Berlin: Pergamon Museum

When we visited Berlin in 2009, the Pergamon was closed, so we were determined to see it this time. Of course we visited Pergamon in Turkey (http://roadeveron.blogspot.de/2010/11/pergamum.html) in 2010, and looked for the place of the Altar of Zeus. Pergamon is a wonderful ruin, but the Altar resides now much intact in Berlin, removed by the archaeologists. I really don't know how many museums are in the Pergamon. From the Altar of Zeus, one proceeds to the great gate of the agora from Miletus, another wonderful site in Turkey we saw in 2010 (http://roadeveron.blogspot.de/2010/11/miletus.html). A few steps away and you are in the throne room of Babylon and venturing down its royal boulevard. Upstairs is a marvelous museum of Islamic art, surely one of the largest and best in Europe. As Vicki would say, the Pergamon by itself is justification enough for visiting Berlin. I'll limit the pix to just the biggest and best items.

Altar of Zeus, Pergamon/Berlin)

A model helps to understand the scale, etc.

The scores of friezes are arrayed on the walls around the altar

Thus

A smaller temple in an adjoining room

The great gate to the agora, Miletus

Again, a helpful model; judging from the ostentatiousness, we figure it lead into
the Neiman-Marcus 

Welcome to the throne room, Babylon

More of same

On the royal boulevard (both sides of the hall)

Me

More humongous sculpture

And now in the wonderful Islamic art section; an in-laid wood ceiling, said to
be from Alhambra

Part of a wall with reliefs

And carpets and other stuff...pretty overwhelming

Return to Berlin

From Amsterdam we drove to Berlin, to meet daughter Rebecca, her husband Jeremy, and our grand-daughter Penelope. As noted earlier, we toured with them for the next two weeks, taking care of Penelope so they could enjoy a vacation, and doing a good bit of touring ourselves. Before they arrived, we wanted to take a few days to do the Pergamon Museum in Berlin--closed when we were there in 2009--some others on Museum Island, and then the Gemaldegalerie in the Kulturforum, which we visited also in 2009.

The Grey Wanderer at Wohnmobil Berlin, out in the suburb
of Tegel

We finally got around to installing the decal set of
European countries visited, which we had purchased in
Hamburg three years ago; I think we are better travelers
than decal installers

Rijksmuseum II

The not quite random sample continues...

Van Ruisdael's Landscape with Waterfall;  landscape
painting matured with the Dutch and alas my sample won't
reflect much of their greatness

Claude Lorrain's Harbor View at Sunrise; Lorrain is a
favorite of mine; not Dutch

Rembrandt's very, very famous Isaac and Rebecca, or the
Jewish Bride

And then the Vermeers...

The Kitchen Maid

Even a little street scene

Pieter de Hooch, A Mother's Duty (checking for lice)

The Rijksmuseum is not only about paintings
(although that would be plenty); here, some
exquisite porcelain

Six foot high flower holders

And the incredible doll houses

Detail

And a pretty incredible ship model, Vicki posing for scale

Rijksmuseum I

In the 17th century there were more painters in Amsterdam than bakers,* and much of their work, and more,  has come down to the Rijksmuseum. As with the Louvre and a few other places, there is little that is not recognizable, famous, or a masterpiece. Here is a not quite random sample...

You buy your ticket, walk in the door, and there, much
larger than life, in your face, is Bartholomew van der Helst's
Banquet in Celebration of the Treaty of Munster, 1648

Just a little detail...reflection on the belt buckle of the
captain (fat guy in black on the right)

Anyhow we rushed past the entry stuff and all the rest,
even Vermeer, to see Rembrandt's Night Watch, before the
turbuss onslaught

And the also celebrated "Meager Company" by Frans Hals
and Pieder Codde; Hals did the left half but was fired and
replaced by Codde

Judith Lester's Serenade

Hendrik Avercamp's Winter Landscape with Skaters; there
were so many painters in Amsterdam that they specialized:
Avercamp was the guy to see about skating scenes

Frans Hals' very famous Merry Drinker

Hals'equally famous Wedding Portrait

Finally! A portrait of Rembrandt not by
Rembrandt! Jan Lievens' 1629 Portrait

We fell in love with Jan Steen's moralizing work; here his
Merry Family

And Teaching the Cat to Dance; about noisy
neighbors?

*This was during the Gluten-Free Wars, however

Amsterdam Scenes

We jetted to Amsterdam and picked up the Grey Wanderer from Gerard at Caravanstalling van der Zwaan. Somewhat surprisingly, as we moved back in, reconnected the pump and hot water heater and so, everything worked. Even after 11 months' (indoor) storage. We have not always been so fortunate.

Anyhow, after a day of unpacking, moving back in, installing new equipment, etc., staying at a campground in Aalsmeer, we bussed into Amsterdam, principally to see the Rijksmuseum, but much else along the way.

Canal scene

Ditto, with tower

Typical old city buildings

The Euro 2012 voetbal games were on that day, and everything was crazy orange;
sadly, Netherlands lost to Germany the next day

Concertegebouw

The Van Gogh Museum, which we'll visit in August before
returning to the US

New (to us) bicycle style; saw them everywhere

Art deco Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum, backside

Frontside undergoing much construction