In my first year at university I went on a trip with a few people from my year, the year above and fashion students to Berlin. We went on the 8th of February 2016 till the the 11th of February, so it was only a few days and it was very cold. The trip was about seeing the design in another European country with a focus on Bauhaus but also the culture and history of a city of two halves. The first thing about the city I will say though is how clean it was, and so very efficient. This is also going to be a longer post so I hope your sat down.
The diversity of architecture in Berlin is massive and even just walking down the street we came across some amazing buildings. This is not a city made up of all new buildings but there are many new additions to Berlin including new extensions to old or damaged buildings, like the Reichstag Dome. Some of my favourite architecture was the new National Gallery which was being refurbished when I was in Berlin, the building looks amazing but the interior wasn’t so successful and is being renovated by David Chipperfield. Another was the Head office of the German Institute for Standardization in Berlin, as it stood out on a street filled with older buildings and this one had an interesting top section that stuck out over the path. The Berlin Central station is also a very impressive structure that is considered the biggest train statin in Europe. It has a glass and steel ceiling with a suspension system to reduce vibrations from the trains, it is a brilliant station. I have also included some pictures of other buildings I saw that really stood especially against the clear, crisp, blue sky.
On the trip we visited the Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design. The building itself stood out and looked great in its surrounding, showing off Bauhaus from the moment you see it. I didn’t take any pictures of the inside of the museum as it wasn’t allowed but I have lots of pictures of the exterior. There was a lot of objects, plans and models all based on the Bauhaus movement and I learnt a lot about the style and also how to present work better. It is a really good place to visit for art and design whilst in Berlin. Or even walk by to just appreciate from the outside.
You can’t visit Berlin without going to the Berlin wall, wether you want to or not the effects of the wall and war are everywhere in Berlin. Parts of the wall are still up and used as a memorial, along with a Documentation Centre and part of the wall is also used as a gallery. It was incredible to see and something I had learnt about in college so was an almost surreal experience. The East side gallery is one of the best parts of the remaining wall as it it showcases amazing artwork and contemporary issues. Berlin has so much history and its clear they aren’t hiding from it. The Jewish Museum is one of the best places to visit in Berlin for history and architecture as it was designed by Daniel Libeskind and is very thoughtful. Along with the museum, the memorial to the murder Jews of Europe is a very moving thing to see. It is a lot larger in person than you think it will be and makes you look at it and wander through the gaps and feel something, making it a great memorial in the heart if the city. We also passed some important buildings along the way and more memorials and museums. Theres a lot of history and culture to take in.
The food in Germany is warm and comforting and theres no other way to describe it other than really, really, good. We ate a lot and in particular bratwurst, of course. We also went out at night to some bars and the streets seem quite quiet but there are some cool little bars hiding in side streets or through doors that lead down into a basement with trendy interiors and live music. On one of the days we visited Berlin zoo, which is a strange place to come across because you do just that, stumble upon it. We were walking down a street and it just appeared right in front of us, surrounded by tall buildings and main roads. One of my favourite pictures from the zoo shows monkeys perched on rocks with a huge building (almost certain its the Waldorf Astoria) behind them showing how central the zoo is. I will say though, that the zoo has loads of animals that you won’t find in many other zoos but it didn’t seem the best in terms of welfare of the animals which was a shame.
Berlin was an amazing trip and I’m so glad i got to go and experience the city and see all it had to offer. It is clear to see the difference of the two halves of the city and the contrast of design. I think it really helped with uni as well because I got to see different styles of design and presentations of design. I learnt so much about the city, and would definitely return to explore some more.
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