We also went to see Checkpoint Charlie museum, a museum of international nonviolent protest (obviously focused mainly on the GDR and the wall it backed onto for years). I was very moved by it, particularly the thoughts and aspirations of normal people, it is far too simplistic to just think of Germany at that time of just millions of Nazis who just lost a war. I love to think I would have the physical bravery to resist such a regime but have never been tested.
The mayor of Berlin calling out to the allied nations during the Berlin air lift

“You peoples of the world, you people of America, of England, of France, look on this city, and recognize that this city, this people, must not be abandoned — cannot be abandoned!”

Seeing how people tried to escape, risking their lives to try and get to the west and live our kind of lifestyle (which is not without its problems) was interesting.
There was exhibits on Ghandi and the rest of Eastern Europe and the fight against opression and it was clear everywhere that people improve their situation and that of others by orgainising and demanding change. As lots of my friends are now from Eastern Europe I am fascinated about how they experienced the fall of communism in their countries. I am a bit quick to dismiss the G8 protesters, people protesting the Iraq war or whatever sometimes, I think I use the fact the world is complex and situations subtle as an excuse for inaction and came away with a desire to direct some of my skills and energies to making even a small difference. I am unsure what it will be though, toying with a few ideas at the moment.

Another highlight was the Reichstag, in particular taking the trip up to the dome. The queue takes too long but the once you are up it is the best view of Berlin and it is wonderful to be so close to the Norman Foster designed cupola.

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During the weekend of 9/10th I met up with my sister in the British Museum and showed her around (one of my 101 goals ticked off in the process). I was very pleased to finally see the flood tablets I had read about a lot (in brief – a pre-biblical flood narrative dating back to Sumeria that is part of the epic of Gilgamesh that the Genesis writers seem to have borrowed from). Also mid last year a metal-detectorist found the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found, it has been named “The Staffordshire Horde” and is on display there while they catalog it.

On the Sunday we went to the National Gallery and saw The Sacred Made Real a wonderful display of Spanish polychromatic wooden sculpture. It is the best exhibit I have seen in ages and finishes this weekend, go and see it if you can. It is interesting to see sculpture in colour as we are so used to classical and neo-classical sculpture being the very austere white. Interestingly greco-roman sculpture would originally have been painted anyway so the neo-classicists were harking back to something that never really existed.

The next weekend I stayed in Richmond for a friends birthday and we popped to the V&A on saturday and well just wow. I only spent an hour there but it is amazing that London has (at least) 3 really world class museums, it is on par with the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum Of Art – really fabulous, I will return soon.

On the Sunday I went and looked at the Beatles to Bowie exhibition of 60′s photography, which was pretty good, then returned to Faversham.

All in all good fun in the greatest city in the world.

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