Exhibit a.
Time to smash out a few museums before a bunker tour. First up - a Dali gallery discovered by walking past it yesterday. Brilliant. No photos but basically a tonne of his work (other than the absolute classics) including heaps of sketching and stuff per and post surrealism. Not a fan for all, but I have always been one. With this and his travelling expo they had in Melbs a few years back, I think I have seen a smashing of his stuff now and love almost all of it. I really really love when painters are actually talented, not just mad.
Then to the 'Topography of Terror'. This is a museum sequentially documenting the rising of and horrific consequences of nazi rule. It is also built on the site of the Gestapo and SS headquarters from the regieme in 1933-45. Some very confronting pictures in here - clear photos of people who are about to to shot or hung and their expressions you can't relate to how they are feeling. So damn oppressive to treat equals like this....
After this a dash to the bunker place an hour early to find tickets have already sold out (can only get from there on the day). So on to the next on the list....
The anatomy museum in an old university in central Berlin. This museum (no photos allowed for obvious reasons) is definitely not for the weak stomached or emotional sort, but for me, one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. It hosts the best possible (preserved) specimens of the worst possible diseases and birth defects. Like I said, not for the faint hearted (I.e. skip the rest of the paragraph if you don't want visuals).... There were cases of bone cancers that I didn't think we're possi ble where the entirety of a spine and pelvis had no only 0 cancellous bone (the spongy stuff on the insides), but also at least 60% of the cortical bone (stuff on the outside, the coating) completely atrophied. So basically a completely hole-y frame that would have broken with any weight whatsoever. There was also horrific scoliosis, the best collection of gall stones you could imagine (a whole wall of the, in pockets - so so many sizes and shapes and colours, if I wasn't in a anatomy museum I definitely would've thought it was just a crystal collection), the largest bowel (megacolon) like you can't even imagine, the width of my thigh!! And then there was the foetal section. Really horrific stuff, cyclops babies, Siamese twins with only a shared head, two headed babies, lots of cases of varied spina bifidas and giant giant hydrocephalic brains and skulls..... Sad but fascinating. All specimens were quite old (although perfectly preserved), so you can only see that and hope that modern medicine (in areas of the world where accessible) is severely reducing the severity and frequency of conditions like this...
Next! The Hamburger Banhof. A modern museum situated inside a famous old train station.
Warhol again!
Then onto east side gallery, which is close to the river in Far East Berlin. This is a place where a large section of the wall remains in its actual place (so technically it's is east and west), and has been specially decorated by artists about 15 years ago as a memorial. Since then, lots of graffiti, but many of the artworks are still clear. (Note: the art is only on one side, the west side is naturally graffitied...)
And further down on the west side is a series of amazing photographs of other places in the world where there is a or has been a dividing barrier that is perilous to cross... Mexico, Ireland, Israel, Afghanistan etc...
Old school Berlin...
Now buskers are one thing... But a group of people who look like commuters (avoiding inspectors eyes) who, as soon as the train pulls off, whip out their instruments for an amazing rendition of some classic I've forgotten the name off (dada da da da daaa...), now that is cool. And enjoyable. U til they bust a move at the first stop now they have our money, so the song was cut short!
Pasta with Pfifferlingen (chanterelle) mushrooms. A seasonal veggie here at this time of year only and so they're in everything!! And I really really love them. Beautiful taste and nicer texture than normal mushrooms, but mild flavour so you can have a sauce full of them and not be overpowered. Will definitely be going back for more...
And a misread program for an outdoor film to follow. I got my days wrong, so instead of seeing an english film with german subtitles, i was in for a french film in german subtitles.... and braved it in shorts cos i didnt have time to go all the way home to get warmer clothes.... hmm.... the good thing about basically all fench films is that the facial expressions and akita tell much more of the atory than words anyway!! Survival skills got me through (remove tahirt under jacket and use to cover legs, interpret any word possible, make your own plot!)...
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