This is Not Your Grandmother's Museum

When we visited the Jewish Museum in Berlin, I was struck by the fact the the way we visit a museum today has drastically changed from the stuffy and staid experiences of the past.

There is a movement towards architecture as an integral part of the experience. I think I first noticed this at the Tate Modern in London, and most recently at the deYoung in San Francisco. The buildings are no longer just a backdrop for the exhibits, but an experience in and of themselves. Daniel Liebskind has taken this one step further by using archictecture to evoke emotion directly tied to the subject matter, in this case the Holocaust, and then the history of Judaism.

On the Lower Level, you enter into a structure of intersecting angles and tilted planes. It immediately makes you feel ungrounded and a little strange.

Behind a large door is the Holocaust Tower, a 24-meter high space lit only by natural light, and unheated. Inside, staring at the high ceiling, in the cold and unadorned room, you get a sense of hopelessness and the futile feeling of entrapment. A tall steel ladder on the wall reaches high up, but ends without reaching the top. There are small glimmers of light above and peeking through holes in the wall, but the room is mostly dark, and even when there are people in there, you feel alone. You can hear people outside, but they seem very far away.


Outside is an installation called the Garden of Exile. 49 concrete columns are filled with earth and arranged on a slanted floor. As you walk through and around them, you occasionally see another person, which can be startling. Even though you are outside, it does not feel any more liberating than the tower, especially viewing the green branches which loom high above.

The other Holocaust installation that was very unique was by Menashe Kadisman, called "Shalechet". Approaching the exhibit, you hear loud clanking sounds, almost like a hammer on a metal surface - but they are irregular sounds. You enter into a large open room and see people walking on what appears to be metal disks.

When you get closer, you realize that the discs are actually abstract faces. In order to walk in the room, you have to walk on them. And when they touch each other, the metal upon metal makes a clanking sound. This was more powerful to me than looking at photograph upon photograph of concentration camp victims. It gave me a more personal connection to the vast numbers of people lost in the war, and brought to mind the question, "How could this happen?" in a much more profound way that in ever had before.


On the other two floors, there is a history of Judaism, which is also very interactive, which is definitely a trend in museums today. We live in a world of constant change and stimulus, this type of viewing is not only to keep the kids ADD in check, it works the same way for the adults. What you come away with a very individual experience and a sense of having participated in the subject matter rather than just having it shown or dictated to you. For me, this will stay with me for a very long time.

When in Berlin

Before we left, I looked at the travel section of the New York Times online for information on the cities we would be visiting on this trip. They have a series of articles called "36 Hours in [insert name of city here]" which is great - highlighting the best hot spots and giving real (not guidebook) descriptions of them. We consulted the article on Berlin to find a restaurant for dinner last night, and it worked out really well - we were in a completely non-touristy neighborhood in a great restaurant that was incredibly reasonable and offered a very tasty menu. And it was not translated into German, so our waiter kindly went through ever dish and described them in detail.

Here are a few photos from Schneewiess, in the Friedrichshain district (similar to the Lower East Side in NYC). I highly recommend it and will definitely return there on my next visit to Berlin.

Tag, You're It

As in most cities in Europe these days, there is a fair amount of grafitti around town, especially in the artists' districts. Here are some of the best ones I have seen this trip, mostly from Mitte, near where we are staying.

That's my brother Jonn with the Bunny-lady, who we have seen in several cities now.

Have We Met Before?

Arriving in Berlin is like meeting a new best friend. You know that you instantly value the same things, and you don't feel like you have to prove anything to each other. There is an instant comfort level there that can sustain passionate conversation or long moments of silence.

Everything is straightforward in this city, which is such a refreshing change from other cities that seem to put forward such an opulent facade that you have to dig to find the heart and soul of the culture. Not so Berlin. From the architecture, to the fashion to the attitudes of the people, everything is minimal with an equal dose of form and function. The past and the present seem to sit with each other very respectfully, neither one vying for center stage. There is beauty and elegance for sure, but none of it seems gratuitous or misplaced.

One thing that I really love is the architecture. I have not been in a city with so much contemporary architecture on such a wide scale, and I love it. Most of it is very linear using materials and colors that both contrast and compliment each other.

Berlin is huge, 8 times the size of Paris. With only 2 full days here, we will not be able to explore all of it. But I will be back to visit this new friend again, and I am looking forward to a lifetime of getting to know one another.