guess even if she had a Gerhard Richter or a Neo Rauch, she was probably not going to put it on view. The most famous name when I was there was Frank Stella, and it was late colorful Stella rather than the early prized Stellas.

However her art was well presented and thought provoking -- so much so that even before I looked at the notes, I could remember some of the stuff I saw there. The most interesting piece at that time was work by Marijke van Warmerdam, who was contracted to deliver an ice ball to Mrs. Hoffmann every Saturday.

As I mentioned to you, I also used public transportation early in the morning for the airport with no trouble. Berlin is the only city in Europe I can think of that rivals NYC with smooth 24h public transportation. In fact, I guess it's really the city I can think of that can rival NYC in this area.

Thoughts on Berlin

Here are my random thoughts about this city:

1) It's huge, too huge in fact. Even with great public transit, it still takes 20-30 minutes to get from Point A to Point B

2) It only took DH a few hours in Berlin before he commented on the Graffiti

3) I do not find Berlin pretty. It's nothing like Paris, or Vienna, or even London. In fact, I cannot think of any specific spot that is particularly scenic.

4) What attracts me to this city is not scenic spots. It is the HISTORY. You can feel it everywhere in the city.

5) I find the people in Berlin quite cheerful and friendly. We did not encounter one rude person on our trip.

6) In terms of prices, I find Berlin on par with other major European cities.

-------------
I didn't plan this trip to Berlin just because this is the 20th anniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall. It just so happened. Obviously, there are lots of events and celebrations this month and next month.

If you're interested in this 20th anniversary, check your local German embassy to see if there are any events being held in your city.

Yesterday, we went to the premiere screening of a new documentary titled Writing on the Wall: Remembering the Berlin Wall by John J. Michalczyk, a professor at Boston College. http://www.mfa.org/calendar/event.asp?eventkey=40624&date=10/11/2009

It is a nice documentary, hopefully it will be widely distributed. The documentary interviewed plenty of people, including former mayor of West Berlin, former German ambassador to Great Britain and Nato, a former pilot for the Berlin Airlift, Edwina Sandys (granddaughter of Churchill), and many local Berliners. Keep your eyes out for this film!

We definitely saw 2 works by Richter. The other German artists I really don't remember, as I don't recognize their names. Many of them are from Dusseldorf. But even looking at this list: http://www.sammlung-hoffmann.de/index.php?/site/kuenstler/en/ doesn't ring a bell for me.

We also saw 2 works by a Japanese female artist (who has been living in Berlin for severa years), 2 works by Fang Lijun, a video installation by a Korean woman, another video by Israeli artist Yael Bartana, an entire wall stacked with tin cookie cans by a French artist (each can is filled with the artist's own memorabilia)...

And then there are a couple works by Judd, and a pile of posters by Gonzalez-Torres.

Was the French artist Boltanski? He's pretty famous.

I think that we might have had Gonzalez-Torres also, and also Christopher Wool.

I think the kinetic art piece I saw could have been by Heinz Mack (mentioned in the ZERO group on the web page -- actually all the names there are familiar to me).

Thanks!

Wow yk, great report! I think you may have convinced me what my winter Europe trip will be! Thank you!

Was the French artist Boltanski? He's pretty famous.

Probably. I don't recall the name, but googling his works seems to fit with the installation we saw. There is another piece of work by him as well - it was a bundle of white cloth with some newspaper clippings hidden within. However, no one is allowed to touch the cloth to see what the newspaper clippings were about. Does that sound like Boltanski?

I told DH that we are probably the least educated people (in contemporary art) to visit Sammlung Hoffmann.

Hi amyb! You may want to reconsider going to Berlin in winter! I know you aren't afriad of the cold, but it really will be very cold and grey there; and short daylight hours. Wait, doesn't that sound just like where we live? But in all seriousness, I think one of my cousins went to Berlin a few winters ago and they were stuck there because of ice/snow storm. No trains nor planes were running.

hi yk

You may want to reconsider going to Berlin in winter! I know you aren't afriad of the cold, but it really will be very cold and grey there; and short daylight hours.>>

and in the summer [we went at the beginning of august a few years ago] it's REALLY hot. we spent a lot of time in the air-conditioned museums and walkin around by the canals in the late evening.

a good place to visit in spring/autumn.

