Berlin- Day 2

The Alte National Galerie -- what a great museum! Even the building itself was a piece of art -- with the elongated columns, impecable detailing alongside the rooftop, and a beautiful statue in the front --- the building reflected a sense of grandiosity. Entering the museum and browsing the artwork was incredible. One of my favorite art pieces was Claude Monet's Saint-Germain-L'Auxerrois. It was interesting learning that Monet painted this piece from one of the wings of the Louvre. Since Monet painted this piece from an elevated height, it was difficult for him to decipher certain details and therefore the townspeople are represented moreso as daubs and the trees' leaves resemble green splotches.Originally, this artpiece was not accepted by the public due to its impressionist style, but was later an inspiration for other impressionist artists. With hallways upon hallways of wonderful artwork, I wish we could have stayed longer at the museum.

Next up was taking Berliner Unterwelten E.V.'s tour of 'Breaching the Berlin Wall.' It was fascinating walking down tunnels and learning the various mechanisms in which East Berliners would escape to West Berlin such as traveling through subways and sewers as well as climbing out of windows and down buildings that faced West Berlin. However, each of these escape routes was discovered by soldiers who then created additional obstacles such as covering the floor with spikes to prevent "Ossies" from reaching the subway or covering windows with bricks to ensure townspeople couldn't jump out to the West. Another escape mechanism included digging escape tunnels (most of the these tunnels were dug by "Wessies" from West Berlin to East Berlin). One of the tunnels was built from West Berlin to a grave yard in East Berlin. Therefore, during planned escape times, "Wessies" advised the "Ossies" to dress in formal Sunday attire and pretend as if they were visiting a family member's grave. Once the guards weren't looking, the "Ossies" would jump into a particular grave, which was the entrance for the escape tunnel. This was one of the most successful tunnels. Unfortunately, one day a woman was hoping to escape with her baby, but left her baby carriage by the tombstone, which attracted attention from soldiers and they eventually discovered the graveyard entrance. (Note: No photos for this section since they weren't allowed on the tour)

It was a really exciting day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow!