Berlin Museums and Botanical Garden

Last Tuesday, Jason and I made a trip back to Berlin to check out some museums on Museum Island (an area with many museums) and to see the Botanical Gardens. The museums we visited were filled with very cool artificats from all around the world. Some of the most cool were in the Pergamon were there were many pieces of Roman sculptures and art. We also went to the Altes Museum, Altes Nationalgalerie, and the Bode Museum. There was so MUCH to see and so little time, but we saw as much as we could starting when the museums opened and going until they closed.

After the museums we just hung out in Berlin and had dinner at an Irish Pub…very interesting experience...and the beer was good. Yes, I drank beer, but again it was the special Berlin style where they mix raspberry syrup with white beer….yum!

That night we stayed with a contact I made during my previous train ride back to Hannover from Berlin. I sat on the train by an individual named Franciska…and after talking the whole way back, she invited me and guests to stay with her if ever we were back in Berlin. Last Tuesday she was actually flying back into town, so Jason and I met up with her brother and dropped our things off at the apartment. Then we went to a local bar and waited for Franciska! Her brother, Johannes was very kind and we all had a great time. After Franciska met up with us, we stayed a bit longer and then decided to call it a night…as Jason and I were beginning to drag!

Pergamon Pics: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2zA6JDWC0GGRFR5wacDiK3w
Altes Museum: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2zA6JDWC0GGQFEB8fPEswaQ
Bode Museum: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2zA6JDWC0GGRMU4eXdH_c9Q

The next morning was another early start. After coffee and tea with Franciska, we said our farewells and headed out for the next adventure….the botanical garden! Johannes actually met us at the gardens as he had never been there before. The grounds were huge and covered in snow…so we focused mainly on the conservatories…all 14! And two were closed for construction…so many total to see! They had everything from a bromeliad and cactus houses, to orchid and fern houses. The displays were very nice and well maintained, although we did find some aphids and scale! :) It was absolutely AMAZING how many plants they had…and that was only inside! I can only imagine how beautiful these gardens are in the summer…maybe a future return trip to Germany! :)

Garden Pics: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2zA6JDWC0GGSM753Ye_0voQ

After the conservatories we explored a little bit of the botanical museum on grounds, but did not make it through the whole building before deciding it was time to head out. We all got onto the subway and made our way back into the city. After parting ways with Johannes, Jason and I headed toward several antiques shops we had seen to explore their contents…although out of our price range, they were still cool to see…especially as they were located under the train tracks! You could hear (and feel) the building rumble every few minutes as a train went by!

We eventually meandered our way back to the main train station (via and Italian restaurant and the Brandenburg Gate for night photos) and caught out train back to Hannover. It was a quick train ride….because we had the fast ICE train…and also because we were both sleeping the whole way! The past two days were very busy and very exciting….and also very tiring!

Brandenburg Pics: http://www.pikiwiki.com/ews/editor.jsp?2zA6JDWC0GGQculHx51BRvg