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    Best of Berlin Part 2

    / Last updated 09 Mar 2012

    Introduction

    Part 2 in our photgallery of Berlin.
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer
    • ©Photo: Mark Bowyer

    • Potsdamer Platz - the centre of hedonist Weimar Germany's vibrant nightlife, glittering boutiques and plush hotels took the full brunt of allied bombing in WWII and was suffocated by the wall that divided East and West Berlin during the Cold War. The area is now a symbol of the revitalised unified city with cutting edge architecture. Some remnants of the wall are displayed here.

    • The Sony Centre's incredible roof - Potsdamer Platz. Architects Renzo Piano and Helmut Jahn provided the plans for the rebuilding of Berlin's modern heart.
    • A small remnant of the luxury hotel that once stood on the spot - Potsdamer Platz.
    • Potsdamer Platz - Berlin
    • Old meets new at Potsdamer Platz. In avant-garde Berlin the cyclist is the new and the incredible McLaren Mercedes represents old Germany.
    • And East German nostalgia is alive and well. Here the classic Trabant available for rent.
    • Berlin's art treasure is spread across eight different galleries. A full week of sightseeing in their own right. We only made it to the New National Gallery.
    • Located by the Potsdamer Platz, the New National Gallery's collection is focused on works from the twentieth century. This piece by George Grosz "Pillars of Society" depicts the rotteness at the centre of Weimar's political establishment and its collaboration with fascist forces.

    • Hans Grundig's 1938 painting "Battle of the Bears and Wolves" graphically depicts Germany tearing itself apart. Grundig spent years in a Nazi concentration camp for his communist sympathies and his "degenerate" art. He went on to become a professor of painting in East Germany before his death in 1958.

    • The New Museum in Berlin with its vast collection of Roman and Egyptian artefacts was one of the highlights of our Berlin museum experience. In the distance is the entrancing bust of Egyptian Queen Nefertiti. While non flash photography is normally allowed throughout German museums, this is as close as a camera can get to the beautiful Queen. She's back there in the distance.
    • Part of the appeal of the New Museum or Neues Museum is the stunning settlngs in which the pieces are displayed.

    • The Pergamon Museum is the mandatory museum inclusion on any Berlin visit. Its controversial collection of huge structures from the ancient world is overwhelming in scale and splendour.

    • The Pergamon Altar relocated from present day Turkey to Berlin in the 19th century. The museum was purpose built at the beginning of the twentieth century to house the altar and other vast pieces.
    • The Market Gate of Miletus - Pergamon Museum
    • The Babylonian Ishtar Gate from the 6th century BC. Pergamon Museum, Berlin
    • The Aleppo Room from the Pergamon's Islamic collection.
    • From the Pergamon's Islamic collection.
    • The German National Museum in Berlin.
    • The German National Museum has a fantastic collection of art and artefacts that tell the story of the country's development from ancient times. Based around key chronological themes, it's a great way to get a sense of the richness and tragedy of German history.
    • The industrial West Germany and some of its proudest creations.
    • And the industrial East and some of its proudest creations.
    • The New Synagogue, Berlin. Inaugurated in 1866 in the presence of Bismark, it became the main centre of Judaism in Germany. In 1938 in the Nazi Kristallnacht, the building was vandalized. It was further damaged by allied bombing in WWII. It has since been renovated and serves as a centre for a small Jewish revival in Berlin.
    • Berlin, Germany
    • Two remaining gravestones in Berlin's oldest Jewish cemetery.
    • Berlin's Jewish district in the former East is also a centre of galleries, cafes, bars and boutiques. This building is decorated by different artists. Here Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa presides over the installation of his work across the building's facade.
    • The streets around Mitte in the former East. Somehow the graffiti really works.
    • Graffiti Berlin
    • Berlin's colourful streets.
    • Clubs bars and artspaces in the former East Berlin.
    • Keyser Soze - a groovy cafe in the centre of the Jewish district.
    • The stunning Tiergarten - perfect for cycling and walking.
    • Tiergarten flea market
    • Kurfurstendamm was the centre of West Berlin before the wall came down. Most travellers now spend much of their time in the former East - where most of the sights are located. The bombed out ruin of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church takes centre stage.
    • Surviving mosaics, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.
    • Cycling Berlin. Car drivers show great regard both for pedestrians and cyclists. Cycists usually show regard for pedestrians too. A civilised city indeed.
    • The view from our apartment on Rosa Luxembourg Strasse in Mitte. It was a great location and the apartment option is good value for money. It also makes you feel a little bit more local and grounded.