Following the tour, I returned to the center to bike and do a core workout - still hesitant to stress my heels too much - made dinner, and returned home.
Today was pretty school-oriented: German final presentation on the Jüdisches Museum, a mock interview with Cemile, Econ presentations, and an E40 review session. Then a few of us went over to Lulu's for the evening to hang out.
As a Friday, class started at 10, and when Jochen still wasn't here by 10:20, we surmised that he'd forgotten and would arrive at 11:15 like usual. It was sad to have only a short time with him on our last day, but we saved enough time to celebrate with champagne on the balcony! Then we had our end-of-quarter Bing lunch at Alter Krug, an old restaurant with typical German fare. We were honored with the presence of our other program benefactor, George Will, and a few of us were fortunate enough to speak with him and seek his advice for how to live successfully and happily (find something you enjoy doing and feel good about). After filling myself from the delicious buffet of schnitzel, fish, vegetables, scrumptious crumb cake with berry sauce, I went home and napped, ran, then headed to Zixiang's with Tim and Allison for the evening.
Sat 16.3.13:
Zixiang and I got to Charlottenburg Schloss by 11 and meandered through the palace, marveling at the ostentatious displays of wealth and status. Grand collections of table settings intricately lined with designs of royal scenes, exquisite vases and mirrored cabinets, and pieces of jewelry from the royal party. All of this was just stunning; trying to imagine living like this on a daily basis, Zixiang and I figured we'd make it at most a couple weeks before reverting to our current lifestyles.
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| In front of the palace |
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| Elephants, obelisks, and other beauties - all for the daily spread! |
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| Zixiang and the royal ornamental helm |
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| The royal sceptre - featuring a gem-studded Prussian eagle |
We snagged lunch at the Moroccan place near our houses, and then walked to Arena Berlin for the King Tut exhibit! Although the entrance was rather janky - it was near a massive flea market (we explored inside, and came across tons of antique furniture and electronics - lots of fun to rummage around) and in an actual warehouse - for such a wonderful exhibit, the items on display truly were incredible.
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| The exterior of King Tutankhamun's vault |
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| Winged guardians on the side of one of the inner sarcophagi |
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| Detail on another sarcophagus - hieroglyphics and various gods |
The exhibit began with a room-by-room audio tour that explained the history of the find - how this dig was Howard Carter's last, his subsequent struggle with authorities for ownership, and the curse of the Pharaoh - and displayed careful reconstructions (based on Carter's meticulous notes) of how the tomb appeared when Carter's team entered it.
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| The immense outer sarcophagus containing King Tut's body |
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| The first and second interior sarcophagi |
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| The innermost sarcophagi |
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| The famous head of King Tutankhamun |
After the reconstructions, we entered the rooms with the actual items. I was utterly taken with the level of intricacy on the sarcophagi, and peered extensively at the inlays of Egyptian gods and goddesses as well as hieroglyphics. Then of course were the body-shaped sarcophagi, each one just as impressive as the previous one. Throughout the entire exhibit, I couldn't help but be amazed at the amount of gold present and the level of intricacy - how indeed was this ancient civilization so talented at craftsmanship?!
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| More treasures - jackal, cow, and female figure |
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| Intricate pendants and medallions also surrounded the tomb |
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| Defenders of the realm |
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| The young Pharaoh's chariot, shields, and other accoutrements |
The final rooms displayed the numerous guardian figurines within the tomb, from the large godlike deities to the human soldiers with weapons. I recognized several of the godlike figures (thank you, Age of Mythology!) and once again, was impressed with the intricate details and nearly tangible sensation of immeasurable wealth. We saw King Tut's canopic jars, several items from the royal court such as the royal chariot and the Pharaoh's rod and staff, and even a few of Howard Carter's original sketches and drawings! Overall, Zixiang and I were very impressed with the exhibit. After such a long day, though, I didn't have the energy to do anything else but return home, blog, and sleep.
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| Very apt picture for where we went and what we saw today! |
Sun 17.3.13:
After our E40 review session (Keziah brought a sandwich into the room, and Timur declared "NO! … Well, I think I will be okay - I had a strong breakfast."), Shane and I headed to Mauerpark for the Sunday flea market. We enjoyed some live music and then browsed the kilometer-long rows of stalls. Lots of fun T-shirt designs, figurines made of resistors (we nearly bought one for Timur), old electronics and music, and intermittent food stalls. We ran into Anna and then wandered to the part of Bernauer Straße where a portion of the Berlin Wall still stands as a memorial. I'd missed this Berlin vor Ort field trip, so I was glad for the opportunity to peer through the slits in the memorial into no-man's land and see the guard towers as well as see the extension of rebarb wires standing along the street and the park memorial.
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| Jammin' in the park! |
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Intermingling of new and old:
TV Tower and a pylon from the Wall |
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| One of the watchtowers in no-man's land |
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| A trip down history lane |
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Touching history - a remaining segment
of the Berlin Wall |
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| A massive outdoor elevated playground |
Then, after a glimpse of Mount Mitte - a large jungle gym with old tires and a few East Berlin Trabants - we grabbed Mustafa's (even though it was freezing!) and then went home to study for our finals.
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