Continued from Berlin day tour: Checkpoint Charlie
Mouse-over the photos to read the captions. Okay, so it’s not really that “wordless” after all. 
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Continued from Berlin day tour: Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden)
An imposing landmark at the Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin is the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) located to the northeast of the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden). The Dom was built in the late 18th to early 19th century, and as an Evangelical Church, its design is deemed by some to be the Protestant equivalent of the St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
The massive columns lined up along the cathedral’s front hallway.
The facade of the Berliner Dom as seen from the Lustgarten.
A closer look at the front of the Dom. Sitting on the front steps were some boy scouts tired from a day’s tour.
One can’t help but gaze at the building’s artistic design and inspect the intricate details of the doors, ceilings, statues, the column capitals, and other wall décor and mouldings.
Berliner Dom opening hours:
9:00 AM – 8:00 PM (Mondays through Saturdays)
12:00 NN – 8:00 PM (Sundays and Holidays)
From October 1st through March 31st, closing at 7 pm
Note that visits are not allowed during church services or events. Cathedral tours are also offered for tourists.
Next stop: Neue Wache (New Guard House) war memorial and other buildings at the Bebelplatz
Continued from Berlin day tour: Museumsinsel (Museum Island)
The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin is not all about museums actually. Visitors will be greeted by two famous landmarks, the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and the Lustgarten (Pleasure Park), before they can reach the Altes Museum (Old Museum).
The Lustgarten as seen from the Berliner Dom entrance.
The Lustgarten is a notable spot in Berlin’s history and went through interesting developments. Originally a kitchen garden to the palace, it was then developed into a landscaped garden with fountains. During the time of King Friedrich Wilhelm I, it was converted into a parade ground. Aside from being a public park, the Lustgarten was also used for public rallies and political demonstrations. For instance, Hitler used to hold mass rallies in this site.
This is the fountain at the center of Lustgarten where an equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm III used to be.
Today, the Lustgarten is a simple park with a fountain at the center where visitors and tourists going to and from the museums rest for awhile. It is also a good place to get great views of the facades of the Altes Museum and the Berliner Dom.
Tourists at the Lustgarten with the façade of the Berliner Dom in the background
Next stop: Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral)
For those who will be touring Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin, here are some informative parts of its map posted on a large guide board at the side of the Altes Museum. There are five museums in the Museumsinsel complex as shown in the map, with their corresponding numbers and an arrow guide for tourists to follow when visiting the museums.
(1) Altes Museum (Old Museum)
Antikensammlung/Agyptisches Museum
Collection of Classical Antiquities/Egyptian Museum
(2) Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery)
Malerei und Skulptur des 19.Jahrhunderts
19th Century Painting and Sculpture
(3) Neues Museum (New Museum), Re-Opening 2009
Agyptisches Museum/ Museum fur Vor- und Fruhgeschichte
Egyptian Museum/Museum for Pre- and Early History
(4) Pergamon Museum
Antikensammlung/Vorderasiatisches Museum / Museum fur Islamische Kunst
Collection of Classical Antiquities/Museum of the Ancient Near East/Museum of Islamic Art
(5) Bode Museum formerly Kaiser Friedrich Museum
Skulpturensammlung/Museum fur Byzantinische Kunst/Werke de Gemaldegalerie/Munzkabinett
Sculpture Collection/Museum of Byzantine Art/Works from the Gemaldegalerie/Numismatic Collection
The Neues Museum (3) building is grayed out in the map since it is still undergoing restoration. Click on the thumbnail image below for a larger version of the whole map.
More information about the Museum Island posted at the guide board:
Masterplan Museumsinsel Berlin
Bordered by the River Spree and the Kupfergraben, Berlin’s Museumsinsel is an incomparable ensemble that has developed from the unique history of Germany’s cultural and museum heritage. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Along with Berlin’s other major museums – located in the Kulturforuj, Dahlem, Charlottenburg and Köpenick – Museumsinsel demonstrates how significant the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) are as a universal museum dedicated to human culture from its very beginnings to the present day. The Master Plan for restoring Museumsinsel is already bearing fruit: the Alte Nationalgalerie reopened in all its magnificence in December 2001. The Bode-Museum was opened in October 2006; the Neues Museum is due to open its doors again in 2009. Then the restoration of the Pergamonmuseum and the Altes Museum will go ahead.
Continued from Berlin day tour: Alexanderplatz and nearby points of interest
The Altes Museum (Old Museum)
The Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in Berlin is a group of notable museums – Altes Museum (Old Museum), Neues Museum (New Museum) which will be re-opening in 2009, Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), Pergamon Museum and the Bode Museum formerly known as the Kaiser Friedrich Museum – situated in the Spreeinsel (Spree Island) in the Berlin-Mitte district. This tourist destination is easily accessible by subway via the Alexanderplatz station and is just within walking distance along the Unter Den Linden Avenue when you’re coming from the Marienkirche.
A closer look at the façade of the Altes Museum
The Museum Island complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999 and some of the buildings are currently undergoing renovation thus we were not able to tour the whole of it.
The façade of the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) amidst ongoing restoration of the complex.
For museum lovers or those who are fond of learning more about art, culture and history, the Museum Island is a must-visit. The museum buildings are just within walking distance from each other and it’s best to allot at least a day in visiting all of them since going through museums usually takes time.
Next stop: Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden)
Wanna shop for paintings, décors, jewelry, t-shirts, lanterns, bags, buttons and all sorts of art, handicrafts and books in Berlin? Check out the Art market (Kunstmarkt) at the Museum Island (Museumsinsel) beside the bridge every Saturday (11:00 AM – 3:00 PM) and Sunday (10:00 AM – 2:00 PM) where you can find some Berlin souvenirs to take home with you.
Here are some photos of what’s on sale at the street market where busy tourists crowd around the many items displayed.
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