Saturday, November 03, 2007
Berlin, Germany, 11-15 Oct 2006: Neighbourhoods & Buildings
Neoclassic East & Postmodern West
Berlin sprawls: a giant city of several distinct boroughs. Since the fall of the Wall, the city centre moved to the historic heart of the German capital, Mitte. Former decaying eastern  districts have received much-need rejuvenation. Hip Prenzlauer Berg has become a trendy residential area with eclectic restaurants and a lively bar scene.Unter den Linden, the main thoroughfare of former East Berlin, runs westward from Alexanderplatz (with Swedish-made Cold War icon, Fernsehturm or TV Tower) to Brandenburg Tor. Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is the crown jewel of this tree-lined avenue, containing within the compact Spree Island, the exuberantly baroque Berliner Dom (fronting the Lustgarten) and five world-class museums, including Altes Museum (which houses the Egyptian Museum) and the august Ziggurat-inspired Pergamon Museum. The famous quadriga-topped Brandenburg Tor on Pariserplatz marks the margin of the former Berlin Wall. During the Cold War, West Berlin underground trains run through heavily-guarded Geisterbahnhöfe,  ghost stations: passengers did not get off, or on. Französischer Dom and Deutscher Dom are found in nearby Gendarmenmarkt.The green expanse of Tiergarten stretches to the west of Brandenburg Tor. The Berlin Philharmonic and several museums (e.g. Gemäldegalerie) comprising the Kulturforum, are sited here. Imposing silhuoettes of modern edifices and skyscrapers at Potsdamer Platz create a stark juxtaposition to the adjacent horizontal spread of Mitte architecture. Sited in the former West Berlin, the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche (Emperor William Memorial Church) in Kurfürstendamm and Libeskind-designed Jewish Museum are poignant sobre reminders of the city's war past and the Jewish Holocaust. |
Labels: architecture, Berlin, Germany, museum
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These are the 30 countries that I have ever set foot on. Airport stopovers don't count!
