Alphabets Museum in Berlin – When Alphabets have History

Well many a times a word speak more than a sentence and many a times an alphabet speaks more than a word. And there are many alphabets which symbolizes and represent many things in our day-2-day life not only this modern world of shortcuts but also from the historic past. Thus some alphabets symbols have loads of stories behind to narrate. There has been many instances where an alphabet has symbolized different things in different sciences and technologies, different regions and as well in different cultures and religions.

I never realized this until recently when I found out about Alphabet Museum (Buchstaben Museum) from Berlin. After browsing thru it over the net, it indeed left me bewildered and amused at the very love for alphabets for the founders of Museum Barbara Dechant and Anja Schulze. Well, their quest to collect objects (alphabets) that carry significant meaning and their belief that modern urbanization is leading to the disappearance of these Alphabetical Semiotics has formed the foundation for the Alphabets Museum in Berlin. Kudos to both of them for their passion towards their letters.

 

U-Bahn U (Underground U)                    Einstein E

The museum is housed temporarily more like a storeroom than a showroom drawing a handful of enthusiastic visitors who heard more about this unusual museum from some news article or word of mouth and majority of them foreigners. The interesting facts that amuse the visitors are that these letters are taken out of the original context and every letter has its own emotional historic tale.

Well, I love to visit this during my next visit to Berlin. By the way there is no admission fee for this museum, it is completely free. The museum is run by the donations and memberships from the visitors. You can find more details at http://www.buchstabenmuseum.de/

Image Courtesy: http://www.buchstabenmuseum.de/

India – A Journey to the Land of Mystery and Wonders

Well, might be wondering what’s new in it, thou being a die-hard Indian, I am not going to start admiring about India here. India – A Journey to the Land of Mystery and Wonders is an exotic show currently being overwhelming the cold Germans in chilling winter.

The show is a grandeur display of Indian colors, a treat to the visitors with amazing Indian acrobatic feats like Mallakhamb, yoga contortions, fire-dance, Bollywood dance, alluring and majestic music with aesthetical ambience of a Maharaja’s Palace. Definitely it is an attempt to lead you to journey to India. The well-choreographed performances by the best show-makers in business with also a pre-show culinary treat. It indeed shall provide some respite from the most adverse winters Germany has not faced in the recent past.

India show has already made its premiere in Frankfurt from 17th December and lasted till 24 January 2010. It has already acclaimed great response from the most prominent people from Frankfurt as it did from the everyone who made their presence in the huge tent with majestic Maharaja’s ambience. The show shall continue to make its presence in other major cities of Germany. The details are as follows:

Hamburg: 28.01.2010 – 03.03.2010

Berlin: 05.03.2010 – 11.04.2010

Stuttgart: 01.07.2010 – 01.08.2010

and Austria’s Capital Vienna: 02.11.2010 – 09.11.2010

The tickets start from €29.

The India show, with its modern lights and sounds with the mix of traditional colors, shall definitely appeal to all senses. A definite glimpses of a country trying to combine high-tech with its rich cultural traditions. So don’t give a miss.

Image courtesy: http://www.india-circus.com/de/home/

Fur further details and tickets visit the official site at:

English: http://www.india-circus.com/en/home/ 

German: http://www.india-circus.com/de/home/

When the Berlin Wall Went Down

There is quite a buzz in here these days, well why not, Germany is celebrating the 20th Anniversary of "the Fall of Belin Wall". Well, may be wondering how come "The Fall of a Wall" is the mark of Celebrations.  Hmm!! it is quite a history. Well, in short, Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to separate East and Western parts of Berlin, yeah, more so ever to separate East and West Germany. The immediate effects of the building of the Wall led ot the separation of many families and also many lost jobs as borders were completely closed.

