Face of one of the many lions at the Ishtar Gate.

Visited the Pergamum Museum. The highlight of the day was the Istar gate. The Bricks were taken from Iraq in the 19th century. The other masterpiece not seen was the Pergamum Alter that is closed until 2018 for renovation. :-((((((.    The bricks are 2600 years old tho not all the bricks of the reconstruction are original.

The animals are original but most of the blue one are contemporary. Very Impressive !!!

Market gate from Meletus. Asia Minor.

In the following room was the Meletus Gate over 16 meters high. Amazing to see something this big indoors. AD 120. Most of it is the original stones.

Facade of the Mishatta Palace. AD744.

This is 50 meters of a 150 meter side of the palace wall. The king was assassinated 14 months after this was commissioned. Probably went over budget.

30 meters of the original 150 meters processional entry to the Ishtar Gate.

Aonther great day of sights with another great day of weather!

The clock tower in Neukoln

Spent most of the day changing BandBs (could only stay 6 days at Pauls) and running erands. New place nice but a bit further from the subway.

Had farewell dinner with Brian and Nat at the train station trying to have a conversation over the sound system of a nationalist demonstration in front of the station. Their amplifiers made up for their lack of attendance.

What was once filled with weapons is now filled with tourists and a mcDonalds!

spent the morning after breakfast looking for galleries to visit. All closed so we went past the Jewish museum. Didn’t go in but it’s enough to see the outside. Then off to the Brandenburg Gate and then the park. Wandered past the the monument to gays killed during the war. A giant block of stone with a small opening to see a video loop of two men talking intimately. Very understated but good. A stroll thru the hollocast memorial. My second visit. The light on the stones was beautiful.

Just befor the curtain rose on the Magic Flute in Berlin

After a short rest and dinner at the hotel we walked over to the Berlin State Opera to see The Magic Flute. The interior of the auditorium was magnificent. The music was traditional with excellent arias but the visuals stole the show. The actors were mostly static, sometimes strapped to the wall. There was an enormous white wall from the bottom of the stage to the top where animations were projected around the singers. The style of the projections were antiquated and mostly black and white. They felt like they were from the teens or twenties but at the same time clearly modern. They blended with the music and the movements perfectly. Brian and I commented after how well they and the actors were synced. The two and a half hours were by in a flash.

Having drinks after the Magic Flute with Brian, Nat, Steph and Ed

After we went for drinks outdoors across the street from the Philharmonic Orchestra’s auditorium

Natalie finished hers I couldn’t finish mine.

Nat ordered a liter and finished here, I ordered .3 liters and, and as usual, couldn’t finish mine. A good nite was had by all!

Met Brian and Nat for breakfast and the strolled to the Hamburger museum. Excellent video installation – 12 screens playing simultaneously, staring Cate Blanchet. Images more powerful than the words best was a piece about alienation. Blanched moving garbage from one place to another. Also one about puppets. The pan of the faces was gorgeous. Hall a long lunch and then visited the Marx collection. Mostly pop and abstract expressionists from the the 60s but each piece was some of the best I’ve seen from the period.

Doug in front of the biggest Warhole he’s ever seen. 

More wandering the city and then a short rest at Brian’s Hotel before we were all off to Nat’s Birthday dinner at a Korean tapas restaurant. We ordered everything on the menu. Met a friend of Brian’s who offered to have dinner with me later in the week. A date in Berlin with a documentary film maker. Yes!

One of the 12 dinner dishes we ordered.

Cool shapes and textures

A three museum day. First the Jewish museum. The architecture more impressive than the exhibits. Not enough meat in the exhibits but filled with young people and not all shooting sefies. Spaces impressive if not confusing. Never quite sure  where you were or where you were going. Still grand from the outside and in.

Next the Berlin modern. Again the building more impressive that what it held except for a installation of an artists childhood home. Full scale horizontally and vertically but only one meter deep! Even the interior squashed.

People are a lot thinner in Germany

Finally a small museum dedicated to Katherine Kolwitz. Just the right size to see in an hour. Great work, very depressing. Lovely dinner outside across the street then a calm stroll down Kurfürstendamm . Teeming with people shopping and cafes. The weather is perfect and everyone outside to enjoy it. BTW, found a great app for the subway. All you do is put in your stop and where you want to go and it plots out your route. Both Uwe and I were thwarted by the tiny print on the maps and the complexity of the official maps. Old eyes and minds! This takes care of it all.

back to my bandb to rest my feet.

outside the Jewish museum. Look at that gorgeous sky. 72 degrees! Eat your heart out Boston .

Summer palace in Potsdam

Met Uwe at the train station and after coffee we took a short ride to Potsdam outside of Berlin. Summer palace of Frederick the great. Very rococo! Took the tour and learned that Frederic very enlightened, at least in terms of the arts. Had Voltair as a guest for three years and composed over 100 pieces of music tho the only one who could critique his music was his teacher and only by coughing!

Enjoyed the enormous grounds flooded with day trippers from town. Left my phone on a bench when we proceeded to walk down into Potsdam proper. When I realized what I had done we jumped into a cab only to find it waiting for me at the tourist info desk. The cab driver had jokingly assured me that the there were no criminals in Potsdam . He and Uwe enjoyed laughing at my folly .

enjoyed a wonderful lunch of curry sausage on a wailing street in Potsdam

returned to town in time to put Uwe on a train for home. So sorry to see him go but enjoyed catching up. It was like I had seen him two months ago not 20 years ago!

Gardens in Potsdam
Frederik the greats summer palace

A sea of concrete blocks.

Very nice first day in Berlin . Slept 14 hours and woke up after my “afternoon” nap at 8:50. Rushed  to get showered etc and off to meet Uwe at 10 at Alexanderplatz . Met him at Starbucks !! Then off on a walk all around East Berlin stopping for a coffee and snack catching up after more than 10 years! It was just like we hadn’t seen each other in a few weeks except lots of life and travels to review.

Wandered around admiring all the new architecture – very grand – and also lots of side streets. Stopped fore of lunch of Bavarian sausage, pretzel and of course beer.  Went into the largest department store.. An entire floor of food from every country all beautifully presented. Went to the restaurant on the top floor with a huge barrel vaulted ceiling of glass. Beautiful view of the city.

Went to the Brandenburg gate and then say the enormous memorial to the 6 million Jews . Very impressive but alienating sea of concrete blocks that became higher and higher as you walked further into the “sea”. It did just as it was designed to.

• then took the Uban to the west side of town fro more wandering tho this part much greener and more posh. Streets of very fine shops and galleries including on with my name. They were NOT showing my work however. More strolling and a quick stop at Uwes’ hotel and off to dinner at an Italian favorite of Uwe’s. All the day constant great conversation up until I got on the subway for my bandb. All in all a great day.

May 1: dedicated my sculpture at the Fitchburg Art Museum. The official title of the piece is Thurston. the title was the winning entry in a contest of Fitchburg Students. I also gave an artist talk and got to meet the Mayor! What a nice way to spend my last day in the country.

I’m leaving Boston on May 2 for Berlin . Should arrive on the 3rd