Tiergarten, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Memorials, Monuments, Air Ministry, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall...and on to Lubeck

The Reichstag, the German Parliament...quite a tortured history

Goethe Monument in Tiergarten Park (almost as large as Phoenix Park in Dublin)

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Inside the Sony Center, near KulturForum

Goering's Air Ministry, one of the few 3rd Reich edifices not much damaged in WWII (probably reflecting the Allies' low estimation of Goering's strategic abilities); it's presently the Ministry of Finance

Achtung!

Checkpoint Charlie; now Tourist Trap Tommy

Vicki at the Wall

Monday was our last day in Berlin. After breaking camp again at the Avus, we drove into the city and parked on the Tiergarten, near the Kulturforum, allowing me to walk around a bit of the park, all the way to the Reichstag, and back. Dozens of sites, scenes, some in the pix above, many quite moving. Later we drove to the Friedrichstrasse area, and took in the various sites there, the largely-intact headquarters of Goering's Luftwaffe and many of the other evils he managed (now the ministry of finance), Checkpoint Charlie, and the Wall. See illustrations. You'd think the Wall was maybe 9th or 10th century, given what little is left of it. Anyway, having thus done Berlin, and feeling very pleased with it, we proceeded on to the autobahn and to Lubeck, where we stayed for a night in an actual campground.

Rococo My World

Schloss Sanssouci, from the gardens and terraces

The Bildergalerie exterior

The Chinese pavillion

The "New" Palace

The Orangerie

The Ruins; no palace is complete without some ruins to show off

Our goal for the day, Saturday, which we totally underestimated, was the Schloss Sanssouci, Frederick the Great's summer palace (mid 18th century). We had read that the guided tour took an hour. It turns out the Schloss is just the opener... there also are the women's wing, the kitchens and wine cellar, the art gallery, the orangery, the parks, the orchards, the vineyards, the windmill, the (artificial) ruins, the Chinese pavilion, the guest palace, the new palace, and more. Think of it as the German Versailles (except for most of its time it was merely Prussian). Frederick is of interest himself, probably the closest we ever got to a philosopher/king (Voltaire lived with him for 3 years), but then the whole complex stayed in the royal family and after nationhood in the 1870s became one of the Kaisers' main roosts. In the new palace Wilhelm III signed the documents starting WWI. And in 1918 abdicated.

The whole thing is pretty much Rococo or Rococo revival, reflecting Frederick's era and, throughout, his interests and tastes. Rococo, to my great surprise, grows on you, especially when you begin to see some of its principles and themes. Apart from being a great nation-maker and statesman, and intellectual, Frederick was also a patron of the arts, a colossal collector of French and Italian painting, and an accomplished flutist (composed 102 flute sonatas). I knew of him primarily as a military leader, very much in the same league as Napoleon. He once “exhorted” his troops with the exclamation “Fools, would you live forever?!”.

We arrived a bit past 10AM and left a bit after 6PM, and, by my count, saw seven of the thirteen principal sites. Sanssouci was relatively undamaged in WWII. Despite the Red Army's thoroughly looting it (3,000 pieces are still “missing”), most of it was returned to East Germany, and what one now sees, unlike most other such national monarchical sites, includes much of the original (restored) furniture, furnishings, and art. Of particular interest, and worth the hefty admission price all by itself, is the Bildergalerie, the paintings gallery. It was the first purpose-built art gallery in Europe. Imagine something on the scale of Versailles' Hall of Mirrors, only, instead of mirrors, you have paintings, hung floor to ceiling, Baroque-style, practically every square inch covered by some master or other. The building itself, gold everywhere, sculpture, marble, mosaic, proportion, light, was great art. Alas, photography was not permitted here nor anywhere else at Sanssouci, although we did sneak a few outside shots. Apart from the Bildergalerie, the main hall in the new palace, which Vicki and I dubbed “shell world,” is pretty incredible...a whole 6-8k square foot hall decorated in sea shells and other mineral specimens, floor to ceiling, floor and ceiling included. The shell is a central Rococo image.

