Monday, April 27, 2015

Too Much Culture? No Such Thing!

Petra's House, April 27, 2015, 8:51 p.m.

Yesterday, after our tour through Charlottenburg Schloss, Onkel Werner noted that too much culture was not a good thing. Nature and looking to the future, not the past, are better, he argued.

I love Onkel Wernerl. But, damn, he was wrong.

Today started leisurely enough, sleeping late and having breakfast.  We finally left the house, Petra, Melli, and four Herbons.  Onto the u-bahn and downtown to Unter den Linden.  A short walk down this important road, the major east-west access across the city and the site of amazing historical events, reminded me of just how much work still goes on to heal the scars of those decades of separation. While the area around the Brandenburg Gate has all been fixed up, with the foreign embassies lining the road just like they did before WWII, we headed further east, where construction efforts still go on.

While our ultimate destination was the German Historical Museum, we were distracted first by the Neue Wache.  This neo-classical building was originally built in 1818 to replace the former guardhouse that served the Royal Palace....

O.K., I have to stop here to describe the scene in front of me.  Maddie has brought out a pack of cards, and she, Reiner, and Petra are playing a game of poker.  This is new for Petra, so Maddie and Reiner played a demonstration hand. After explaining everything and getting to the point of showing their hands, Reiner proudly lays down his hand, noting with his usual air of certainty that Maddie had been trying for a flush or straight and that she didn't get it and, thus, he was winning with his pair of twos.  Without any undue fanfair, Maddie laid down her cards.  "Two pairs."  Spontaneous applause broke out in honor of Maddie's cagey poker skills.

....Oh, yeah, Neue Wache.  Until the German monarchy met its fate after WWI, the guardhouse served its original purpose. In 1931, the building was redesigned to commemorate those who died in the Great War. Then, those damn Nazis came to power and started using the building for their annual memorial day festivities (those guys ruined things for everybody).  After heavy damage in WWII, the East Germans turned the building into a memorial to those who died at the hands of the facists, burying the remains of an unknown soldier and of a nameless victim of one of the concentration camps under the floor, and placing a Kathe Kollwitz sculpture on the top.  Very moving way to remind people of the suffering brought forth by war--it's all about peace (Yvette!!).


After this quick visit, we trooped along to the German Historical Museum.  Housed in the old armory, the exterior of the building is undergoing renovation.  But, walk through the big revolving door (which Petra did with some trepidation) and the museum inside is world class.  It took us probably two to three hours or so to just give the place a cursory look.  Arranged in chronological order, with "order" being the key word, the museum covered the Germanic peoples from Late Antiquity to reunification.  


After posing with Marx and Engels at
Babelsburg, now I pose with Lenin




Walked around the corner and recognized
Cardinal Richleiu from his portrayal by Charleton Heston 

Reiner and Melli each independently recognized the Sun King 

According to Heidi, this is Grandma and Papa
when they were first married

Took this pic for Sascha--this little doll has
a removeable top of the head for
the storing of tobacco

Hey!  It's Reiner and the display on the
American Revolution!

I appreciated the way the curators covered things so thoroughly, yet in a way that was accessible.  There was no attempt to pull at anyone's heart strings, like at the Jewish Museum or Sachsenhausen, but just a plain ol' everyday telling of history.  And I especially appreciated the way that the history after WWI was laid out, with the meltdown of the Weimar Republic, the battles between the various political parties, and the slow but sure rise of the Nazis. The museum didn't stint on Germany's less savory historical aspects, with an especially moving sculptural interpretation of Auschwitz, but neither did it go crazy with too much focus on any one event in order to be politically correct.


This dollhouse comes with a picture of Hitler
on the wall of the living room.... 

....and a picture of Hitler and Mussolini in
the kitchen


Heidi reading the newspaper

I absolutely plan on coming back to Berlin, of course, and I would love another opportunity to see the museum.  Worth the effort, the musem turned out to be so good that I (again!!) broke my iron-clad embargo and bought a book. I swear this stops now!!!

Tonight has been just for chillin', a word the same for German and English.  Melli, Oliver, and TJ joined Reiner, the girls, Petra, and I for dinner here at home. And, when it was time for TJ and Oliver to leave, it was again difficult to say goodbye.  TJ is absolutely adorable, and Oliver's sense of humor and his devotion to TJ and Melli made me fall in love with him, too. Lecker Germans!

Now we're watching continuing coverage of the earthquake in Nepal and the straight poker has turned to Texas Hold-Em.  I'm going to close this, pack in anticipation of tomorrow's departure, and crawl into the little bed by the window.  I'm going to miss this place--until I come back!!





1 comment:

  1. Great description of the whole day! Love to read it!

    ReplyDelete