This was the day that we first felt rain here, and it was very refreshing. I have since come to see why this area is compared to the PNW but until this field trip (back on April 6th) we had only seen the finest of fluffy clouds, cherry blossoms, and warm winds. Now that i have seen the rapid change from chilly to rainy to sunny to snow and back, i am definitely reminded of home.
…And now for some things that don’t remind me of home:
Statues of Marx & Engels, authors of the Communist Manifesto. And that ol’ Fernsehturm in the background again. This park has more trees than ever, apparently! …According to the next photo, that is:
The same statue, back in 1986 when it was inaugurated. Four years later controversy would arise; remove the relic of a bygone era or keep it as a historical reminder? Obviously the latter opinion prevailed. Photo by Håkan Henriksson (Narking) – CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9009983
Scarlett, observing finer details. There are images etched into metal slabs standing near the statues depicting German Socialism. Didn’t get any closeups of those though…
To think, now children regularly get their pictures taken on Marx’s lap, as though he were some kind of gigantic bronze atheist [gift-giving man].
If i understood correctly, this relief wall depicts the history of the German Socialist Movement. I must need to learn a lot more about that part of history and understanding sculpture… This wall looks like it is showing a bunch of very friendly giants having a good old time.
This is a city of monuments, and here is another one, honoring a figure whose name i should undoubtedly know by now… One sec… OK! The internet has informed me that this is a statue of Frederick the Great (Frederick II), king of Prussia from 1740-1786, riding his favorite horse Conde.
The front of Humboldt University. This place is associated with some incredible minds of our time and of previous ones, as faculty and alumni, and is connected to over 2 dozen Nobel prize winners.
A picture of Wilhelm von Humboldt’s statue, which is a fetching piece of statuary, but is missing the fingers of its left hand. This could be seen as a tragic vandalism of artwork… But as it has already occurred, i choose to see it as a modification: now Wilhelm has gun-fingers!
An example of what i mean by gun-fingers. Pew-pew!
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I saw several people crowded around the doorway of a pillared building near Humboldt University. No one seemed to want to go in, just take pictures from the entrance. When i finally got to see inside, i was puzzled…
…but a quick investigation revealed this plaque off to the left side of the building. The statue was of a mother holding her dead son, lost to war time atrocities.
A shot of the Berliner Dom with the Fernsehturm in the background. Old and new, juxtaposed!
Looking to the right of the Dom i beheld more cranes! There are construction projects at every turn here…
Proceeding to Nikolaiviertel (Nikolai quarter) we found the stupendous and storied Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas’ Church). It is the oldest church in Berlin, followed by Marienkirche. This one was built in the earlier half of the 13th century, the latter only a few decades its younger. It was partially burned and then rebuilt in the 14th, 15th centuries, renovated in the 19th. It suffered bombings during WWII and was not completely restored until 1981. Very little of the original structure remains but it still possesses an imposing majesty! It is surrounded by wonderful, medieval buildings, some of which are original.
I didn’t get any good pictures of Nikolaikirche so i will find a couple somewhere else…
Nikolaikirche as seen from the Fernsehturm (Don’t know who took the picture).
And this is what it looks like in the inside, which i have barely glimpsed (Again, not sure who took the photo).
This is a postcard from the turn of the 20th century by Julius Goldiner.
For reasons beyond understanding, these four plush bear-things were hanging out to one side of the church in the rain. A quartet of frumpiness. The middle two even look bitter and cranky!
Hier ist Scarlett, neben der Kirche! You can’t quite see it but there is a bear statue at the top of that fountain in the background.
Old architecture is fascinating! The light-fog that my portable telephone-camera adds to its photos work well with this one, i think.
Ancient writings so weathered as to become completely obscured!
The church has a nice backyard with fearless birds. They expect that you have bread crumbs, and stare at you oddly when bread crumbs are not forthcoming.
It was around the time i took this photo that we realized it was way past lunchtime. Onward, to edibles!!
^ These four images are all from the same statue at the corner of Nikolaiviertel. I simply liked it and wanted to remember its characters!
…And then a reminder of present day right around the corner! “Echt Lecker…” = “Really delicious…”
Seat of the Mayor and government, the Red City Hall building of the Federal State of Berlin: Rotes Rathaus! (Und auch tele-spargle, the TV asparagus!)
The end of our damp day drew us past this, the Altes Stadthaus, built at the end of the 19th c. Back then it was called the New Statehouse but now it’s the old one…
We made it back to Rosenthaler Platz and had us some döner kebaps ‘n’ beer.
I was surprised to find ads on the paper towels so i took a picture for some reason.
Here is the beginning of something that has become a fun game for me… My first 1UP!
I thought this was just a fun nod to video games or just another tag. It clearly made me happy, as evidenced by the photo above …But nay! There is a graffiti group known as 1UP crew (stands for One United Power) and they’re all over the place. And they aren’t confined to Berlin, or even Germany– some say they could be the biggest collective of street artists in the world. Don’t rightly know yet. I have since looked up other photos and seen 1UP tags in Bangkok, Tokyo, Belgium, and Rome, among others. …Still looking into their purpose and philosophies… There is a documentary that follows their exploits: i will try to take in all 4 hours of it soon to learn more. It begins with this quote: “In the beginning we just wanted to paint but in time the whole city became our canvas. We are 1UP from Berlin, Kreuzberg… And this is our story.” More on this when i have it, and i’ll include pics of the 20-something 1UPs i have collected so far!
Bleh, this screen is makin’ mine eyes ache. Peace and groovy happenings to you all, i am off to bed or something like it~!