It was an exhilarating if exhausting day—3 stars plus, easily, and much more than can be done in a day—but we were glad to get back to our “site” at the Avus Rasthof. Driving to Potsdam from Berlin, by the way, takes you through the now-ruins of Checkpoint Bravo, a major entrance to East Berlin/East Germany.

Day in Charlottenburg

It was another day with Frederick the Great, Old Fritz, his grandmother and successors

Entrance to Schloss Charlottenberg

From the gardens

Some of the artifacts from Herman Schliemann's excavation of Troy, the museum of which is at Charlottenberg

Alas, the museum was closed for renovation, but we did make it to the Cafe Schliemann

We parked on Schloss Strasse, next to this beautiful old pump

As if Schloss Sanssouci were not enough, Sunday we spent most of the day at Schloss Charlottenburg, the palace Frederick the 1st built for his wife, Charlotte. After bearing him an heir, she spent the rest of her relatively short life there, pursuing her interests in theatre, music, painting, philosophy and the sciences. She was Fred the Great's grandmother, and presumably the source of his more humane interests. With her friend and tutor, Leibniz (inventor of the calculus and monads), she founded the Berlin academy of the sciences. Schloss Charlottenberg was badly damaged in WWII, but is now well restored, and many of its interior furnishings and art were saved and are now on display. It was built originally in the late 1690s. Fred the Great resided there for a time, but much of what is on display is from the mid-19th century, when later Prussian kings and queens resided there (in addition to the Berlin Schloss, the Potdam Schloss, Schloss Sanssouci, and others). Again, much art, mostly French (including David's “Napoleon as First Consul Crossing the Alps”), and much history. Happily, for our tired feet, fewer buildings and grounds than Schloss Sanssouci, and generally fewer wows.

A Night at the Opera

The Deutsche Oper Berlin, located, where else?, on Richard Wagner Strasse

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Finale and curtain calls

Original title: "Tannhauser: Nudie Star Wars Sick Bed Version"

Sunday afternoon and evening we spent at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, also in Charlottengurg, about 2 km from the Schloss. I'd gotten tickets a few days earlier to the season's final performance of Wagner's Tannhauser, one of my favorites. After Schloss Charlottenburg we did a quick change into opera attire in the camper and had a quick meal. All this while parked on Schloss Strasse. The performance began at 5PM, and ended a bit after 9PM, with two leisurely intermissions. Even the most dedicated Wagnerites have to eat.

The music, the orchestra, the singing, and the acting too, all were glorious. The fiddles were drowned out on a few exuberant occasions, but that was the only acoustic defect of a great performance. The lead was the American, Scott McAllister. I was transported.

At least when I kept my eyes shut. One of the problems with Wagner performances these days (it happens with Shakespeare too) is that directors are always trying to put new spins on the works, their “stamp,” trying to eke new or contemporary messages out of them (as if they were not pregnant enough). We once saw a Flying Dutchman in New York that was presented as the first mate's dream. Whatever.

It gets worse when you have 21st century theatrical technology at your disposal. Deus ex machina is one thing, but this was an entire stage floor full of trap doors through which people were passing, being raised and lifted and lowered, often en mass. And then there were dozens of things (mostly knights in shining armor that looked more like storm troopers from The Empire Strikes Back (see illustration)) coming out of the ceiling and hovering, almost throughout the evening, over the singing and acting. All the knightly characters in the performance were attired in head-to-toe armor, as if the audience might not understand who they were. The performance was of the 1845 Dresden version, but the DOB decided to put on a ballet anyway in the first act overture (the 1861 Paris version indeed had a ballet, to accommodate the Jockey Club, all of which ended in a riot, but that's another story), apparently assuming no one would actually want to listen to the music. The “ballet” was a poor imitation of Gotz Friedrich's Bayreuth Tannhauser, the so-called “Porno Tannhauser.” Imagine 40 or so D-cupped cuties (Vicki, who would not relinqish the binoculars, said they were in body-stockings) flopping about in Venus' grotto. For 15 minutes. And, following the same reasoning, or lack, the DOB did not want to portray the Pilgrims' Chorus as a bunch of—what? pilgrims?—and so in act one they were red-devil-looking sinners, yes, popping up out of the floor, and in act three they were the inmates of a sick house...people in need of redemption, finally healed (see illustration again).... Mallarme, the father of Symbolism, called Tannhauser “that forest of symbols,” but I think he was referring mostly to the libretto.