'In terms of prices, I find Berlin on par with other major European cities.''

As far as hotels go , one gets MUCH better accommodation in Berlin for much less than Paris or London.
My very nice, big room at Melia in the center of the city was less than 90 euros in July.
A very small, unattractive room in the center of 6th last July in Paris was 150 euros.
But, Paris is Paris...

and in the summer [we went at the beginning of august a few years ago] it's REALLY hot."

I was in Berlin at the end of July and it was cool with some rain ..it warmed up the last couple of days at the very end of the months.
The weather is a mystery almost anywhere..

sorry.. month.

What an informative report. You are so methodical!

yk, that's really a fantastic report with amazing details. For museums better than any guide book I'll save and print it for my next visit.

Regarding your thoughts on Berlin I agree with #1-3. #4 is a mystery to me except for 20th century history. #5 - I am glad it was this for you. My experiences are VERY different. You were probably lucky that you don't speak German, especially not Saxon dialect #6 - cannot compare to Paris or London but from what I heard from friends/colleagues Berlin seems to be less expensive than those.

YK

An absolutely wonderful report, as always.

Is the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie still there? It was a fascinating museum. My only visit to Berlin was in 1993 (specific detour to see a U2 concert) and I spent two days there. That museum is one of my more vivid memories of Berlin.

yk

I just answered my own question - I hadn't clicked on your Checkpoint Charlie photo link - it's pictured there, down the street.

Here comes my favorite part of the trip report:

What's the Damage?

As I said before, we are budget-conscious but we don't have a set budget. I'm always curious to find out how much money we spent on our vacation, and compare it to previous trips to see how it measures up.

Transport
Within Berlin €58
R/t train ticket to Dresden €89
Subtotal €147

Food
Eating In €36,40 (5 breakfasts, 3 dinners)
Eating Out €373 (1 breakfast, 6 lunches, 4 dinners, 3 afternoon coffee breaks)
Subtotal €409,40

Museums & Attractions
Berlin €102
Dresden €66
Subtotal €168

Entertainment
€153 for 3 operas
€12 for 3 opera programme booklets
Subtotal €165

Lodging for 7 nights
Berlin €315
Dresden €59
Subtotal €374

Using €1 = $1.47

Grand Total
$1857; + $1496 for Airfare =
$3353

Subtracting the airfare, and dividing the total by 7 (days), our cost = $265.3/day for 2 people.

In comparison:
our 2008 Fall trip to France/Belgium was $290/day
our 2006 Fall trip to London/Vienna was $355/day

Ingo, thanks for your comment. I find the Art/Shop/Eat Berlin guide (by Blue Guides) very useful when it comes to museums. It's probably worthwhile to wait for a new edition to come out, as the 2005 edition I got is a bit outdated.

About #4 comment, it's not just the Berlin Wall, but also history of Cold War/Stasi, and of course WWII history. Even though very little of Third Reich remains in Berlin, we could still feel it in the air. EG, even looking at the parking lot where it used to be Hitler's bunker, was enough to send chills down my spine.

As for #6, I think for every city, one can find great deals if one looks hard enough. London has lots of free museums, whereas lodging and food in Paris can be quite affordable as well.

flygirl, I went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum in 2003. I enjoyed that visit, but since many people commented here that they find it too gimmicky, I decided to skip it in favor for places I haven't yet been to.

cigalechanta, thanks for reading! So sorry I missed you on Saturday!

Gimmicky, really? That is a shame. In 1993 it seemed more of a home-grown kind of museum to me.

You've done exceptionally well on costs!

