Visit to Berlin!

Over the past few days, I've been in the beautiful city of multicultural Berlin, Germany.

So far I am really enjoying myself as I feel that travel broadens the mind, and creates inspiration.

Flying over the Netherlands.

I am hoping that whilst on the trip, it will inspire me to come up with a possible proposed project for my new negotiated brief, which is where I have the freedom and flexibility to come up with my own brief, and persue it when receiving the green light to go by Ben and Amy.

I will show a few places that I have been to on the trip, and I will talk about the most important parts for me, in relation to gathering inspiration for my new module.
The first set of images found below, contain photos from around the area of the Berlin wall, which is a big part of tourism, and culture in Berlin, as the structure divided the nation for many decades after WWII.
After this set, more photos are featured, going over art galleries, Berlin architecture, and my time on the U-Bahn.


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Berlin Wall

The Berlin wall was constructed in 1961 by the soviets, and divided Germany between the Communist East, and the Capitalist West, after the chaotic event of WWII.
When the Russian Red army stormed Berlin in 1945, they agreed to joint military control of Berlin with American, French, and English forces, which helped to spark the cold war.

A large concrete wall was soon constructed by the communist East, due to mass migration of East Berliners crossing freely into the West, making the East's numbers dwindle.
The wall acted as a way to permanently divide the country into East, and West, helping to control the population of the East primarily.

The wall collapsed in 1989, after a string of tense protests brought the wall toppling over.
The soviet union collapsed soon after, in 1991, and these events brought the era of the divide to an end.

Crossing into East Berlin from the West.

Wall on the West Side.

Side by side view of the wall, with the left and right side being the East, and West respectively.

My hand on the concrete Berlin Wall.

Autobahn sign in West Berlin.

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Deutsch Bahn Rail

The German rail network features a vast series of tracks, and connections spanning a large portion of the main city, and connects many commuters together, both above, and below ground.
It holds a lot of similarity to the London Underground network.

It helped me get all around the vast city over the course of my visit, and I found it to be very efficient and well scheduled and organised.

Haupt Bahnhof, the central hub for me, very close to my hostel.

A train station located underground under the financial district.

A timetable, containing multiple destinations, and lines.

Café/train station.

Deutsch Bahn Insignia.

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Art

Whilst in Berlin, I attended many trips to different artistic galleries, and exhibits, which I will display below.
Art made up a large portion of my visit, of course with me being an art student.

I visited such great galleries such as the Pergamon, with its wartime wounds on the exterior of the amazing building, and the Gemaldegalerie, which houses a wealth of renaissance, and modern art under one giant roof.

Bullet holes found on the old Pergamon structure.

Roy Litchenstien

Andy Warhol.

Strange exhibit containing 30 year old slabs of fat.

Some Renaissance art inside the Gemaldegalerie

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Berlin Zoological Gardens

Whilst in the lovely city of Berlin, I went to the famous zoo, which was located in the zoo district named Zoological Garden.

A lot of the exhibits were closed, but the aquarium made up for the closure of the zoo.

I was amazed by the beautiful assortment of different animals located in the zoo, and I am very happy that I had the opportunity to go.

Animals are my strong point when it comes to illustration, so I naturally gravitate toward thinking I could do something containing the themes of animals/nature.


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Architecture

One of the things that I was really blown away by on my visit, was the architecture of Berlin.
The majority of buildings were on a grand scale, with a mixture of old, and modern styles.

The visual differences between East and West Berlin are amazing, as the photos below will display.

West Berlin

East Berlin

East Berlin

West Berlin

West Berlin.

Overall I really enjoyed my visit to this amazing city, and country.
I hope to return one day, but in the meantime, I will be enjoy the rest of my time here, and looking at my photos once I return, trying to gather more inspiration.












Thomas.