Photos, videos and docs of Don Barrett (aka DBs travels), with the keywords: "Berlin"

Berlin Charlottenburg Palace (#0923)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 22:43:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Winter view of the formal garden side of Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. Obviously, being January, the garden is not what it would be in the Spring and summer – but I am curious about how the gardeners make all of the groundhog (or similar) destruction disappear!

I went out to the palace just because it is a very large green space that isn’t part of the usual tourist routes. The size and majesty of the palace and grounds was impressive, even for a cold/rainy day – even more so when you learn that it was largely demolished at the end of WWII. Much more about it, and the decision to reconstruct, with forthcoming pictures.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Berlin Spandau Citadel EU reminder (#0885)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 22:43:48 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

In a museum at the Citadel in Spandau (Berlin), a representation of the post-war occupying forces of Berlin (Soviet, American, British, French). The photo appears to be a formation of the Soviet and American forces, I don’t know the building in the background. It was a sobering thought seeing this display at a time of US threats to the NATO alliance and high anxiety about Brexit's damage to the EU.

I was curious about the Citadel and so went out there with a friend. The fortress itself is quite historic, but the museums on the fortress grounds were far more interesting than either of us expected. We had not allowed for the many hours the museums warranted, so I don’t have any greater detail about this picture. More pictures from the Citadel and its museums in the future.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Berlin Schwules (gay) Museum (#0828)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 08:10:03 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

At the Schwules (gay) Museum in Berlin, a poster for an exhibit entitled “Fenster Zum Klo.” The direct translation of that would be ‘window to the toilet’, but ‘klo’ was codeword also for what in the U.S. we call ‘tearoom’, a restroom where men met for sex (typically anonymous). ‘Tearooming’ (‘cottaging’ in the UK) was common in the past when same-sex activity had to be discrete and there were few options for men to find sexual partners. With the various successes of gay liberation, the incidence of tearoom sex has reduced tremendously but still continues both for the adventure and because there remain men who for various reasons (e.g., religion, heterosexual marriage) are not able to be more open about their sexuality.

The exhibit was quite good, with pictures and props depicting the era and activity, and text descriptions from various men about their experiences in such.

Berlin Kaiser Wilhelm Weihnachtsmarkt (#0834)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 08:09:56 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Christmas Market in the Breitscheidplatz square next to Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.

The market was the site of a terror attack in December, 2016 that killed 11 and injured more than 60. In response to that attack plus a suspicious bomb this year in Potsdam, there was large police presence at the markets and bollards had been installed in various places to prevent truck/car attacks. Thankfully this increased security did not seem to have an effect on the popularity of the Christmas Markets in Berlin.

Berlin Rotes Rathaus (#0816)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 13 Jan 2018 08:09:48 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Ferris wheel of the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) near Alexanderplatz. The red building in the background is the Rotes Rathaus (Red City Hall) of Berlin. The building was built between 1861 and 1869 with a facade of red clinker bricks. The building was heavily damaged in WWII but rebuilt to original plans.

See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotes_Rathaus

Berlin 'Trash People' (#0829)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 07:54:26 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

“Preussen [Prussia] Goes Europe,” an art installation at a construction site near Museum Island in Berlin. I could not find any specific mention of this installation, but the statues are labeled ‘Trash People’ and are a critique of consumerist society by the artist, HA Schult; they have been exhibited around the world. I could not find out why the exhibit is labeled “Preussen Goes Europe.”

Sources:
www.presseportal.de/pm/121444/3397065
haschult.de/action/trashpeople#content

Berlin 'Trash People' (#0831)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 07:54:20 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The closest I could get to the statues in the construction site.

Berlin 'Trash People' (#0833)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 07:54:13 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A picture of the statues on the Great Wall. The detail shows how they seem to be made out of trash and recycled materials.

Berlin Bärenbrunnen/Bauakademie (#0830)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 07:54:02 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

In front of the building with the ‘Preussen Goes Europe’ exhibit, a small park with a fountain titled ‘Bärenbrunnen’. The fountain depicts, as a family, the brown bear used on the Berlin herald.

