There are a number of different discounted options to visit the museums in Berlin, and I chose to go with the 1 day Musuem Island pass - allowing me access to any of the 5 museums listed on Musuem Island.
The only catch is that because of pandemic times, admission is only by timed entry, so I had to book a time slot to each musuem before hand.
My plan was to enter one of the museums at opening time and cover the key ones which include Neues Museum, Pergamon Musuem, Bode Musuem and Das Panorama, with timings secured for 10am, 1pm, 4.15pm and 5.15pm respectively.
Also, with current covid measurements, only vaccinated and those recently recovered from Covid are allowed entry. I showed my Singapore vaccination to enter Neues Musuem, which I got in without any issues.
The Neues Museum (translated New Musuem) was built between 1843 and 1855 to house exhibits that could not fit in the Altes (old) Musuem. The musuem displays artefacts from the Egyptian Musuem and Papyrus collection, Musuem of Prehistory and Early History and the Collection of Classical Antiquities.
I was mostly interested in the Egyptian part of the exhibits, which includes images of royalty, burial chambers, the book of the dead and the world-famous bust of Nefertiti (photos are not allowed).
Other key exhibits in this museum includes the Berlin Green Head (sculptured out of a single green stone) and the Berlin Golden Hat.
I was done by 12noon, took a quick packed lunch and decided to try my luck with Altes National Gallery, which was located just next door, and got a time slot online for 12.30pm. It looked small enough to be able to visit quite quickly before my next timed slot for Pergamon.
However, the security at Altes National Gallery refused my Singapore vaccination cert, even though I shared that I was earlier admitted to Neues Musuem without any issues. He said I would have to go to the pharmacy to get my vaccination cert converted to an EU vaccination cert with a readable QR code.
Being annoyed with the recent constant requests for EU vaccination cert, I decided to walk to the pharmacy at Alexander Platz to get an EU vaccination cert, which was about a 10 mins walk away. However when I got there, I was outrightly refused to be given a cert, as they insisted that I needed to be a resident of Germany.
I made my way back to Musuem Island, pretty upset I had made a wasted trip. Instead of going back to Altes National Gallery, I made my way to the Pergamon Musuem, as it was approaching my booked time slot. Again, I was admitted without an issue with my Singapore vaccination cert.
The Pergamon Musuem houses three collections of the Staatloche Museen zu Berlin: portions of the Collection of Classical Antiquities, Musuem of the Ancient Near East and Musuem for Islamic Art.
The key attractions here are the Market Gate of Miletus from the time around 100 AD, the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way from Babylon.
There were also a few impressive Islamic replicas, such as the Alhambra Dome, Mshatta Façade, and the Aleppo Room.
I was done way ahead of schedule, having finished by about 3pm, so I decided to go back to Altes National Gallery and give them a piece of my mind.
Again, the security refused my entry despite me explaining that I had already gone to the pharmacy and I was refused a cert. The security suggested I speak to his manager.
Manager : We can only allow you in if we can read your QR code, it's mandatory in Berlin.
Me : I've already been able to go into the Neues and Pergamon earlier today with my SG vacc cert. I even went into your Bundestag (parliament) and they allowed me in with this.
Manager : I don't know how the Bundestag allowed you in.
Me : Just like I am explaining to you now, they allowed me in because I didn't get vaccinated in EU and thus don't have an EU cert. I had already gone to the pharmacy and they would not give me one.
Manager : We can't let you in unless you have a readable QR code. You can go to the pharmacy at Hackerscher Market, we have sent a number of people there and they were all able to get an EU cert.
Seeing that I didn't have a choice, I walked to the pharmacy, even more annoyed about the whole process.
I explained the situation to the pharmacy staff and showed my digital cert and how I was sent by the museum, and that I was refused entry unless I have an EU cert. The staff at the pharmacy originally said she can't issue me one, unless I have a physical copy of my cert that had been signed and stamped by someone. Thankfully she was sympathetic to my plight and said she will ask her manager.
After about 5 mins of waiting, the staff asked to look at my cert again and started typing some things on her computer. The next thing I knew, I was given 2 print outs with EU vaccination cert written on it, and each with a QR code - each print out being for my 2 different jabs respectively. Finally after all the drama!
I realised after this whole saga, there's a lot of double standards - had a similar saga when it came to purchasing a prepaid mobile card in Germany. It all depends on the individual and how nice they are?
I am thankful I found a pharmacist that was sympathetic to my cause This will certainly make my life easier with venue entries and for eating out going forward.
I headed back to the Alte National Gallery with my new EU vaccination cert and went in without a hitch. But because of all the time wasted, I now only had 30 minutes to quickly view the art work. Given more time, I would had love to get an audio guide (included for free with admission to any of the museums) and better understand the background behind some of the art work and the artists.
The collection ranges from early Neo-classical and Romantic works to the Impressionist school, including art from Claude Monet and an extensive range from Adolph Menzel, Max Liebermann and Caspar David Friedrich.
Bode Musuem was built at the tip of the Museum Island between 1897 and 1904.
It contains a number of European sculptures and paintings, and also a lot of coin collections and medallions from the beginning of minting in 7th century BC to Euro of present day.
I have to be honest, I didn't really pay too much attention to their collection, because I was more interested in the architecture of the building.
I also realised there were alot of sculptures that were commonly used in decorating churches, cathedrals and niches, including numerous Virgin and child art work from Donatello.
The other exhibit that caught my attention was the Merseburg Mirror Cabinet. It was created in the period of 1712-1715, from the late baroque and rococo era.
My last stop was the Das Panorama, a 360° panorama by Yadegar Asisi, offering a full circle view of the Graeco-Roman city of Pergamon.
This is a temporary exhibition which is expected to be in place till at least 2025, while the section containing the actual Roman Pergamon Altar, whose sculpted fieze depicts the battle between gods and giants, undergoes renovation at the Pergamon Musuem.
The 360° panorama takes us back to the year 129 AD and the festival of the god Dionysos, the day on which the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the city.
The building also housed a number of sculptures that would had surrounded the altar to give a sense of what we may see once the renovations at Pergamon is complete.
The musuems closed promptly at 6pm. The only musuem I didn't get to visit was Alte Musuem.
Also the other noteworthy building on Museum Island was the Berlin Cathedral. A beautiful building which seemed to be undergoing some renovations. There is a fee to go in, and thus chose not to visit the inside.
The day hasn't ended for me, as I was going to be catching "ARISE" at Friedrichstadt-Palast in a couple hours and made my way to get a quick dinner at a nearby German restaurant (Boulevard Friedrichstraße).
Besides their normal menu, they also had a winter seasonal menu with a number of interesting items, and I picked this one Würziger Hirschgulasch - Marinated Venison Goulash in red wine and mushroom sauce, with apple and red cabbage and Spaetzle (noodles).
Yum!
No comments:
Post a Comment