Photos: Berlin
I’ve put some photos from Berlin up on our Flickr page, which you can see here. But here’s a few more to keep you satisfied.
Ferris. With our new tripod, Bec and I have had heaps of fun mucking around. Here’s a shot that Bec took of the fairground in the middle of Berlin. There’s another, similar shot on Flickr as well. view image
Berlin Cathedral. As seen from across the River Spree.view image
Jewish Holocaust Memorial. A disconcerting mix of different sized concrete blocks. Walking amongst the blocks almost made you feel queasy, due to the skewed lines and sloping walkways.view image
Jewish Holocaust Memorial. And this is the water dripping down the side, looking almost like tears.view image
Jewish Museum. Continuing on the Jewish theme, this is the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which bears a striking resemblance to Federation Square in Melbourne. The dark lines you see on the building are meant to represent a shattered Star of David.view image
The Berlin Wall. Left in its original condition, on the other side of this 300 metres tretch of the wall is the Topography of Terror exhibition.view image
Scary. This is one of the photos that was displayed in the Topography of Terror exhibition, which traced the history of the Nazi party. Pretty crazy stuff.view image
For the Architects. And finally, this is a photo taken from inside the dome at the top of the Reichstag building. The Reichstag served as the German Parliamentary building until the early 1930’s, when it was burned down by a crazed Dutch communist. Hitler, second man in charge at the time in a minority government, pounced on this, and whipped up the German citizens into an anti-communist frenzy. On the back of this, his Socialist party, the Nazis, took complete control of the Parliament, and soon Germany was in a dictatorship. The Reichstag building was restored to its current condition only in the last 10 years, when British architect Lord Norman Foster built an ambitious, modern structure of glass and steel inside the existing centuries-old facade, and the German Parliament returned to its traditional home. The centrepice is a dramatic glass dome, that serves as a wonderful place to view the Berlin skyline, whilst also allowing visitors to see down into the Parliament; the idea being that the politicians should never assume that they are above the general population, but rather remember that they serve the people.view image
Architectural lesson here endeth.
Tags: Berlin, Germany, Photos, Travel
Dave