It took a truly masterful performance, musically, to overcome all this, which it did; and it is good to know that the music can, for me at least, transcend just about any theatrical instantiation. Despite it all, I was very grateful for the opportunity to finally see a Wagner performance in Germany. I just hope I get to see another one, more conventionally done.

KulturForum and Gemaldegalerie

The Berlin Philharmonic and the Sony Center, from KulturForum

A Very Famous Holbein, the name of which escapes me at the moment

I have come to rate European museums in accordance with the number of St. Sebastians they exhibit; the Gemaldegalerie gets a "3"

Ascension; or, Lift-off, as Vicki and I prefer to call it, a scene frequently depicted in northern Euro painting

"Let's boogie!" the angel seems to be saying to Jesus

This was entitled "Venus, Cupid, and ..." (I forgot the name of the guy whose legs only appear in the photo; oddly, the bunnie is not named; it is well known, however, that Hugh Heffner visited Europe in the early 1950s, and I conjecture that...

German Historical Museum

The Deutsches Historisches Museum; one corner of it

Kant, in the Enlightenment section

88mm cannon, in anti-aircraft configuration

V2 rocket combustion chamber

Hitler kept two of these over-sized globes, one in Berlin, one in Berchtesgaden; this is the globe Chaplin satirized in The Great Dictator

"You mean....Springtime for...you know who?" The museum had relatively few images of Hitler, but they did have this one bust...all the museum's other busts, I believe, are in white

Thursday we decided to ignore our electrical problems as well as other needs, and just go in and see more of the city. Rain was forecast (correctly), so we decided to do our sightseeing indoors at the German Historical Museum. It is, as one might imagine, a long and interesting stroll through German history, from Stone Age to Celts to Romans and then into the dark ages, emergence of the Holy Roman Empire, Middle Ages, Reformation, etc., right up to the present. Rather more attention is given to more recent history, especially the founding the nation in the 1870s, WWI, the Depression and rise of National Socialism, WWII, partition, and reunification. The period 1919-present occupies almost the whole main floor. The emphasis is on political, technological, religious, and military history. Sadly, Germany's great artists, writers, philosophers, composers, etc., get very short or no shrift. (No mention of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, nor, alas, even Wagner). Oh well. Kant did get pride of place on a little display about the Enlightenment, and there was a bust of Goethe. Thomas Mann gets mentioned only in the context of his BBC broadcasts during WWII.

Anyhow, having had interests in German history and culture that go back a long way...theology, philosophy, language study, WWII, Wagner...I found the museum fairly absorbing and spent virtually the whole day there (but also walking the Unter den Linden a bit, visiting the national holocaust site, the German Staats Oper, Humboldt University, and more. Also peeks at the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate.....

The museum's treatment of Hitler and National Socialism, both Vicki and I thought, was forthright, open, and pulled no punches. His coming to power, conflict with the Marxists, the ruthless nature of Nazism, the Holocaust, and so on, were evidenced in every conceivable way. I could go on at great length about all this (and have lots of pix). I doubt that any museum has a more difficult story to tell, and the DHM takes on its task with all the grace and candor that is possible. It is a terrible and unforgivable story.