It wasn’t until I was processing this photo that I realized that the pink building in the distance is not quite a building. The site is the former home of the Building Academy (Bauakademie) which was a high school for training master builders in the 1800’s. Over the years the building was occupied by various institutions, but was demolished to make room for another building by the East Germans (which was later demolished). There are plans to build a new building, but those plans have not worked out. To give a sense of what would be at the location, students of the Bauakademie erected a canvas shell, on scaffolding (open at the top) of what might be the size of the building. The shell closely follows the design of the first building.

Bärenbrunnen: de.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A4renbrunnen_(Berlin) (in German)
Bauakademie: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauakademie

Berlin wall (#1196)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 05:21:24 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The longest existing stretch of the former Berlin Wall separating East and West Berlin, stretching west for 1km from the Oberbaumbrücke. Covered with graffiti/murals and lacking watch towers, it doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as it probably did during the Cold War separation of the two Berlins.

Berlin wall (#0099)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 05:21:20 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Berlin transport Oberbaumbrücke (#0102)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 05:21:14 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

U1 U-Bahn crossing the Oberbaumbrücke.

Berlin Kreuzberg infrastructure (#0827)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:42:57 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The neighborhood I stay in when in Berlin consists of very many 5-6 story apartment buildings without much in the way of architecturally interesting design. One thing that does, though, stand out and is visible from many angles is this architecturally interesting red brick chimney. The sign on it says “Canalisation von Berlin, Radial System.” I didn’t feel comfortable going down this driveway to try to discover more, but did find facing another street a building with a sign that seems to explain this. See adjacent picture.

Berlin Kreuzberg infrastructure (#0824)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:42:49 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

As always, one of the things that impresses me about civic structures of the past was the effort to make them look interesting, rather than merely functional.

Berlin Kreuzberg infrastructure (#0823)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:42:43 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

This sign, on the building in the next picture, appears to honor the person who ‘created the modern sewage system for an industrial metropolis’ and the line below indicates that this is Pumpstation #3 that was operational from 1876 to 1972.

Berlin transport (#0811)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:42:37 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The U1, from inside the Möckernbrücke U-Bahn station.

Berlin transport (#0091)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 07:42:30 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Bridge for the former roadbed of the Anhalt railway, now converted to a pedestrian bridge. Crossing over it is a viaduct of the U1 U-Bahn line, and the waterway below is the Landwehrkanal. The airplane is at the Deutsches Technikmuseum and commemorates the Berlin airlift. Behind me is the Möckernbrücke U-Bahn station, which is the station I use the most when in Berlin because it is nearest my hotel.

Berlin Kreuzberg (#0822)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 08:30:46 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Just about a half block from my hotel, I noticed one day a relatively simple sign on a building that I regularly passed. As happens often in Berlin, the sign describes an important situation related to the Holocaust, this time of resistance (see next picture).

Note that site is only about .5 km from the site of Anhalter Bahnof, one of the major points for deporting Jews from Berlin.

Berlin Kreuzberg (#0820)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Mon, 08 Jan 2018 08:30:40 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The site (see adjacent picture) was of the workshop of Otto Weidt and later of Karl Deibel, both of whom hid Jews from the Nazis. Here is a rough translation provided by a German friend:

“In this house the brush workshop of Otto Weidt was situated from 1936 to 1940. He helped his persecuted Jewish workers, some of them were blind. After the relocation of the workshop [see link below] he conveyed the rooms to Karl Deibel , who hid Jews and politically hunted persons from the National Socialists. Emma Trostler supported him: she provided food and employed some of them illegally in her laundry. Four survivors could be traced.”

Otto Weidt has been recognized for efforts to protect Jews during Hitler’s reign, and to ease transition back into society for survivors of concentration camps. See: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Weidt

Berlin Friedrichstrasse Kindertransport memorial (#0087)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 06 Jan 2018 08:34:54 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

At the Friedrichstraße station in Berlin, an exhibit memorializing the Kindertransport of 1938. I’ve used the Friedrichstraße station many times, but somehow had missed seeing this exhibit. It’s on one side of the station and there are many ways to exit the station, but I suspect I’ve been on this side. With people hurrying around, it’s easy to focus on destination and not to notice what you’re walking past. In fact, people were scurrying past but started stopping and looking at the statue/descriptions when I started photographing – which may have simply been a coincidence.