As for #4 - yup, that *is* 20th century history, right? Interesting; yes, I can understand that someone who hasn't had to deal with that all his/her life is fascinated by that history and the places related to it. We German (at least most of us) would rather want to put it behind us and go forward. For a visitor from overseas, though, yes, that must be amazing and sometimes shocking.

>>>There were TONS of people out and about at 5am on this Sunday morning. Even the wurst/gyro stand was open for business<<<

Interesting, is it possible they were still out from the night before?

Berlin sounds like a candy store of art- it's too bad there isn't an updated, proper, hardcore Blue Guide for Berlin's museums like there is for London, Paris, and Rome.

Great report as usual yk! I'm tucking it away for future reference.

Interesting, is it possible they were still out from the night before?

Absolutely! Most of them were party-goers heading home. However, there were also some sober folks who didn't look like they were up all night (DH commented on how clean-shaven they looked); so they were a mystery to us because they didn't look like they were going to work either (not on a Sunday). I think you'll like Berlin, Apres! Just seeing all the graffiti in the city will make you very happy.

It is understandable that Germans wish to put a a lot of the history behind and look forward.
For many Europeans the history of Nazi Germany was much more 'alive' in school books, films, and memories of our parents than the Wall.
The aftermath of the Cold War might be more interesting for North Americans.

>>>I think you'll like Berlin, Apres! Just seeing all the graffiti in the city will make you very happy<<<



I think I would love it, warts and all.

I was reading a bit about Dostoevsky this weekend and the time he spent in Berlin and Dresden with his second wife. He hated both cities (except for the museums)- apparently he thought Berlin and Dresden were examples of everything that was decadent and wrong with European culture and it affected him so much that he was driven to a gambling frenzy in Baden-Baden (or at least that's how he explained it to his wife I guess).

Re the newspaper clippings in the cloth, I don't really know. But Boltanski does use newspaper clippings. The containers do sound like Boltanski.

I guess it depends on how famous this French artist is. There are only so many famous ones who are still living -- like Sophie Calle, Louise Bourgeois, Pierre Huyghe, Annette Messager, Daniel Buren. Certainly your description doesn't sound like any of these, so if the artist is famous, my bet is on Boltanski.

I am in awe of your organizational powers. You would make an excellent trip leader. Thanks so much for this engaging, informative report. I don't think I'll be able to visit Berlin anytime soon but you have certainly whetted my appetite. I'd have to stay twice as long just to see 1/2 the things you and your husband did, though.

Happy anniversary!

It is understandable that Germans wish to put a a lot of the history behind and look forward.>>

danon - when we went to Berlin 4 years ago, the special exhibition on at the Deutsche Historische Museum was the history of the jews in europe for the last 1000 years. no punches were pulled and I was very impressed how they confronted the terrible truth of what was done. so I am not convinced that all germans want to cover everything up.

yk - great report. I would really like to spend spme mroe time in Berlin, perhaps as the jumping off point for a longer trip in the area.

regards, ann

Again, Thank you all for reading; and thank you for all your comments!

Great report, thank you !! And a very timely read for me, as I am travelling to Berlin for a 'see-as-many-art-museums-as-possible' trip the last week of this month...I already made a list of what I wish to see but you have some great tips here as well.

Is it possible to make a day trip from Berlin to Dresden ? I saw that there are both buses and trains running throughout the day.

Hi Suja, you're welcome! Yes, it is possible to do a day trip to Dresden, if you're willing to have a long day! The faster, direct train between Berlin & Dresden runs once every 2 hours. So, you can either take 6:35am which gets into Dresden at 8:52am; or take the one 8:35am we took which gets in at 10:52am.

I think most museums open at 10am. If you take the early train, you'll have some time to wander around the town and see the sights that don't "close", until the museums open. If you do decide to go, buy your Historic Green Vault ticket in advance, so you won't waste your precious time standing in line for a ticket.

Suja, if you don't mind some walking take the early train and get off the train in Dresden at the station Neustadt (the first in Dresden). From there walk through the Neustadt (so called although it is mostly Baroque and 19th century) and cross the river via Augustus bridge to the old town. Best views of the old town from the Neustadt bank of the river and the bridge.