After dinner, we drove over to the KulturForum area to see the museums there and principally the Gemaldegalerie. It is a huge collection of European painting; the 400 works lost in WWII hardly diminished its importance, it is said. Personally, I was not overwhelmed. It has hundreds of works by the masters, yes, but no masterpieces, no signature pieces. IMHO. But, hey, we got to chalk up another Michelin 3 star site. We “camped” again at the Avus Rasthaus in SE Berlin.

Unter den Linden, 2009

Berlin's most famous boulevard, Unter den Linden

Pinocchio store

Ferrari store

Inventory of Ferrari store

Staat Oper

Ampelmannchen; the ampel man was seen on street crossing lights throughout east Berlin; proposals to replace him with the conventional western figure (like in the US) were met with protests, so ampel man remains in the relevant portions of the once-divided city; there is evident nostalgia for some aspects of east Berlin/east Germany.

City of Bears, 2009

City flag, atop the Rot Rathaus (click to enlarge and see dancing bear)

On sidewalks

In stores

More monuments

More stores

Everywhere

On to Berlin

Marienkirche, one of Berlin's oldest buildings

Marx/Engels in the city park

The Altes Museum, early 19th century

Berliner Dom, early 20th

Humboldt U

Holocaust Memorial

Tuesday morning we broke “camp,” got back on the autobahn, and drove right into Berlin, the centrum, and parked right by the Marienkirche on a main park near Alexanderplatz. After looking at Marienkirche (one of Berlin's oldest buildings), the park, the space needle/radio tower every German city seems to have, the Rot Rathaus, we walked over into Alexanderplatz area, up Museum Island, past the river Spree, and the Dom, to the Deutsches Historisches Museum. A thunderstorm was approaching, our parking meter was running out (we were in a bus lane) so we cut our visit short with a brief stroll down Unter Den Linden and then drove to a campground near the northwest suburb of Spandau. What we saw of CBD Berlin in a few hours was exhilarating. It poured and poured that night, but we were on the river, the bier was good, and we had internet (used mostly to search for an electrische reparatur (electrician)).

Wednesday was not our most productive day. Quite a few leads fizzled regarding repair of our 220/110volt converter, the TomTom went kaputt when the internet went down during our upgrading and acquiring the most recent maps, it rained more, it took nearly four hours to get the wash done. We did get the new and improved Tom back up and running—it was truly scary driving without him—and resolved to frei-camp and start over again in the morning. We stayed at the Avus Rasthof (rest area) in SE Berlin. Lots of trucks parked, like we were, but relatively quiet. A hotel, restaurant, and gas station adjoin the Rasthof. The drive across Berlin, from NW to SE was not at all bad. Berlin drivers are the most courteous I have ever seen, anticipating your need to change lanes, for example, and giving way.

Hamburg Again

At the autobahn lay-by

We spent Sunday night at the carpark across from our former hostel, on Max Brauer Allee, part of the infamous St. Pauli section of Hamburg, and in the Schanzeviertel, where the alternative 20-somethings are said to hang out. (Most of them hung out outside our room's window last Wednesday night, until 5AM). Sunday night was very quiet on Max Brauer Allee. As hoped.

Monday was a day of errands. First, with some help from our friend Katrin, we found and visited the ADAC, Germany's equivalent of the US' AAA. AAA has reciprocity with ADAC, and we were thus able to get maps of Austria, Germany, Scandinavia, etc., camping guides, and a variety of other materials. Free. The ADAC central shop in Hamburg was quite impressive...not only travel and member services, but tons of travel maps and books, a travel accessories boutique, and more. For those interested, the ADAC is on Grossmoordam Str., #69, pretty much right downtown.

Next we moved on to what might have been the St. George section of Hamburg (our map was of the old city only), and the nice folks at Gas Meier, #53 Pappal Allee. They took care of our propane needs and gave us helpful advice as well.

