So I headed to a relatively cold part of Europe for my latest trip. I would call it an adventure, but it was short, and city bound; therefore disqualifying itself from such high praise.
It was a really fun trip however, and the biggest surprise to me was how taken aback I was by the general surroundings in which the average Berlin-bound German finds themselves. When you think of Rome you think ancient buildings; when you think of Paris, romance and the champs elysees spring forth. When you think of Berlin though, what exactly comes to mind?
For me, before I went, it was sausages and a couple of sights I'd seen on television. What awaited me was something entirely unexpected however, as Berlin has some absolutely fantastic buildings, a plethora of statues, adorning even the most unassuming buildings, most of which are held together by some breathtaking modern design that is unique to Berlin. I've never seen such a clever, well realised visual aesthetic in a city, and I doubt there is anywhere quite like it.
Like all cities it sprawls somewhat, and journeys can be exhausting (unless all direction finding is done by another, as was the case this time) because of the confused, mix and match nature of underground and bus systems; but the attention to detail in building and design goes beyond anything I've ever seen. It must be a compulsion among the architects living there because, frankly, only an obsessive mind could create a cityscape like Berlin.
As with all modern design built around the old, personal preference becomes extremely important. I found a few of the buildings to stand stark against the established order of a street, and while it's obvious that was planned from the outset, they felt a little forced. Designing a fantastical building for the sake of designing a fantastical building may be the ultimate dream for any architect, but at some stage another set of eyes must rein them in.
Ultimately, the fact these people are allowed to exercise such flair in design means you will have a fantastic city, and because I or a few individuals dislike one or two buildings, it's a small price to pay in the grand scheme. No one will like everything, but to be timid about things will end up creating a space like London, where everyones' dislikes are kept to a minimum, but no one actually
enjoys the city as a piece of art.
Even though the gherkin is a hideous monster, it was an effort to do something interesting and moder inbetween all the historical sites.
Is this thing ugly? Definitely. Is there a reason for it to exist? No.
But they tried, and where I don't like this one I enjoyed plenty of other objects.
There was a Veyron shell in one of the shop windows; an opportunity too good to miss.
What you don't expect when you see it on television is that it's small. A lot smaller than you'd expect it to be.
Checkpoint Charlie. It's amazing how ingrained the divide still in within Berlin. Everything has some kind of reference to the wall, and what it represents; even if there is seemingly no link. Pieces of the wall crop up everywhere, and are preserved along with an explanation of why that particular piece was saved, and a short history of the area in which it's found.
In terms of tourism, the thematic link between each piece gives a structure to the area that is quite unique.
This is the view from a famous bridge, the name of which I forget, but it did give an interesting view over the water.
The city is still surprisingly industrial, among the buildings. It also has a ceiling the likes of which other cities don't, as everything seems to reach x storeys in height, and very few buildings breach that rule.
Just a random modern building.
This is to the left of the bridge, the building above is to the right. They're essentially neighbors overlooking each other, but they don't clash, somehow.
This is the bode-museum. One thing I noticed about the abundance of olde-worlde statues was their reliance on ancient mythology, and the relative violence of each depiction. Every person was cowering, being impaled, or in a group of people impaling something heroic looking (a great serpent or buffalo for example). The gods themselves were throwing thunderbolts, or looking menacing. Benevolence is something they're not familiar with, evidently.
This is the same museum, with the name handily drawn across the top.
Notice the statues adoring the roof, looking imposing and menacing.
A long shot of a statue, typical of anywhere in this city. Just the fact that these things are everywhere gives the city character.
This is one of the few archways dotted throughout the city designed in a Classical style. There are some apocalyptic horses and someone in a chariot steering them along.
If the rest of the city is anything to go by; the driver is probably heading to chop up some people. He's a winged driver to boot.
The side of the reichstag. We went into the reichstag to check out the viewing platform; but in order to get into the building a number of security checks must be carried out.
There were double doors enclosing a chamber, into which a group walks, the doors behind close, then, when a number of individuals (with one hand under the table, presumably on a weapon of some kind) deem the group fit, the front doors are opened and everyone files through the typical assortment of metal detectors and body scanners.
This is the front of the reichstag.
Their parliament sit in a circle, knights of the round table style. You can see the actual room of action from the entrance, but it's behind eight inches of bullet/bomb/car/plane/superman proof glass.
Norman Foster designed the viewing platform as seen here. The middle column reflects an image, through dozens of mirrors, all the way from the main parliament building. When their leaders sit down and do their stuff you could, presumably, watch a horribly distorted top-down view of the action from up here.
Parts of the wall, with their historical significance printed to the sides.
All the graffiti is still there, as it's as much a part of the wall as the concrete.
It's absolutely impossible to imagine the wall, and the two different halves of the city, as they were.
These are right behind the pieces of wall, and are indicative of what I was talking about the mix of old and new. The pieces of wall are surrounded by acres of glass. Plus these buildings look awesome.
Rewind.
Another picture from inside the reichstag viewing platform.
It's all very artsy, and while I didn't particularly enjoy these grills (comprising around 10-15% of the inside dome walkway) they framed the rest of the dome perfectly.
Fast forward.
Next to the train station, the kind of modern architecture I particularly enjoy.
One of the best group of buildings were the Sony headquarters.
The roof is fabric, and suspended atop a large number of tall buildings.
It looks like an inverted satellite dish.
The final picture. The other few days are hidden away on the camera, out of my possession, so maybe I'll get my hand on it in the future.
As it wasn't my camera, I was sharing with the person I went with. Obviously then, the good photographs are mine, all the others are hers.
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