Good advice from yk to book tickets for the Historic Green Vault in advance. I went to the Royal Palace today to see the Saxon-Denmark exhibit and was astonished by the crowds - of course no tickets for the Green Vault today available. Ok, granted, it was snowing like crazy. LOL, totally unusual for mid October.

Btw, the Neues Museum in Berlin re-opened today (or will in the next days, don't recall exactly) and Nofretete is on display there.

Hi Ingo, any other neighborhoods you recommend exploring? Thanks!

We leave for Dresden next Wednesday. Finally! Hotels and trains booked, my travelling companion got her ok from the doctor and is now relaxing here in Basel with us.

By the way, it will be below freezing here in Basel tonight, but no snow. Yesterday was the first day the trams turned their heaters on. Fall is really here.

Thanks Yk and Ingo, it does sound like a long day trip but I am very tempted to do it anyway... and I am excited that the Neues Museum is finally open in Berlin !!

The thermometer is showing 3 degrees here in Lausanne this morning I hope that the bise has stopped blowing...

yk, what a terrific report. So much information and love the links to pix that show what your narrative is explaining. Really a lot of work. Thanks so much.

Passerine, glad to hear you finally will visit Dresden. The weather should be better from mid next week on (according to the forecast, but one never knows ...).

Definitely explore "Äussere Neustadt", the 19th century quarter that has funny shops, ethnic food, vibrant nightlife (mostly for the younger crowd) and artisan's shops. One thing you shouldn't miss there is the Kunsthofpassage www.kunsthofpassage.de, the other is Pfund's Molkerei, the famous dairy shop.

I also recommend to explore the area around the Blue Wonder Bridge, especially Körnerplatz - Wippler's cafe and bakery is excellent, the craftsmen's shops around the corner there and the quite picturesque village-like ambience down towards the river. Il Camino is a very good Italian restaurant in that area (towards the river). Take the suspension railway for best views up to Oberloschwitz.

Have a good trip!

I'm catching up on my reading, yk, and have just spent a delightful 30 minutes with your trip report.

This is wonderfully dense, a real treasure for anyone planning to visit Berlin or Dresden. Thank you for posting it.

Anselm

Julie & Anselm, thanks for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

What an incredibly well organized trip report! I wish I was half so well prepared. And thanks for the prices... always interesting and so rarely mentioned.

One of the most interesting books I have ever read about the Second World War and the holocaust was set mostly in Dresden:

"I Shall Bear Witness the Diaries of Victor Klemperer"

Well worth reading.

Thanks again for an interesting report...

Rob

ParisAmsterdam, thanks for reading, and thanks for the book suggestion!

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We finally got around to re-watch the movie, Run Lola Run. It doesn't have that many Berlin scenes, but there are some nice shots of Gendarmenmarkt, Bebelplatz, and Oberbaumbrücke. This link has more detailed information regarding filming locations: http://german.about.com/library/bllolafotos.htm

Anyhow, even if you aren't interested in the Berlin scenes, Run Lola Run is still a very entertaining movie.

Hello again yk,

I've got FF seats on hold for a spring trip to Germany. First thing I did today was re-read your very comprehensive report. We'll be wanting to stay in apartments, so thanks again for all your recommendations.

It looks like the Berlin apartment you stayed in is booked for part of our stay, but their largest place is available.

It does seem just a bit far away from the "action", as you say. But the price is certainly very enticing. Just wish the smaller one was available.

Just wanted to thank you again for this great report.

swisshiker, how exciting! And Spring time too - it should be lovely, esp with Spargel harvest. I think it's worthwhile to contact the apartment owner and perhaps put your name on a waitlist - in case the persons who booked the smaller apartment cancels? I can't recall how much more expensive the larger one is, but I think it's still a good deal for the large apartment.

Thanks for you kind comment and good luck with trip planning!

