09-02-2010, 09:51 PM
Thanks for the advice, Jona. It came in very handy. I made sure to see the museums on the island. I was surprised by the national art gallery as there wasn't anything there I was familiar with, but I decided to go simply because I had a 3-day pass. There is quite a bit there that caught my eye. However, it's a shame that so much is closed for remodeling at practically all five major musuems. I was hoping to see all the Pergamene arms reliefs, but unfortunately only half were out and much of the Greek section was closed. I was very happy, however, to see the Caesar portrait at the Altes museum. Much of the works there are so much nicer to see in person and there are a number of gems of which I had no idea existed -- such as the Roman trophy model.
The Schinkel monuments are great to see. So much of the architecture in the city is just incredible to look at whether it is the Altes museum or even the new train station. I missed my chance for the Berliner Unterwelten and the ridiculous prices for the stamps at Checkpoint Charlie turned me off. The general demeanor of the guards at the museums were as you described. The only truly nice one was the incredibly gay guard with the Pride pin who checked my bag at the Pergamon museum. If more like him were staffed there, it would have been an overall better experience.
If there is one thing I have certainly taken away from Berlin is that the food there is fantastic. There is this pizza place called Ron Telesky's, which is a sort of "Canadian-style" pizza. Absolutely incredibly. Never thought I would pour maple syrup on pizza, but it works.
The Schinkel monuments are great to see. So much of the architecture in the city is just incredible to look at whether it is the Altes museum or even the new train station. I missed my chance for the Berliner Unterwelten and the ridiculous prices for the stamps at Checkpoint Charlie turned me off. The general demeanor of the guards at the museums were as you described. The only truly nice one was the incredibly gay guard with the Pride pin who checked my bag at the Pergamon museum. If more like him were staffed there, it would have been an overall better experience.
If there is one thing I have certainly taken away from Berlin is that the food there is fantastic. There is this pizza place called Ron Telesky's, which is a sort of "Canadian-style" pizza. Absolutely incredibly. Never thought I would pour maple syrup on pizza, but it works.
