I have a few minutes now to let you know a little about our weekend in Berlin. On Saturday we were up early to have another delicious breakfast at the Berlin Hilton Hotel. Delightful buffet but I also had freshly made French Toast and Elva ordered Eggs Benedict that she thoroughly enjoyed. At about 9:30 we left the hotel on a still cloudy morning to take the Hop On bus to the Museum Island.
After a pleasant tour with a live guide who added additional info to yesterday's lessons, we arrived just as the Altes Museum opened. This is the 'old' museum which Elva had missed on her previous visits. We bought our tickets at 10 Euros each, checked our bags, and entered the Greek Exhibition. The museum has two floors and the exhibits are changed every now and then. The statuary and artifacts were quite lovely but also quite typical of a Greek display. Our Audio Guide gave greatly detailed explanations of what we were seeing and the whole museum seemed quite quiet and very scholarly.
On the second floor there was a beautiful collection of Roman antiquities. We spent quite some time there having our memories refreshed as to who did what to whom and when as expressed through art. In the last room was a very details explanation of the differences between preserving and restoring art such as clay pots. Etruscan pottery was red clay with black paint incised into it with red or white incisions for details back about 700 BC. Very beautiful and much more skill to accomplish. About 400 BC they began to leave the red clay bare with black, red, or white details painted on and black paint to fill all the blank space. Possibly easier and more ability to mass produce.
If a piece is restored then a duplicating detail is created to fill the missing piece of a broken pottery and a cat scan will show evidence of stapling. If it is preserved then black or red matting replaces the missing parts as obviously but still unobtrusively as possible. It can never be mistaken as anything but what it is, a repaired piece. A restored piece may be passed off as an original to an untrained eye causing much monetary fraud.
We visited the spacious rotunda with its glass dome allowing light onto the marble floor. The ornate decorations included the signs of the zodiac. Each row of symmetrical boxed decoration became increasing smaller as the eye traveled upward giving the impression of even greater height than it was in reality. We then stopped in the small cafe for a snack and Elva noticed that Plum Cake was available so I ordered that and a Coke Light. Not a great combination to the taste buds but definitely a treat for my psyche. Elva had coffee and her sandwich.
We walked around the island and viewed the exteriors of the other museums some of which were under renovation. Our time didn't really allow us to enter another and spend enough time to make the cost worthwhile. We enjoyed the view of the Spree from the bridge and as we walked around the complex we saw several brides and grooms having photos taken while patient wedding parties held jackets, long veils, flowers, and extra shoes for themselves and the brides. Always fun to watch and on what turned out to be a beautiful day in a classic location it was extra nice.
We took the bus back to the hotel in time to get a little cleaned up before meeting the whole group for the first time. As we gathered in the lobby Sebastian handed out the QuietVoxes and ear phones that we will use for the whole trip. This 'whisperers' allow the guides to speak in a normal tone of voice so as not to interrupt others around our group and yet we can all hear well. We also then do not to all need to huddle together and try to crowd forward but can look around and enjoy the sights we are there to see. He introduced us to our local guide, Lother.
Lother, he said we probably pronounce it Luther, led us on the Orientation tour since only 8 of our group of 78 arrived early and 70 had arrived on Saturday itself. Lots of tired people. The walk about is designed to familiarize us with the neighborhood of the hotel, give dinner and sight suggestions and a little history. He did such a good job that we were delighted to know that he would be the guide for our half of the group on the next day. Elva and I were so surprised to see how close everything of importance was to our hotel. On the bus trips we wound around so many streets and zig-zagged through the city that we had not known that we were less than a mile from each of the major points of interest! I guess I should have studied up more before beginning this long journey!
We left the walk about when we were only a couple of blocks from the Berlin Dom. We followed Lother's recommendation and went to join Vespers there. During a service there was no admission fee. We enjoyed the service which was in the vernacular and especially the extensive but excellent organ music. The church itself, the largest Protestant church in Europe, was beautifully decorated. Many of the Frederichs who ruled Germany over time are buried in the crypts below but ornate faux-sepulchers just to show their importance and to let the unlearned early parishioners know of the importance and wealth of there monarchs.
Our Saturday ended with a beautiful sunset as we made the five minute walk back to the hotel.
I do have several pictures to share with you but slow internet, a late hour, and a dying computer mean I will have to give them to you, hopefully tomorrow!
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