I decided to make good use of my Friday off. I was originally planning to head over the the Neues Museum first, but it was an absolutely gorgeous day! The weather wasn't frigid and the sun was shining so I decided to go to the zoo instead. Its actually really close to my flat. (Maybe a 15 minute walk) I paid my 12 euros to get in and the first thing that struck me, was that this was no American zoo. Hardly any of the animals were in cages. Most of them were only separated from the people by hand rails and a ditch (Even animals like bears, rhinos and elephants.) Had any of those animals reallllly wanted to get out or had I been a stupid American and tried to climb in, it would have been quite easy. I have some picture evidence. (that would be a rhinoceros you see in the pic)
This zoo was wonderful. They had lots and lots of animals and the lack of cages made it feel very free. Hardly any of the animals seemed bored or distressed (there were only a few doing the neurotic pacing, which you see in the not-so-good-zoos)
I made some new friends while there. My new second favorite animal (right after the great white shark, which will always be no. 1) is the kookaburra, an Australian bird. I was looking into their bird cage and didn't see anything for a few minutes until five of them come darting out of the inside part of their enclosure. One of then perched on an eye level branch and stared right at me. We stood there for a few minutes while I took pictures and they ruffled their feathers and stared. I'm not sure whether they decided they liked me or hated me but all of a sudden they all break into this kookaburra shrieking which a REALLY loud staccato noise. The best part is near the end of their call, it really sounds like they are laughing. And its such an infectious sound that me, and the old German mane next to me, both start giggling. I love the pictures, I took of them. They all look so indignant.
I also loved the mongooses (mongeese?? haha) I had never seen them before. They look slightly squirrel-ish (like maybe a cross between a squirrel and a meerkat) They are so quick and cute and they can scale straight up walls.
I think I spent almost 3 hours in the zoo, and I know I missed a few animals including the aquarium (which cost extra, boo). By this time my feet were starting to hurt so I found my way back to the S-bahn and headed to the Neues Museum.
This museum was another fascinating one. The majority of their exhibits are Ancient Egyptian but there are a few medieval, Assyrian, Ancient European and other stuff around. The building itself is also a work of art. It was a museum before WWII but only parts of it were left standing after the bombing. Instead of knocking the rest down, they decided to fill in bits and work around the old building. As a result there are modern touches like glass ceilings and beautiful concrete walls mixed in with old brick and marble staircases. It's lovely.
The Ancient Egyptian exhibits were wonderful and I saw a few of the pieces that I had studied in my art history classes. Including the bust of Nefertiti. There is a whole room devoted to her bust and unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures of her. (which is irritating in my opinion. I can take pictures of everything else as long as I don't use my flash. The click of my camera is not going to hurt it.)
The very top floor of the museum is devoted to the the ancient history of Berlin. I looked at stone and bronze age weapons and implements. There was this wax life size figure of a cave man guy, that scared the crap out of me. I wandered over, not sure if he was a fake, or one of those exhibits that you think are fake and then you realize its a real person. It was definitely fake but he was totally staring at me with one really angry eye and it kinda freaked me out...
By the time I left the Museum it was starting to get dark so I scrounged up some dinner and headed back to the flat.
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