We packed up in the morning and were ready to leave our bags at the Titanic by check-out time, midday. Then walked up the Wallstrasse, Berlin past the Australian Embassy.
Here’s some more streetscape.
We had coffee and cake in a little cafe near our destination which was the Department for Urban Development & Housing. Before reaching that we came upon this church.
Impressive building – no longer in use as a church. I think it’s a museum.
We later discovered these things were part of Kölnischer Park which preserves parts of the original wall around Berlin. Here is Hercules, originally part of that wall. Check out all the bikes of departmental employees in the background.
Looks more artistic from the other side. and now you see the park in the background. Very pretty a and being used by people
A very pretty place and actively being used by people – lunching, talking, resting, exercising.
I think this was an old ice house.
And this is an old sentry box.
But this was all by the by. We were hear to see Berlin’s city models; which we’d seen in the movie Undine. Not much signage about, in through the external door, a corridor, another door and down some stairs. A man emerged from a corner office. The was Bill, ex British army where he’d been an engineer (how was that bridge between Crimea and Moscow blown up?) been here during the Berlin blockade, married a German ’girl’ and been here ever since. Retired he volunteers here three days a week. Plenty of people who’ve seen Undine come to visit. We were lucky Bill was there when we came. Very happy to show us what he emphasised were working models. This picture shows the oldest model propped against the wall and the newest lying flat. Both are in use.
The white buildings indicate buildings in existence in 1990 when Berlin was united. The brown buildings are all those built since. All proposed buildings are assessed using these models to determine whether they fit into the urban landscape. A committee of five chaired by an Austrian woman (who seems a bit awe inspiring to Bill) says yea or nay. Even if you get approval here you have to go through local planning approval processes. This is why new buildings take years to come to fruition in Berlin. Here’s Museum Island from on high.
And here is a close up where you can see the old buildings (white) in the front and the new ones (brown) behind it. With the Lutheran cathedral in white on the right and the Humboldt Forum in brown across the way.
Here is the Brandenburg Gate at the end of Unter den Linden. The yellow dots (look carefully) show where the Berlin Wall was constructed. The irregular flat grey bit is the Holocaust Memorial.
Bill pointed out that approved proposed buildings are placed on the model without adornment. When finally constructed they are then replaced with exact replicas of the finished building. You can see the difference here. The finished buildings at the front, ones being planned or under construction at the back.
A final picture of this model, showing the Reichstag and part of the Tiergarten.
And finally Bill pointed out, of course East Berlin had models too! Here’s one of two on show. I’m not clear what the different colours mean on this one. It’s pretty.
We were delighted to have seen these, and delighted with Bill, who in parting told us to check out the bear pit in Köllnischer Park out the front. Bears the symbol of Berlin. There were two kept here until reasonably late in the piece.
Very popular for a while – rather awful to contemplate now.
Walked back to the hotel via the canal we’d walked down a couple of times before.
Past the Town Hall, seen in the distance.
And over the Schleusen Bridge over the canal near the Humboldt Forum. The bridge has these medallions celebrating the history of the canal. Here’s 1650.
And 1688.
And one for 1774. Friedrich the Great was a proponent of canals as a way of cementing Berlin’s economic development.
Back at the hotel we clambered into a taxi with all our goods and chattels and high tailed it to Wedding. Our taxi driver stymied en route by various road closures. Building works are underway everywhere in Berlin. But now we are here in Wedding! Here’s Joe outside our apartment building (taken the next day).
And Joe and Clare relaxing indoors.
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