Next we sought a camping/RV accessories/supply store. A stop at a helpful Hobby caravan dealership sent us to Camping Salon, #30 Schwarzer Weg. Some readers of this blog will be familiar with Camping World in the US. All too familiar. Well, imagine a store with 3 times the merchandise of a Camping World. But imagine it all set out in warehouse style, no clever/colorful/attractive displays, no special deals, just aisle after aisle of camping/RV Stuff, arranged on shelves and bins. And English-speaking staff willing to spend whatever time with you, explaining the nuances of LPG availability in Europe, merits of this kind of grill versus that, and so on, ad inf. The prices were decent, and we helped ourselves to several needed items, particularly vehicle levelers. The lumber ones I had fabricated in St. Cloud were just too big and heavy.

I should note that all our navigation about Hamburg—something we could never, never have done by ourselves—was handled flawlessly and effortlessly by Tom. He is a marvel.

We proceeded on, down the autobahn toward Berlin. The country is pretty flat, very bucolic. After a huge field of wheat, many many hundreds of acres, you see a small woods, then a huge pasture area, a few cows, then a commercial conifer forest, then another humongous wind farm. The wind farms are all over. Mile after mile. Then it begins all over.

Autobahns in Germany have changed in the years since we were last here. Some actually have speed limits. The Hamburg/Berlin autobahn apparently does not. We have resolved to drive the Grey Wanderer no faster than 60 mph...fuel economy, drag, impending senility of driver, safety, etc. Passing us at speeds probably twice that were scores of Japanese cars, Opels, VWs, Audis, a Porsche, several Mercedes, and one yellow Lamborghini that was as much sound as speed. It sang by, quickly, a great Italian basso, and then was gone in an instant. No Smart Cars.

Germany has very liberal laws about Wohnmobil camping, and tonight we are in a lay-by about 50 miles short of Berlin. The lay-by has a few 18-wheelers, a few campers like us, and a 24 hour cafe/restaurant/gift shop. An autobahn construction area begins right at this point, so all the traffic is slowing down to 60kph, very quiet. From what I have seen the last few days, Germans are very law-abiding when it comes to traffic laws; when there are traffic laws. Helpful visitors at the lay-by have already told us about cheap and quiet "frei camping" sites in CBD Berlin (one behind the Chancellry).

Vicki adds:

May 24, Hamburg again

We picked up the camper Friday after leaving a cool $17,400 with the Germans. No longer on my list of countries I like. Had a few f'alse starts--at first the shipper said not until Monday, but I begged and she called back and said maybe. So we jumped in a cab and went to the port. Camper was already sitting on the dock! We handed over $$350 for unloading and headed to customs. They didn't have the bank wire yet, so we thought we might just stay there for the weekend camping behind the large fence. However, about 2 pm it showed up and 30 minutes of paperwork later we drove to a nearby campground in Bremen. Mark hooked up the electric and it didn't work. We have tried every possible combination--power comes into the step-down convertor but no power comes out. So we spent two days with no electric and no lpg. Batteries got very low so we had to keep frig on minimum. Did do some shopping for groceries. About 25% cheaper than Ireland--about US prices. I had to buy a new robe--I had left mine at hostel in Bremerhaven--called, but no one had "found" it.

We got most things unpacked and put away. The camper itself is extremely comfortable. We just drove back to Hamburg after spending an hour or so in Bremen town center. I am at the hostel we stayed at last week using the free wifi--Daddy got the two bags we left here and put them in the camper. We will spend the night across the street in the parking lot--perfectly legal in Germany and only cost $5. The batteries recharged on the drive up here so we are good till our drive tomorrow.

Tomorrow the nice German girl we met at the hostel (she is living here temporarily) is going to help us phone around to find an lpg dealer who can "unpurge" our tank. Mark will send an email to the US company who sold us the step-down convertor and see what can be done to get the electric working. We are also going to visit the German AAA to get maps, etc. So hopefully within a day or two we will be ship shape and heading for either Berlin or Denmark.