Most arrive in Germany during the holidays to enjoy the Christmas market and the Sylvester celebrations. I would certainly recommend you do it in Berlin. We arrived in Berlin just after the Christmas day to avoid the high price hike for the two big days. Though we still found some good “leftovers†from the Christmas market.
It’s a very cold time of the year to go to Germany. The weather is regularly below freezing. One need not worry so much about the weather though. The impressive number of museums in Berlin is enough to keep you warm for at least three days and more. It sure did for us. The museum in Berlin covers ancient Egyptian history to the Berlin life after world war II, from natural history to human tragedy. Below is the list of museums we visited that you may consider. I have also marked out the most impressive finds in each of the museums based on my own opinion.)
- Pergamonmuseum (Ishtar Gate)
- Altes museum
- Neues Museum (Bust of Queen Nefertiti)
- DDR Museum (not too far from the Museumsinsel, great DDR household recreations)
- German Historical Museum (Napoleon’s sword and hat at the Battle of Waterloo)
- The museum at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (recollection of the Jewish family records)
- Berlin Story Bunker (Pictures of the last days of Hitler)
Here are some of the highlights that I recommend you check out.
After both before and after World War I. Germany and Austria produced many explorers, as well as archaeology and history enthusiasts. Interestingly, many of them were not as well-known by the common people as those of the other far exploring countries, especially those from the UK. I suspect many factors contributed to their “unpopularity” which possibly includes the two World War which Germany fought. Even the Prussian emperor at the time was fascinated by the archaeological finds from the Middle East. He requested some of them to be sent to the emperor as personal gifts. Many of these exhibits were donated to the museums on Berlin’s Museumsinsel. Just like the Louvre and British Museum, the museums on Museumsinsel suffered enormous damages from the aerial bombing and the subsequent fire. The most important finds were preserved through tremendous effort. Though some archaeological find were still damaged as the result of the war. In some ways, these museums are still expanding. The Pergamon museum is still expanding its wings to accommodate more finds as well as increasing the possibilities of displaying some of the finds more fully.
If you are looking into understanding the complex history of Germany, look no further than the German history museum located just outside of the Museumsinsel. The 40-minute beginning presentation itself is a good historic overview. What’s more interesting about this museum is that it sneakily hides Napoleon’s hat and sword after the defeat at Waterloo!
The most interesting museums in Berlin were perhaps the DDR museum and the German History bunker. Both present the most fascinating bits of recent German history. The DDR museum uses real-life finds and reconstructions to introduce visitors to what daily life in the walled-in DDR was like in Berlin. Interestingly, you can also buy small pieces of the Berlin wall at this museum!
Perhaps deservingly so, Hitler’s Bunker was destroyed down to a parking lot with a sign. The life history of Adolf Hitler and the downfall of Germany into the Nazi regime is now presented in a private museum not far from Check Point Charlie. The museum itself is an actual Bunker used up until the few days before Hitler’s suicide. The information presented in the museum is not officially recognized by the government. Though from the information presented in the museum, the reason it is not recognized is probably not because of inaccuracies. In my opinion, it is quite possible that the German government control the possibility that neo-Nazi groups or Hitler worshippers to rise up. Though, it is hard to say that such an attempt is successful or not judging by the rise of neo-Nazism in Germany to repel the new wave of immigrants. Nevertheless, it seems that, at least, the current government wants to show that they do not support the Hitler regime.
The museum is divided into 40-plus different sections, so I would recommend you allocate 3 hours to explore this museum. It is very information-heavy, so be prepared to read a lot. Additionally, some other information is provided for you to understand the history of the bunker itself. Be sure to check those out as well.
If you are tired of reading, I recommend venture into the cold to the few of the important monuments from the post-World War II era. Some of them are only landmarks like Brandenburg Gate, Potsdam Square, and the Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie does have a small museum, having not entered it, I cannot attest to how good they are.
If the Brandenburg Gate reminds one of the happiness of the down of the Berlin Wall, its neighbor, the Memorial for the Murdered Jewish of Europe reminds one of the opposites. The somber tone of the memorial reminds us of the millions who died because of who they were born to be. Murdered in the hands of the ones who are more alike, the memorial is a solemn reminder that humans can capable of despicable things. In the museum just inside the memorial, you can find out more about this human tragedy.
One sure does not need a museum to know and understand the Berlin Wall. The few full sections of the remaining part of the wall are located on the East side of Berlin. The wall itself didn’t have any decorations when it was functioning as you could imagine. After the Berlin wall fell, artists were invited to paint sections of the wall to make it a livelier display of history. Each graffiti had its own meaning and message, so I highly recommend you take a tour or read up a lot to get the most of your visit to the wall.
If you are tired of all the walking, try sitting down for a kebab. The story has it, that the Turkish immigrants mashed their traditional foods with the Germans’ to invent this fast to make, on-the-go food. Though judging by the constantly overflowing of ingredients, I think it’s probably best that you sit down to enjoy them.
