Berlin came as a great surprise - not at all what I'd expected. The city only has a population of 3.5m, and since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 Germany has attempted, and indeed in most cases succeeded, in rebuilding the centre to look as if it was never divided, with the exception of one section of the wall that still stands so people will never forget.
The big shock came to discover that the city has 5 art galleries and 7 palaces that are worthy of comparison to Versailles or St Petersburg. Indeed the Berlin Gemaldegalerie houses - hold your breath - 11 Rembrandts, 5 Bellinis, 6 Tintorettos, 2 Vermeers, 4 Giottos and the most magnificent Holbein I've ever seen. Not to mention Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Piero della Francesca. But here is the added surprise, our brilliant guide, Professor Lauritzen, pointed out that in London, Paris or Rome, any one of these pictures would have queues of visitors desperate for a quick glance. The gallery is about 4 times the size of the Tate and every room you move into is empty, so if it's Rembrandt you want to admire, you have 11 all to yourself. In fact with a couple of guards in each room, there were more guards than there were visitors.
Our little group also visited Potsdam where we were allowed to see the meeting room where President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill and Chairman Stalin met to decide the fate of Europe, as well as the state apartments at the Neues Palais which are a rival to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The remarkable Chinese Tea Pavilion in the middle of the gardens, is not only unique, but a sight that would live in any visitor's memory.
The big shock came to discover that the city has 5 art galleries and 7 palaces that are worthy of comparison to Versailles or St Petersburg. Indeed the Berlin Gemaldegalerie houses - hold your breath - 11 Rembrandts, 5 Bellinis, 6 Tintorettos, 2 Vermeers, 4 Giottos and the most magnificent Holbein I've ever seen. Not to mention Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Piero della Francesca. But here is the added surprise, our brilliant guide, Professor Lauritzen, pointed out that in London, Paris or Rome, any one of these pictures would have queues of visitors desperate for a quick glance. The gallery is about 4 times the size of the Tate and every room you move into is empty, so if it's Rembrandt you want to admire, you have 11 all to yourself. In fact with a couple of guards in each room, there were more guards than there were visitors.
Our little group also visited Potsdam where we were allowed to see the meeting room where President Truman, Prime Minister Churchill and Chairman Stalin met to decide the fate of Europe, as well as the state apartments at the Neues Palais which are a rival to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. The remarkable Chinese Tea Pavilion in the middle of the gardens, is not only unique, but a sight that would live in any visitor's memory.
Berlin's restaurants were excellent, the hotel as good as any in London, and the people warm and friendly...with one exception. The guards in the Altes Museum were oppressive and stern. I mentioned this to our guide, and he said, "Jeffrey, it's easy to tell when you're in old East Germany or old West Germany, you look at the guides - if they smile, you're in the West, and if they frown, you're in the East, and it will be several generations before the frown of history will disappear." All in all, it was a remarkable four days.
3 Comments:
Great post Lord A! I agree with you I love Berlin - it also has a wonderfully friendly punky counter culture...
Good article, Jeffrey. Some of my ancestors come from the Berlin area and I was delighted to visit for the first time in June (I'm 23). For me it's one of the greatest cities in the world, preferable to Paris in fact, and your comment about the East/West guards is so true. Happily, my grandmother and her family were from the West.
When I was resident in Germany for 2 years and had to register and visit personally several government offices. The civil servants must have all been trained in the East, as very few smiled or were pleasant.
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