{"id":1518,"date":"2011-05-11T14:55:55","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T21:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rayivey.com\/wordpress\/?p=1518"},"modified":"2011-05-11T14:55:55","modified_gmt":"2011-05-11T21:55:55","slug":"spring-forward-day-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.rayivey.com\/wordpress\/spring-forward-day-53\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"rss\"<\/a>\"instagram\"<\/a>

Berlin
\nMay 4, 2011\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Big Bad Berlin!<\/h3>\n
\"Checkpoint<\/a>
Checkpoint Charlie is an amazingly potent monument to dramatic recent history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Berlin sits on the Spree River, which winds through the city.\u00a0 At one point\u00a0 there\u2019s a large island, and on this island is a collection of museums.\u00a0 Today I visited them.<\/p>\n

The big ticket, for me anyway, is the Pergamon Museum.\u00a0 It contains two amazing items that are themselves worth a journey to Berlin to see.<\/p>\n

The first is the Pergamon Altar.\u00a0 It was part of a huge Acropolis in Asia Minor from the Second Century BC.\u00a0 A crazy German archaeologist\/engineer named Carl Humann began digging it up.\u00a0 He found enough fragments to reconstruct a portion of it.\u00a0 It\u2019s so huge that the museum was built specifically to house it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\""Hi!<\/a>
"Hi! I'm the handsome American soldier welcoming you to freedom!"<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other feature of the Pergamon Museum is the magnificent Ishtar Gate from Nebuchadnezzar II\u2019s Babylon.\u00a0 It\u2019s also monumental and simply unforgettable to see.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This fantastical architectural painting by the architect Schinkel just blew me away.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the ancient stuff I went and looked at German art at the Alte Nationalgalerie.\u00a0 I discovered two painters that I really like.\u00a0 The first is Carl Spitzweg, who has a lovely little painting in there called Kite Flying<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0 The second is a giant of German painting named Karl Friedrich Schinkel.\u00a0 The interesting thing about Schinkel is that he\u2019s probably more famous as an architect and theatrical set designer than he is a painter.\u00a0 But he\u2019s an amazing painter.<\/p>\n

\""And<\/a>
"And I'm the creepy, homely, jug-eared, skinny commie welcoming you back to the land where your neighbors are probably spying on you for the Stasi."<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What I love about him is that he\u2019s a bit of a fantasist.\u00a0 While many of his contemporaries were depicting famous cathedrals and other buildings, Schinkel liked to just make stuff up.\u00a0 His architectural and landscape paintings come from his knowledge of architecture and his imagination.\u00a0 It\u2019s really dreamy stuff.<\/p>\n

After I\u2019d had all the beauty I could stand, I hopped on the train and headed back to Stargarder Strasse to theCafe Sol to have Mexican food.\u00a0 I had nachos, which were perfecty acceptable.<\/p>\n

My plan tomorrow is to explore some of those fun neighborhoods Kevin referred me to.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Wall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m just so pleased that I\u2019m finally having the opportunity to explore this city!<\/p>\n

\"They've<\/a>
They've left a bit of the wall standing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cities I\u2019m Most Eager to Visit For the First Time<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>
This double cobblestone line winds through the city, marking the location of the former Wall.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/h4>\n