Monday 19 November 2012

The Pergamon Museum

It's me, listening away to my audio guide and taking precisely nothing in.

This moving lark isn't as much fun as I thought it might be, or indeed as I remember from the last time. I'm worried that I'm getting old and this is why I am changing into this person who is struggling to sleep and feels a constant anxiety that's stopping me from being able to just relax and just.get.on.with.it. I'm hoping it's more to do with my current anxieties about my driving license renewal, which I can't seem to get out of my head. Either way, sometime soon this will all be over. The move is only 2 weeks away, and when it's done, it's done, and same goes for the driving license: it doesn't matter what I do now: it WILL be sorted out. I'm just not very good at waiting to hear, and am really extraordinarily pessimistic, when maybe I don't need to be.


We took a break from the horrors of last week's trip by visiting the Pergamon Museum on Friday. It's one of the places I've been meaning to visit the whole time I've lived in Berlin, and never have. In fact, when it comes to Museum Insel, in actual fact I haven't been anywhere. Museums with the kids never appealed when they were super young, and Stevie and I always thought we would have loads of opportunity to visit the many museums in Berlin during the winter months while the kids were either at Kita or school. But actually sitting down and going "Right! Let's do this!" is something that we just don't remember to do. 


But we did it. And I'm glad that we did, and now sad that I don't have enough time to go to the other major museums in Berlin. The Pergamon holds collections of artefacts from ancient Turkey and is perhaps best known for it's huge reconstructions of buildings and monuments from this area. Some are so big that the museum has only been able to rebuild them in part. Anyway, they are amazing. Utterly impressive.


I have to say though, I didn't take that much in from the (free) audio guide. I tried, but my mind wasn't on it. I was distracted by pattern and colour. So I can't really tell you much about the background of what I saw, but what I can say is that it was very inspiring and I particularly loved the Islamic art section of the museum. I can't say that I've seen much Islamic art before, but the richness of the detail and the colour combinations were beautiful. Rich reds, stark blacks, deep teals in the most intricate patterns imaginable left me wanting to get my paints out and use some of the shapes and colours in my own work.


No time for that though at the moment, but maybe sometime in the new year once I feel a little more settled. But should you find yourself in Berlin then I would highly recommend it if you fancy seeing something a little bit different. 

11 comments:

  1. A couple of things:

    1) Regarding the last post, you are a warrior! I would have had a mental breakdown if I had to do all of that nonsense in three days. Holy bejeezus.

    2) I was totally going to do a Pergamon post this week! I never got around to it after the May Berlin trip and I didn't have time last week either after we got back. Darn you for beating me to the punch! I am obsessed with that place and have a million pictures of it... hence why I never got to posting because I just couldn't narrow it down. And when we were there last week I discovered that you can take panoramic photos with the iPhone so I got entirely overexcited about doing that with the Babylonian gate. And everything else in the museum. I'll get around to posting about it one of these days... but maybe not this week now. :)

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    1. I am 100% sure that you could still do a post and frankly it would be a lot better than mine. Seriously, I had so much going on in my head that I didn't take a single thing in - just gazed at 'stuff' and thought, "oh that's pretty". I always like when you get a few people doing posts on the same thing at the same time. I like everyone's different take on the same thing.

      Also I did stand in the room where that blue tiled wall/gate with the lions was and take about 100 photos which I plan on stitching together in Photoshop at some point. Alas not only do I not have an iPhone to do it, but I don't even have a phone!!! Can't wait to get a new one... though that means moving countries and I'm going off that idea the closer it gets. ;-)

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    2. The Pergamon is a bit overwhelming at the best of times, so I can imagine if your mind is filled with paperwork and Playmobil packing, it would be a bit hard to take it all in. :) I'll see what I can do this week, although it looks like I'm going to attempt to cook a Thanksgiving dinner in two days. Which should be... interesting.

      I have so many pictures of that thing from the two trips, but it's so amazing! Sadly I no longer have photoshop so I'm going to have to see what I can do with the iPhone photos. New phones are kind of overrated though...

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  2. The Pergamon is the best of everything that exists on Museum Island so if you are only going to visit one, this is the one to go to. I'm not a big fan of museums and I've been there 3 or 4 times! Love it.

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    1. It is? I'm so glad to hear that. I would have been gutted to have missed it. I am gutted about never having gone to the Stasi museum though. And I haven't been to the Guggenheim, and I have missed at least half a dozen exhibitions at the Deutsches Museum that I really wanted to see. ah, well, I'll just have to move back!

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    2. Well when you move back, I will join you in visiting those as I haven't done any of them either and I doubt I will be soon seeing that I will be popping a sprog out in 2 months!

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    3. It's a deal! Maybe we will be able to get one of those berlin cards on Groupon and we can pretend we're tourists for 3 solid days!

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    4. Ooooh good thinking! Might need to book the folks to come over for a visit for me to hand Alfie on to ;)

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  3. Get to the Guggenheim now. It's having the farewell exhibit (DeutscheBank's agreement with the Guggenheim will not be renewed) and it has an extraordinary collection, mainly from the founding collection in NYC, as well as a few from Venice. Since it's only 1.5 rooms, it doesn't take a lot of time.

    Love the Pergamon as well.

    We seem to be booked to be packed out in 4 weeks, so if you want to join me on a few excursions while you are here,or perhaps a meal at the Nordic Embassy, I'm up for it while you are here:-).

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    1. Ooh, I quite fancy lunch at the Nordic Embassy! How are you fixed for Thursday? I can't find your email address in my hotmail I'm afraid!

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