On 9th November 1989, ARD, a West German Television Channel broadcasted an incomplete information from East German Press Conference stating that the East Germany has announced  starting immediately its borders are open for everybody. Thousands of East Germans gathered at the Wall and demaded for the opening of the Gates to enter the West. No one could dare to stop and  the borders are opened and that is how the East and West are united and thousands of people gathered at the Wall started celebrations for their freedom and for their unity. Many started chipping off the Wall to break open the borders and aslo to collect the pieces of the famous Berlin Wall as memenots for their Freedum and Unity. From then 9th November is celebrated as "The Fall of the Berlin Wall or The Freedom Day"

Read more at: Berlin Wall

Berlin Wall Now and Then:

1. Branderburg Gate in June 1989 before the Fall of Berlin Wall and now the most famous tourist attraction in Berlin

 2. The Most Famous CheckPoint Charlie in Berlin Now and Then

The complete Album can be browsed here.

The 20th Anniversary celebrations have already started and on Monday, November 9, many World leaders gather at Brandenburg Gate and topple many Giant Dominoes painted by the students placed along the former path of the Berlin Wall to commemorate the "Fall of Berlin Wall".
Image Courtesy: www.spiegel.de

Nefertiti is back at its Home in Berlin after 70 years

The World's most admired statue of Nefertiti, the Queen of Egypt,  is finally back in its Neues Museum, Berlin, its original home in Germany after 70 years. The statue is 3500 years old and already has a missing eye, despite it is admired all over the world for its elegance and exact symmetry of her face and long swan-like neck.

Nefertiti was discovered in 1912 in Egypt and was brought to Neues Museum in Berlin. Due to bombings during World War II, it was moved to safety in Harz Mountains of Central Germany. After the World War, Americans seized the Bust and moved it to Frankfurt and finally ending up a Central Warehouse of Weisbaden State Museum. In 1956, it was moved back to Berlin, but not to its original home Neues Museum as it was destroyed a lot during the war. It was placed in Dahlem Museum, Berlin. In 1967, it was moved to Egytian Museum at Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin. It was also moved to Berlin's ultramodern Postdamer Platz and then to Altes Musuem of Berlin before it reached back to its renovated Neues Museum.

Neues Museum is open for public and hopefully we dont want to miss the chance of marvelling the beauty of Nefertiti once we visit Berlin again.
http://www.neues-museum.de/

Image Courtesy: www.spiegel.de

Third October - Germany Reunification Day - Re-enacting Reunification using Puppets

3rd October is celebrated as "Tag Der Deutschen Einheit", German Reunification Day. On 3rd October 1990 East Germany has been reunited with West Germany and marked the fall of famous Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer) which separated East and West Germany.

18 years now yet there are vast differences in East and Western parts of Federal Republic of Germany. The East complaints about the indifferences showed by West and West complaints about too much favoritism showed towards East. Western Germans shell about 5.5 % of Solidarity surcharge towards taxes on their income to support the development of East Germany. Offlate there has been quite a lot of frustration both in East and West for their own differences (economic crisis could also be a factor). Well, still it is an open question, were the East and the West prepared for re-unification? Definitely it does take time for both the parts to be perfectly re-united given that they give-up their differences and change their attitudes towards each other.

This year, to mark the re-unification celebrations, a spectacular Puppet parade re-enacting the reunification has been led thru the streets of Berlin. One puppet, 5.5mts height and 800 kgs has been efficintly controlled and made not only to walk but ride scooter and a boat. One other puppet, 9.5mts height and 2.5 tons has been depicted as a deep-sea diver.

The two puppets depict the following tale: Terrible events have torn a city in two and caused one part of the city to be walled in. The big puppet is stuck in the west of the city, and the smaller one in the east. The big puppet drags a dormant geyser along the riverbed and places it under a wall. Then it ignites the geyser to let it break down the city's barrier and allow the puppets to reunite.

The puppets are made so realistic and very efficiently enacted with emotions too. Watch the vidoes:
Video 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnP-CyfUuxo

Video 2:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1jQcVfwnyg

Image Courtesy and Excerpts from: www.spiegel.de