Hi yk, enjoyed your report very much. Can't wait to revisit Berlin again myself. You certainly packed in a lot of galleries including some I don't know so I'll be referring to your report when we do go again !

Thanks especially for your very evocative description of personal highlights of the Jewish Museum - I think they would have been ours too, if we had got to see them (instead of being trapped on a dull tour) so you have made me definitely want to return there.

Where was the East Side Gallery in terms of its restoration when you went ? We were very disappointed when we saw it as almost all of the original artwork had been defaced by run of the mill grafitti, but I read recently that it has now been restored.

Re your comment on the Dresden opera house "The Dresden opera house was rebuilt in 1985. It is beautiful, definitely more so than Staatsoper. I was surprised to see the "Royal Box" section. I thought that was something the Communists didn't approve of?" If it's like the Berlin Staatsoper they rebuilt it after WWII exactly as it had been before. I was surprised, actaully, that you didn't find the Staatsoper as attractive as the Vienna one - we thought the latter was much drearier as it was rebuilt in 1950s style as opposed to recreating its past glories. Maybe we saw fancier bits on the tour.

Glad you enjoyed the Sammlung Hoffmann and I am very envious you got a personal tour and to meet Frau Hoffmann ! (She's been away each time we've visited.) What was she like ? Did you notice evidence of her swimming pool on the glass top floor ?! I just noticed it last time when looking out of a window across the courtyard. That's where I want to live !!

On our first visit there was also a pile of Felix Gonzalez-Torres posters (ours is still waiting to be framed but our sweetie from Venice is on display ) - I wonder if they were the same as the ones you saw this year (a famous nihilist quote) ?

110op, it sounds as though you visited SH the same year as our 2nd visit, as we also saw the Marijke van Warmerdam snowball. (I think it was one of a few years by this artist whom we'd just come across and liked at an Edinburgh gallery the previous year.)

I don't remember seeing anything by Boltanski at SH but the Missing House nearby is his.

yk, you were also very lucky to have such a wonderful last evening to celebrate your anniversary, in & around the Reichstag. I hadn't realised it was open at night and that is a good tip, for going when it's very quiet. I liked your analogy with experiencing a James Turrell installation.

Thank you for your comments, caroline! Our trip wouldn't have been as fun and interesting if you didn't post your informative trip reports in the past.

Regarding the East Side Gallery, I'd say it was ~80-90% restored when we went. There were some artists repainting sections of the wall while we were there. I've mentioned this upthread that DH & I went to see a documentary on the Fall of the Wall after we returned from our trip. In the documentary was clips of the East Side Gallery shot during the summer of 2009. We were shocked by how much graffiti there was all over the Wall. So I guess we were lucky due to the timing of our visit, just 1 month before the 20th anniversary.

As for the Berlin Staatsoper, unless I remember wrong, I don't think it has a "grand staircase" or a grand lobby like the Vienna Staatsoper, no? In fact, the whole Berlin Staatsoper feels quite cramped. I'm interested to see what it'll be like after renovation.

Mrs Hoffmann was very unassuming and very personable. We stopped by her office on the tour, and it was just a regular room with regular desk & chair, and it was quite chilly there!

When's your next trip back to Berlin, caroline?

Hi caroline, it was fall of 2006.

I didn't notice that swimming pool, but she had some colorful large-scale Stellas on view at that time. I also remember a Sarah Morris, a video installation by Pipilotti Rist, and an Ernesto Neto installation (which was quite wonderful -- one of my favorites definitely -- he recently had an installation at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC).

I also took some posters -- by Felix Gonzalez-Torres also, I think. She also had a Julie Mehretu print, which I think was behind the table where she had mineral water set out for us. We got to meet her also.

Her collection was interesting. There was nothing that seemed particularly pricey except for the Warhols she had on display, which I think she (they?) commissioned from him

The Edinburgh gallery must have been Fruitmarket. I looked into the van Warmerdam editions they had after the Sammlung Hoffman visit, but I decided to pass.

I should be in Berlin for two days in January. But probably I'll have only a few hours for the city itself.