Plane-iversary in Windy Berlin

In between two doctor's appointments, we went to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin's Mitte. While we were looking at the thousands-year-old artifacts of Babylon, we suddenly realized that today marks one year since we got on a plane and left the US. We lifted off at 1:45 pm on January 12, 2014 from San Francisco - 10:45 pm Berlin time. We watched a couple of movies, anxiously checked on Flash every two minutes (he was stowed beneath the seat in front of Shannon), and tried to sleep on our direct flight to Frankfurt. Flash definitely slept more than we did. Eleven hours later, we landed on German soil and walked through the arrival gates into a new chapter of our lives.

Today, we walked through the 2600-year-old Ishtar Gate of ancient Babylon. The massive and unusual portal was reconstructed from the original bricks uncovered in modern day Iraq. As you can see in our photos, the 14 meter high gate is made of bright blue bricks and decorated with bulls, lions, and dragons - one of the sacred animals of their patron god, Marduk. Bonus: we were able to witness a preservationist in action.

After walking through the beautiful passageway, we turned around and were surprised to see another magnificent artifice. This was an entry to a market in ancient Rome. It was without color, but still grandiose, with statues, giant pillars, and ornate carvings. Seeing these almost-intimidatingly colossal reconstructions in person was much more impressive and immersive than looking at the usual isolated fragments. We felt transported to another time... and it was hard to leave ancient Rome and Babylon!

100 A.D.

However, leaving the museum meant returning back to our modern-day adventure in 2015 Berlin.

Humidity-controlled banquet hall of a Christian merchant in Aleppo. The decor is more in the style of Islamic art, however it contained Christian imagery. Aleppo was known for its rich and ancient history, before the recent devastation of Syrian's civil war.

A Sunday Afternoon at the Alte Nationalgalerie

We haven't been able to get out much for the past couple of months because our cat has been having some health issues which has taken constant care and most of our spending money. But last Sunday he was doing well enough that we decided to take a few hours to make use of our Jahreskarte für die Berliner Museen (annual pass for the Berlin state museums).

Despite a very rainy morning, the day turned beautiful and sunny before we arrived at Museum Island in the afternoon. Walking from the train at Hackescher Markt to the Spree, we passed a bunch of anime cosplayers having a party in a park, and many tourists and locals enjoying the sun. We had set our sights on the famous Pergamon Museum, but there was a massive 2-hour line. We tried to get the security guard to wave us through with our Jahreskarte but apparently only the elite pass holders were allowed to skip the line.

But, we were next to half a dozen other museums, so it wasn't a problem. We ducked into the neighboring Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), which is housed in a dramatic Prussian building. It contains galleries of paintings and some sculpture, most of which was from the 1800s, with emphasis on German artists. Below are links a few of the pieces we liked:

Wilhelm Gentz, Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia enters Jerusalem, 1869

Osman Hamdi Bey, Persian Carpet Dealer on the Street, or The Carpet Seller, 1888

Arthur Kampf, Boy in Red, 1907

Sabine Lepsius, Self Portrait, 1885

Anton von Werner, A Billet Outside Paris, 1894

Adolph Menzel, The Dinner at the Ball, 1878

Berlin had been a bit breezy and there's a fall chill on the air, so this sunny Sunday was wonderful and made us feel that summer isn't quite over. We had a great time. And we were again so happy to have these annual museum passes that allow us to see amazing art on a whim!

Here are a few photos from the day!