Becoming a Jelly Donut
Bambino and I are very excited to be heading over to Berlin this coming Sunday. It will be, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit, my first trip. I've been all through the Western side of Deutschland, but never to its largest city.While there, we will of course be visiting Artforum Berlin and trying to see as many museums and kindred galleries as we can (we've already recieved kind invites from Feinkost and Exile). We are also attending the opening of the ever-delightful Joyce Pensato at Capitain Petzel on Monday.
We'd love to hear from anyone in Berlin, or those who know the place, on which places not to miss or which new galleries to be sure to check out. Unfortunately, our time for studio visits will most likely be extremely limited (we're traveling with some dear friends from London who will not appreciate my abandoning them for too long). Still, any info on good Artforum or related parties (which I'm sure they'll enjoy) will be most welcome.
Labels: Berlin
posted by Edward_ at
6:36 AM
17 Comments:
leah stuhltrager and gang are opening their first east/west exhibition this weekend in Berlin. looks pretty amazing.
http://www.damstuhltrager.com/east_west/east_west_exhibit_sept.html
Let's hear it for Joyce!
No reason to be embarrassed that I can see. It's not as if you're saying you never visited the MoMA. I was there (Berlin, not the MoMA) for about 4 days in 2002, which was not nearly enough time, but since I wasn't paying much attention to galleries at that stage of my life I can't say anything about that. Berlin is a big, sprawling city, but the two main centers for museums are the Museuminsel, where you'll find the Pergamon Museum and the Cathedral (Dom), and the Kulturforum, which has the Gemäldegalerie and the Philharmonie (but I checked and the Berlin Philharmonic is not playing there your week). The Pergamon and Gemäldegalerie were the two most impressive museums I saw, but the Jewish Museum is also supposed to be worth seeing though I couldn't fit it in. I found a visit to the dome of the Reichstag interesting too, and the Brandenburg Gate is in that area. I also took a side trip to Potsdam to see Frederick the Great's palace, and that was well worth seeing.
Ed,
I'm envious. Berlin is one of my favorite cities. In addition to all the galleries, which I'm sure you've got covered, allow me to recommend a great restaurant. Schneeweiss in Friedrichshain.
http://www.schneeweiss-berlin.de/schneeweiss.html
Simply wonderful (and primarily vegetarian)
I should also mention: the image in your post is of the TV tower in the Berlin Alexanderplatz, which is the tallest freestanding structure in Europe west of the former Soviet Union, and is well worth a visit. You can ride up to the top and there is a revolving restaurant giving panoramic views of the city.
And BTW, jelly donut jokes notwithstanding, I am informed by the Internet that JFK's use of the phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner" was, in context, the proper and grammatical way for him to refer to himself as a citizen of Berlin. (Query "Berliner jelly doughnut" via Google for proof.)
Ed,
Your "jelly donut" reference was over my romance-language head. (Thanks, Larry, for the explication. My only immersion in German is, stragely, on Ischia, where the official language is Italian but the tourist language is German. No mention, though of Berliners, doughy or otherwise)
Bambino,
I hope we can expect some Seen and Heard from you. There's a Berlin trip in my future, and I want to be prepared.
Gute Reise!
I find it VERY interesting that you would choose to flee to Berlin so soon after Glenn Beck's rant.
Hamburger Bahnhof usually has interesting exhibitions. Potsdam is beautiful, and if you have time to go a bit off the beaten track, have a look at Spreepark,on the outskirts of Berlin. It's a slowly decaying amusement park in Plänterwald. I haven't been there in a couple of years but from what I've heard it hasn't changed much - ferris wheel, busted dinosaurs and rides just slowly rotting away in the middle of the forest:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=spreepark
I find it VERY interesting that you would choose to flee to Berlin so soon after Glenn Beck's rant.
LOL
the Hamburger Bahnhof (contemporary art museum) is excellent and close to many of the Mitte galleries.
Ubiquitous, excellent, and cheap Turkish food.
A great city...
enjoy boys
Nationalgalerie
casper david friedrich room
franklin
In Mitte, eat dinner at Madchen Italiener (on Alte Schonhauser Str). There's also a really good Vietnamese place across the street (forget the name).
Get away from the crowd for a bit at the Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum der Charité (medical curiosities, like the Mutter Museum in Philly...only 10x better). Plus, it's in walking distance of Hamburger Bahnhof (contemporary art museum). There's cheap noodles (first floor) and good ice cream sundaes (second floor) in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof train station when you're done.
Best art book store EVER EVER EVER at Martin-Gropius-Bau. Set yourself a strict spending limit before you go or you'll be feeling the next Visa bill. Seriously.
God, I miss Berlin!
I loved Berlin! No art suggestions I'm afraid but it is a very cycle-friendly city (you can even take the bikes on the public transport like trolleys and trains). When I went we rented bikes for a whole week and it was a great way to see everything. There are also excellent bike tours on a variety of themes.
Definitely make sure you venture to the old east side, it's far more interesting with a lot of artistic developments and communities. And just generally has a fantastic atmosphere to it! We stayed in Prenzlauerberg which was the perfect starting off point each day.
Prenzlauer Berg is a great place to start exploring the city. People are friendly (not too much Berliner Schnauze ;) to be found there). there are some galleries and lots of little mom and pop stores and decent restaurants.
Here is a museum guide from the city of Berlin, that can help you plan out your days: http://www.berlin.de/museumsfuehrer.en/
I like the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum simply because a bit more unique thing to see in Berlin.
I think the Emerging Art Fair is also going on while you are there, as an alternative to the Art Forum show. But i have no clue what the quality of the work will be.
Schoene Reise, Herr Winkelman & Signore Bambino :)
You've got to go by the Paris Bar, this is the joint where Kippenberger held court and is still the artist hang-out in town. Great place to network with other dealers and the mucky muck uber artists. Watch out, cause the Germans know how to drink.
Ahh Berlin Berlin..my favourite city. I'm not living in Berlin,(no decent jobs in Berlin for struggling artists) but, Frankfurt. I do know Berlin very well though.
The biggest Gallery is CFA. Contemporary Fine Arts and its one of the best. Haunch of Venison near the main train station is worth a look and theres a cluster of Galleries around that area.
Heaps of Galleries around 'Mitte' and the Auguststrasse as it is still the traditional Gallery district. Eigen+Art (Neo Rauch and the leipziger school etc.) are located there.
Going out in Berlin is fabulous, dirt cheap, open all night, and an anything goes mentallity but with hardly any hectic or snobbery.
Have fun.
If a Berliner is a jelly donut, what's a Leipziger?
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