Thursday, September 04, 2014

Architecture frenzy, shoes, beer and CDs...

Playlist
Various Artists - 2014 Weekly Playlists
Glasperlenspiel - Grenzenlos In Diesem Moment

More excellent weather...




...and a little less on the old breakfast front before we headed out...


...taking the bus to KaDeWe...


..Europe's largest department store...


..and Wittenbergplatz...


We did not shop, we walked instead through the market...


...past an impressive police station...


...and down Keithstrasse to the river...






..past the being filmed for the news CDU headquarters...


...noting monuments in the distance...




...to this morning's target, the Bauhaus Archiv...






...which was very much enjoyed, particularly the architectural designs which were on display...

Despite knowing he'd have to carry this around all day and all the way home at the end of the holiday, your correspondent splashed out on this book (and badge)...




Refreshments were enjoyed in the sun...




...before we headed into town, initially on foot...


...and then by bus to the Brandenburg Gate, where this exhibition re the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis was on display...



Another currywurst constituted lunch, better than yesterday's...



A quick visit in to the Akademie der Kunst...





...in which there was currently nothing to see, so back out...





..and a walk in the baking sun up Unter den Linden to the Humboldt University...



..where a book sale was taking place and i found one guy with some CDs and took a 2CD set of the best of German band Die Aerzte from him for a knock down price - listening to it now as I type this 8 days down the line...


On to museum island...



...and the cathedral...



..and then back again for our appointment at the Reichstag Building...


Slightly early, so time for a quick beer before...


...we made our way in...



A Gerhard Richter on the wall...


...and up to the roof...





The beast was about its business at the heart of German democracy...


Looking at things from the roof...


...with the help of the Exec Producer's handy guide...



Synagogue..


TV Tower...


French church...


German church...


Cathedral and red town hall...


Deutsche Bahn tower at the new Hauptbahnhof...


The four beflagged wings represent the four kingdoms of Prussia, Saxony, Bavaria and Württemberg - each due to an 1870 treaty, continued to have its own war ministry from the Unification of Germany until the 1919 Weimar Constitution, which finally provided for a unified, federal ministry of defence...




Trade center...


Men were at work...



Cathedral again...


From our viewpoint we could see people inside the chamber below...





Brandenburg Gate...


Pariser Square and surrounding embassies...


Bellevue...


The mirrors reflect light into the chamber...



We enjoyed the informative exhibition explaining the history of the building - interesting to note that Hitler never set foot in it -it's believed the Nazi's burned it down and used the act to seize power, blaming it on an unfortunate Dutchman who was later tortured and executed...




Hamburger Bahnhof with Dan Flavin's lights on its facade...


The press building...


The Hauptbahnhof (main station)...



Water can come in through the hole in the roof and is used in the building's heating system...




The Kulturforum...


The Jewish Memorial...


Brandenburg Gate again - now from higher up...



The heat of the sun is not relayed to the chamber due to this massive blind which revolves around the mirrors in line with the sun...

Ingenious...


Time to descend...



...in the mirrored elevator...


..and out...

...past another Gerhard Richter on the wall...


...into the sun...


A few final shots...


...noting the consequences of some actual shots...







Back to the Brandenburg gate, looking to the Sigesaule...



..and an S-Bahn to the "art" district - where, upon ascending into the street, the Exec PRoducer saved me from having my bag robbed by a would be pick pocket...

I'd like to tell you I booted him in the balls and sent him tumbling back down into the underground station...

In the event there was some angry shouting in his face which he ignored while trying to give the impression he was up to nothing and had emerged from the wrong exit...

What a shitbag...

The synagogue was nice though...




We returned to the Kunst-Werke where we enjoyed some coffee and art two years ago...


This time, I opted for some hot chocolate...



To Friedriechstrasse next...


..and Dussmann, which dubs itself Das Kultur Kaufhaus - the culture department store...


A CD-aholic's paradise...


..where some bargains were duly taken advantage of in the classical department...

Meanwhile, Anne was busy purchasing some new groovy footwear nearby...

Then, via Alexanderplatz...


...we finally reached Prenzlauer Berg...



...and walked to the Prater beer garden...



There were chestnuts at the counter...


There was beer and there were shoes...


Mr Happy...


..and his lovely better half...


Then to nearby An einem Sonntag im August (on a Sunday in August) for more drinks and relaxing...








A quick delicious chicken based chilli-fied wrap from the food outlet next door and home before midnight, noting once again the Funkturm from our window, lit up in the distance...


Another excellent day's work...

Highlight of the Day : Bauhaus Archiv, Reichstag, Dussmann, everything...

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