Berlin 2011 - 20 January

I did go to a couple of museums and took some pictures, but really, there are only so many pictures of fine art that you can take before they all start to look identical. So there won’t be as many pictures here today.

Let’s start off with a very good subway ad for a Lasik clinic that will have you “independent of glasses and contact lenses.”

Hedgehog making love to a washing brush; glasses on ground next to hedgehog. Text reads: “Independent of glasses and contact lenses.”

Off to the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Musem of Decorative Arts) which is in the Kulturforum (Culture Forum) near the Potsdamer Platz subway station. The first picture is a tower that is actually a good distance from the area, but I liked the green stuff at the top of the building. The yellow building is the Berlin Philharmonic hall, and the church is near the museum.

Tower with rectangular green plates arranged in a cube Keith Haring-like sculpture of two red and blue figures interwined. 2-d and 3-d map of Kulturforum Brown brick building; black stone sculpture Yellow-paneled building Brown brick church w. deeper red brick horizontal stripes

Here are the only two pictures I felt were worth posting from the museum: a view upwards from the entrance, and an interesting grandfather clock.

Upward view main hall of museum; light panels in concentric geometric forms offset at odd angles Grandfather clock whose body is roughly the shape of a bass violin

On the way back to the subway station, I passed the Lego store and the Sony center. In the passageway to the station, I saw some green and blue lamps (sorry, that one didn’t come out with the colors very well). I went back to have lunch, and when I was done, I saw that the lamps had changed color.

Giraffe (about 7 meters tall) made of Lego bricks Upward view of Sony Center dome
Spherical lamps hanging from ceiling; green and blue Spherical lamps hanging from ceiling; yellow and purple

Here’s one musuem you won’t see every day: The Buchstabenmusem (Letter Museum). This is a collection of letters taken from building signs. Some of them are from the old East Germany (DDR); for example, East Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof (main train station) became the Ostbahnhof (east train station); the letters HAUP were taken down, and they now reside at this musueum. The first picture shows an interesting set of letters: there are two layers of neon. The lower layer follows the main letter form; the upper layer spells out a different word. The lights were set up to alternate between the words at night. An unusual museum, to be sure, but well worth the visit.

Metal letters with different neon letters atop them Neon letters from old DDR radio station Room filled with blue and white letters Me in front of large yellow letters

Three pictures taken on the walk around Rosa-Luxemburg Straße and on the way back to Alexanderplatz. The first one with the stuffed animal smoking a cigarette is in the window of the CCCP Bar. In the third picture, the building is the “Volksbühe,” which translates roughly to “People’s Theater.”

Stuffed badger with cigarette in mouth; in window of CCCP bar rag doll mannequins hanging outside a building Sculpture of spoked wheel on legs in front of Volksbühne building

These paintings are on the ceiling at the Alexa Centre in Alexanderplatz.

Art deco painting of reclining nude on ceiling at Alexa shopping center Art deco painting of fashionable people; on ceiling at Alexa shopping center

Today’s Signage

Large wall painting of man with moustache; text next to face says “It is hard to be a citizen.” Poster for Absinth Depot Berlin; shows cat standing on hind legs drinking from a glass. Man with afro and sunglasses on sign: Luigi Zuckermann Traditional Gourmet Deli Since 2009

The word means “jewelry” in German, but it’s still sort of a surprise to see it in red neon.

Red neon sign: “Schmuck”

Today’s Bear

Bear painted red with white highlights of Berlin landmarks

Today’s Food

I finally went to a real restaurant instead of a subway station döner joint, and had their spinach and cheese wrap with onion, mushroom, and garlic. It was very good. The slice of truffle torte, which I had bought at a bakery shop, was dessert.

Spinach and cheese wrap Side view of slice of truffle torte

Odds & Ends

There are a lot of places here (including museums) where you have to pull the door to exit; pushing won’t work. Doesn’t anyone realize what a really horrible idea that is?

Two things I forgot to mention about the hotel. The first night when I checked in, I turned on the bathroom light, heard a popping noise, and the lights went out completely. I went down to the main desk and within five minutes they had someone up to fix the light.

Another interesting, and for me, welcome, note: there’s no Gideon Bible in the room.