I’m not sure what compelled me to go to the museum Für Naturkunde, but I’m so glad I did!
I had just come from Hamburger Bahnhof Museum down the street. The museum used to be a terminus building for the Berlin-Hamburg railway and was rebirthed as an contemporary art museum in 1996. The terminal was impressive, but I found the rest of the museum and its collection seriously underwhelming.
I walked out wondering if I was better off exploring another area of Berlin, when I realized that the Museum Für Naturkunde was close by. So I decided to take a chance. Little did I know I’d be in awe at what was at the museum Für Naturkunde.
With over 30 million specimens in its collection, the Museum Für Naturkunde is one of the largest natural history museums in the world. They have one of the world’s largest dinosaur skeleton, a brachiosaurus, which was discovered in Tanzania in 1909.
What bowled me over was the Wet Collection room. It was enormous and extensive, with over 1 million animals, 276,000 bottles and 80 tonnes of alcohol used. The presentation was so impressive.
Also, the Biodiversity Wall featuring over 3,000 objects.
The museum also had a taxidermy exhibit, which I found interesting, in a gnarly way. It was a bit sad to see animals in various states of taxidermy. It was even sadder when I came across Knut the polar bear, taxidermied. Yes, beloved Knut.
And the piece de resistence – T. Rex Tristan, one of the world’s best preserved tyrannosaurus rex. Discoverd in Montana in 2010, Tristan is approximately 66 million years old. It took 2 years to chisel the fossil from the rock. Preparation and conservation of the skeleton took another 2 1/2 years.
Afterwards, I took the train over to Charlottenburg area to explore some more museums. I had a wander around the Scharf-Gerstenberg collection because I read that it showcased rare works by Surrealists and their forerunners, but to be honest, there wasn’t very much that blew me over.
Berggruen Museum, across the street and opposite the Charlottenburg Palace, fared better with me. The heart of their collection revolves around Picasso – with over 100 works spanning his career (including his blue period). Also represented is Paul Klee and Henri Matisse. The rotunda is also impressive.
Chinese Porcelain by Paul Klee, 1923.
Next door to the Berggruen Museum, I checked out the Brohan Museum, a gallery dedicated to Art Nouveau, Art Deco and functionalism.
When the museums started closing, I headed back to the Unter den Linden area, to visit the Brandenburger Tor, Berlin’s best known landmark on Pariser Platz. Modelled after the temple porticoes of ancient Athens, this iconic landmark has been a focal point in Berlin’s turbulent history with many rulers, statesmen, military parades and demonstrations all having marched through the Brandenburger Tor.
I thought after 2 days in Berlin, it would now be a good time to visit the gate. And wouldn’t you know it, it turned out that everyone thought the same thing. Whereas I wanted to go see the symbol of Berlin, thousands of others had descended there to party their faces off, and celebrate Germany’s win over Slovenia at EURO 2016.
I always did have an impeccable sense of timing, non? Plus, you know how much I love crowds. Thankfully, it wasn’t too crazy. Although the party was a ticketed event and contained to the other side of the Tor, I was still able to absorb all the excitement and energy in the air – without getting crushed in a throng of sweaty, party people.
Go, Germany, go!
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