Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin

Between the river Spree and Kupfergraben is the world-famous Museum Island. It is the home to superöative art collections vialling those of the Louvre in Paris (France), the Uffizio in Florence (Italy) or even the State Museum in St. PÜetersburg (Russia)

There is an extensive restaurantion going on and it will take possibly years for all the works of art to be back on their original locations, which the war and the subsequent partition of the city had dispersed.

The Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) shows ancient oriental treasures on a 2000 square metres exibition field. You can easily spend a whole day descovering the superb collection including the Pergamon Altar and the Ischtar Gate.

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Reconstructed Greek ruins within a museum. With a 3 day tour pass, entry is free which includes an audio guide. There are Persian Pillars which are fascinating; and there are mythological stones arranged in a story format that are interesting.

We didn't visit the Bodemuseum: in fact, it was impossible to do it, because it has been closed since 1999. It is said to reopen in 2006, most probably in June, after a deep renovation. It will house the Coin Collection, the Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art. But in spite of not having seen its treasures, Bodemuseum is my favourite building in Museuminsel. You can enjoy a beautiful sight of this neo-baroque building and its dome from Friedrichstrasse.
No visitamos el Bode: de hecho, era imposible hacerlo, porque ha estado cerrado desde 1999. Dicen que volvera a abrir en 2006, probablemente en junio, despues de una profunda renovacion. Alojara la Coleccion de Monedas, la Coleccion de Escultura y el Museo de Arte Bizantino. Pero a pesar de no haber visto sus tesoros, el Bode es mi edificio favorito en Museuminsel. Puedes disfrutar de una preciosa vista de este edifcio neobarroco y de su cupula desde Friedrichstrasse.

The other highlight in Pergamonmuseum is Ishtar Gate. Beautiful is the word to describe it. The bricks are amazing, so colourful... It is much better that it appear at the picture: it has a volume dimension which can't be perceived by looking at the photo.
La otra gran atraccion del Pergamonmuseum es la Puerta de Ishtar. Hermosa es la palabra para describirla. Los ladrillos son sorprendentes, tan coloridos... Es mucho mejor de lo que aparece en la imagen: tiene un juego de volumenes construido con los propios ladrillos que no se puede percibir mirando la foto.

This beautifully done temple-like building, with a monumental exterior staircase was opened at 1876. Seriously damaged during Second World War, although it has been reconstructed on two phases: first, after 1948, and recently, at nineties. It presently houses one of the largest collections of XIXth century picture and sculpture in Germany. It has a good display of Impresionist pictures (Degas, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir...) and some Rodin sculptures. German painters are, of course, thoroughly represented.
Este bonito edificio en forma de templo, con una monumental escalinata exterior fue abierto en 1876. Sufrio serios danhos en la Segunda Guerra Mundia, aunque ha sido reconstruido en dos fases: primero, en 1948, y mas recientemente, en la decada de los noventa. Actualmente alberga una de las mas grandes colecciones de pintura y escultura del siglo XIX de Alemania. Tiene una buena cantidad de cuadros impresionistas (Degas, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir...) y algunas esculturas de Rodin. Por supuesto, los pintores alemanas estan extensamente representados en este museo.

You enter the East Orient Collection through a huge impressive hall: the one which contains the altar of Pergamon. You only have to give a look to the people which appears on the photo to check how great it is. It is only partially recomposed with the remains of the altar, so you will be able to see the places where fragments are missing. A audioguide is provided with the ticket, so you will get a lot of feedback about the altar and its historical background.
Se entra en la Coleccion de Oriente Proximo a traves de una enorme e impresionante
sala: la que contiene el altar de Pergamo. Solo tienes que echar una ojeada a la gente que aparece en la foto para comprobar lo grande que es. Esta solo parcialmente reconstruida con los restos del altar, asi que podras ver los lugares en los que faltan trozos. Te dan una audioguia al comprar la entrada, asi que podras obtener mucha informacion sobre el altar y su devenir historico.

Another Schinkel's masterpiece stands at the very end of the Unter den Linden boulevard and links it with the Museum Island. The most interesting feature of this bridge are classical statues from the Greek mythology - Schinkel was so carried away with these Classical beauties that when the bridge was opened in 1823 it still lacked railings on both sides so 22 people drowned when temporary wooden barriers collapsed.

Today the bridge has busy traffic going over it but there is a wide pedestrian lane as well so you can easily stop and admire the beauty of the statues.