An Evening Visit to the Berlin Egyptian Museum

It is still winter in Berlin and there is less daylight to keep a traveler warm and active, so I can recommend an interesting twilight anecdote.

Wrap your scarf tight, pull on some warm, water proof shoes, grab a map and take a walk into Mitte. You can get there from any direction as Berlin is shaped like a spiders web and Mitte is in the middle. Head toward ?am Lustgarten? (garden of lust), on the map you can find it sitting between the streets BodeStr. and Karl Liebknecht Str.

At ?Am Lustgarten? one will find a beautiful museum island containing some of Berlin’s most magnificent buildings. I find the most stunning in this area to be ?The Berlin Cathedral? (Berliner Dome) which seems to be a magnet for all the cities grey suited ravens and peppery black birds. At around sunset you can watch as thousands of these birds swim and dance a uniform swarm through the sky then in between the Cathedral spires and pre historic looking construction cranes. As darkness settles they will be hidden amongst the Linden trees in the Cathedral yard making a crazy racket. You will find many spectators standing on the BodeStr. bridge watching, perhaps  even video taping this spectacle and you may even be serenaded by someone with an accordion or some jazz guitar. If you like the song, maybe throw a coin in the hat.

Caddy-corner to the Berliner Dome is the ?Alte Museum? (Old Museum) who?s impressive steps and pillars will be crawling with an international cuisine of tourists manically coming and going. Here is where I recommend not giving any money to young people who may ask ?very convincingly? for some change. Inside this historic building lives the Egyptian Museum and the Pergamon (Ancient Greece) Museum…which you can go see for free on Thursdays between 6pm and 10pm.

I have become kind of an addict of the Berlin Egyptian Museum and can testify it is quite a breathtaking experience to look into the singe eye of Nefertiti for the first time or stroll along the scrolls and hieroglyphs of the Egyptian Netherworld. You will witness busts, sculptures, mummies, tools, masks, toys, jewelry, and even parts of a palace floor preserved in this amazing collection. Unfortunately this part of the museum will be closing February 22, 2009, so catch it while you can. Also mixing in with the Egyptian artifacts is the work of sculpture Alberto Giacometti, a Swiss artist (1901-1966) who became obsessed with the Egyptian Arts figurative form and head sculptures. His work certainly shows a unique view on reality, much like the ancient Egyptian culture.

The friends I have taken to visit the museum say they feel creatively enriched and inspired after spending an evening surrounded by such remnants of the beginning of a civilization. I can?t say much about the Pergamon just yet though, because it has taken me three visits just to digest the Egyptian galleries, but I?ll be sure to get there before February 22.

In the building are free bathrooms and coat checks which is quite helpful since it is sometimes difficult to find a place to relieve yourself while exploring a new city. There is also a cafe and a ?better than average? gift shop. Watch out not to bring your bags or loose clothing into the galleries, use your cell phones or the flash on your camera because the guards will ask you to leave.

After visiting a Museum I am usually fairly exhausted, not sure if it is the air and temperature they use to keep the artifacts from decomposing or the amount of brain power I spend reading the history of the pieces. Either way, it is tiring and can make a person hungry and thirsty, luckily just around the corner is ?Hackescher Markt? where you can relax with some wholesome German food and if you like, a Grosse glass of refreshing German beer.

If your still in the mood for some action walk a little further towards Rosenthaler Str. and you will find a great Kino and several interesting shops and cafe?s. Perhaps a watch a film to end the evening, but it might be a good idea toask first if there are any English subtitles. For more information about the Egyptian Museum visit www.egyptian-museum-berlin.com For information about Berlin Public Transportation visit BVG.de (take U-Bahn 6 for Am Lustgarten and you can also ask a Taxi about the 3 Euro Ride)

Photo of Nefertiti bust, Egyptian Museum, Berlin by okkofi

Topic:  Tips and Ideas | 2 Comments
Tags:  Art, Berlin, culture

About the author

Brandon J. Miller is a musician and traveling folk artist living in Berlin.