History

My last day in Berlin. I actually wish I could stay here for a few more days, but I'm off to Praha tomorrow and have already booked my ticket. Have managed to fit in quite a bit though. I've hardly seen the guys who I'm renting the room off as I'm up early (no surprises there!) and when I get back they're often out.

Yesterday I started off the day at the Reichstag - the German Parliament. It was a beautiful morning (unlike this morning - cold and grey again!) and there were wonderful views over the city from the glass cupola. I wouldn't say Berlin is a beautiful city - too much damage during World War II, but there's a lot of green space. When I've been to Reichstag before there have always been long queues, so made sure I got there very early and didn't have to wait at all. After about an hour in the Reichstag and after taking a few pictures at the Brandenburger Tor I headed out to the suburb of Dahlem, in Berlin's south-west, to check out the collection of Indian and Asian art at the Museum of Indian and East-Asian Art. There were some sublime pieces - the collection of Mughal miniture paintings was partiularly impressive. In complete contrast in the afternoon I visited the villa in Wannsee - a beautiful lakeside suburb of Berlin - which was the setting for the meeting in early 1942 that decided the fate of European Jews. The contrast between the peaceful lakeside location and what happened there is stark - it's impossible to comprehend how human beings could have made such a decision with such a complete lack of compassion.

On Friday I spend the morning indoors at the Altes Museum on Museum Island as most of the morning it was raining - quite heavily at times. The Altes Museum is the current home of the Egyptian and Ancient Greek collections - including the sublime bust of Nefertiti. Berlin has some great musuems (although many of the collections are in a state of flux at the moment as many of the museums are being renovated) and I wish I had a few more days to explore them. One museum a day though is more than enough. Later in the afternoon the rain stopped, so I wandered around the Mitte district - the traditional centre of Berlin - along Unter den Linden, Berlin's main, tree-lined avenue.

Today I'm planning on visiting the Pergamonmuseum, which is supposed to have an amazing collection of Middle-Eastern and Central Aisan antiquities. Of course most of the collection - like those in museums in Britain - were plundered during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries! Was going to re-visit the Reichstag in the evening, but it depends on the weather. It's a shame the weather hasn't been that great, but there's not much I can do about it. Have definitely enjoyed my stay in Berlin - despite the weather!!!