Tom`s travels: Berlin (07/06/2018)

Having decided to spend a few days touring the Baltic States, we took a bus to Berlin to sleep the night there and then fly the next day to our destination. We took an early bus from Hamburg and arrived three hours later in the center of Berlin. We decided to leave our luggage at the main station to be able to walk freely during the day. We started by heading to the Gendarmenmarkt, an 18th-century square, which features a 19th-century concert hall and two neoclassical identical churches. One is the Französischer Dom, or French dome, and the other is the Deutscher Dom, or German dome, due to the affiliation of its participants to those communities. As most of Berlin, the square and the buildings were badly or completely destroyed during WWII and later rebuilt. After that, we headed towards Alexanderplatz, the city's largest and main square, with the iconic 1960s TV tower. Nearby stands the Church of St Mary which we proceeded to visit. Originally from the 13th century, it was partially restored during the 19th century and spared of major destruction during WWII. The interior features a bright white Gothic style with a few frescoes appearing here and there on the columns, a beautiful baroque pulpit, and renaissance tombstones. Once out of the church we headed on our walk and passed by the Rotes Rathaus, the 19th-century town hall built in the northern Italy high renaissance style. Not much further on we reached the Church of St Nicholas, considered to be the oldest in Berlin. Dating to the 13th century it is set among a district which was partially rebuilt in its original medieval style after the war. The next attraction we passed by was the Berlin Cathedral, which having an entrance fee, we decided to skip visiting but rather admire its Neo-renaissance beauty from the outside. We then finally reached the so-called Museum Island, an island located in the middle of the Spree river, whose northern part hosts some world-famous museums. After buying the ticket for 9 euros, we had entrance to all the museums and decided to start with the Pergamon Museum. Despite the main attraction, the Pergamon Altar, was located in the part of the building which was under reconstruction we were still able to see amazing sights such as the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, the Market Gate of Miletus and many others. We were then off to the second museum, the Neues Museum, which holds mostly roman, greek and Egyptian antiquities including the bust of Nefertiti, and the Berlin Gold Hat, a late bronze age gold artifact. Next door we then visited the Alte Nationalgalerie, containing paintings from the Neoclassical, Romantic, Impressionist and early Modernist periods. Next on was the Altes Museum, containing more classical antiquities which we toured quickly. Finally, last but not least, to conclude our tour of the Museum Island, we headed to the Bode Museum. The building featured sculptures from the middle ages and the Renaissance, including several Italian examples and a beautiful section of Byzantine art which included the reconstructed mosaic from the Church of San Michele in Africisco of Ravenna. After the long, yet satisfying (at least for me) visit to all those museums, we headed on. We finished our walk for the day at the famous Brandenburg Gate, an 18th-century neoclassical monument, and the nearby Reichstag building, from the 19th century, and which now houses the German government. From there we then decided to head to Ania's friend's house and relax, ready to leave the next day for the Baltic trip.