A Rainy Day in ....Berlin, Germany
Best known as the city divided after the Second World War… by the conquerors, by doctrine and by a big ugly wall designed to keep the residents on the East from defecting to the West, Berlin is doing its best to regain its pre-war position as an international capitol. Revamped palaces, shiny new world-class museums, architecture from the middle ages through the iron curtain to the new age, clubbing from funky to chic to A-list-only and of course plenty for shoppers from come-as-you-are outdoor flea markets to look-but-don’t-touch designer boutiques.
Sitting outside in a Biergarten, dining at an outdoor restaurant on the Gendarmemarkt, a river cruise on the Spree or a walking tour of the historic Nikolei Quarter are all great things to do in Berlin on a clear day. But with an average of 13 days of rain per month, there’s a good chance that if you stay a couple days in Berlin you might run into a few showers.
Kayte Deioma
The Reichstag, the German Bundestag or parliament building, is an architectural and environmental wonder, rain or shine. On a sunny day, the wait to get into the Reichstag to visit the dome can be over an hour. This may be due as much to the time it takes to get through security and the limited capacity of the elevators as much as the occupancy limits of the dome itself. In any case, rain significantly shortens the wait, making this a good opportunity to visit the Reichstag Dome.
Full story...
story and photos by
Kayte Deioma
Ok. I admit that I can be a bit of a cultural heathen when it comes to visiting the museums of the world…mostly because it means spending the day inside when I want to be out exploring. I traveled to Berlin with my friend Julie Bartolotto, the executive director of the Historical Society of Long Beach, who is in the process of planning a permanent home for the Society’s historical collection…a museum. Of course she wants to look at museums, so what can I do? Pray for rain so I won’t feel bad about being inside!
The universe obligingly provides the precipitation, so the next hard decision is which museums to visit. There are multiple history museums to choose from as well as a panoply of art and culture museums. My interest is sparked by the Story of Berlin museum, which will take us from the city’s inception through it’s times of prosperity, turmoil, division, and reunification up to the present day. If we only get one rainy day, then at least we’ll have an overview of the city’s history.
Full story...
story and photos by Kayte Deioma
My friends in Berlin have a “been there, done that” attitude about many of the tourist attractions in the city. Not so the Jewish Museum. Even though she’d been there before, my friend Renate is willing to take a day off work to accompany Julie and me to this relatively recent addition to the Berlin museum scene.
The Holocaust is generally the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of Jewish history in Germany, and I’m not always in the right frame of mind to re-visit that chapter. Renate assures me that this is just a small part of the many centuries of customs and contributions covered by the Jewish Museum Berlin. It's raining...the preferred weather for visiting dark subjects.
. Full story...
There are more Boston rainy day options on the Berlin Links page
