End of the Last Full Week.

The week is beginning to wind down and the weekend cannot come fast enough. After getting to sleep in a bit, we hopped aboard a U Bahn to see the Dutch Embassy (below) by Rem Koolhas.

The embassy was a really well done building that utilized all 4 corners of its site while at the same time not feeling overly dense or large. Comically Koolhas manage to use two materials (aluminum and Teak) that are normally forbidden in Berlin but since it is an embassy, it doesn't fall under German jurisdiction. The embassy is situated along the River Spree overlooking a canal built by the Dutch some time ago. As one ascends through the building, they are consistently greeted with new spaces as no room in plan repeats itself. Also, Koolhas did a wonderful job framing the view of the television tower in the distance. And if all this was not enough, the tour ended in the faculty lounge where they had a ping pong table. Its just my opinion but I think no matter how good or bad a building may be, a table tennis table always makes it better.

After lunch we wondered over to Karl Marx Allee (above) where we looked at the architecture and urban situation of the former East Berlin. Strangely enough, it was actually quite pleasant. I'm not quite certain if that makes me a Communists or not but everything was clean, well organized and just looked as though someone had some idea of urban planning when they designed it. It was quite the foil from the Hansaviertel we saw on Monday.

We then finished up the day visiting the Russian monument in Treptower Park (above). The monument was very impressive as it towered over the rest of the park. It was laid out quite nicely too as one could not see it from the street so it almost surprises you when you first see it down its long alley.

The following day (Thursday July 1) we got to go to Checkpoint Charlie, home of the few, the proud, the Germans holding American flags. Now just for clarification, Charlie is not actually a person but the third letter in the phonetic alphabet table following alpha and bravo. Checkpoint Charlie was the passage to West Berlin located in downtown so it was naturally one of the most controversial. The museum we visited was once a mans apartment that quickly grew to take over the entire building. Inside was everything from Berlin Wall art to a room devoted entirely to Ronald Reagan.

After a bite, we got to go see the IBA housing project in West Berlin. Most of the housing blocks are located within walking distance to the wall and were one last attempt of the West to show their dominance over the east. Many famous architects were allowed to participate with some of the notable being Rem Koolhas, Peter Eisenman, John Hejduk and Zaha Hadid (above). Though she does not usually claim it, this was Zaha's first built work. Because she did not have a large office at the time of the project, most of the final design was altered by a local firm.

To end the week, we visited the Berlin Wall Memorial. Here, a large stretch of the wall is still intact with large, flanking, metal walls on each end to keep it isolated like it would have been when Berlin was still split. Also near the sight was the Chapel of Reconciliation which was built anew after the original fell several decades ago. Instead of honoring the church's original style, they decided to start from scratch and built this love chapel consisting of wooden slats and compressed earth.