Jüdisches Museum

It should take you approximately 20 minutes from Berlin Zoologischer Gardens (the town centre) to get by bus to the museum. It actually took me about an hour but this included getting on a bus that went in completely the wrong direction and then getting lost several times. Do not follow the free town guide, available from the tourist information centre, as the Jewish Museum appears to be in totally the wrong place. Instead ask the locals, who are ...
...the right direction. Luckily the museum is open to 8pm Tuesday - Sunday and till 10pm Mondays, so if you do get lost or have lots of other exciting sights to see in Berlin beforehand do not despair!

I am glad to say that when you do get there, the Jewish Museum is well worth the effort. Once you have gone through security and dropped your belongings off at the free cloak room, I suggest that you have a coffee and cake at the very ... more

It should take you approximately 20 minutes from Berlin Zoologischer Gardens (the town centre) to get by bus to the museum. It actually took me about an hour but this included getting on a bus that went in completely the wrong direction and then getting lost several times. Do not follow the free town guide, available from the tourist information centre, as the Jewish Museum appears to be in totally the wrong place. Instead ask the locals, who are more than willing to point you in at least vaguely the right direction. Luckily the museum is open to 8pm Tuesday - Sunday and till 10pm Mondays, so if you do get lost or have lots of other exciting sights to see in Berlin beforehand do not despair!

I am glad to say that when you do get there, the Jewish Museum is well worth the effort. Once you have gone through security and dropped your belongings off at the free cloak room, I suggest that you have a coffee and cake at the very nicely deocrated, self service cafe. There is a selection of authentic Jewish food to try, but as with all museum cafes. this comes at a rather hefty price. You will however need all the energy
you can get before the marathon ahead of you!

The museum building itself is very impressive. In addition to its enourmity, the architecture has been designed with lots of hidden meanings, for example "The void," a long, cold and empty room which represents the desolation that the Jews felt during the Holocaust and "The garden of exile" which made one feel quite disorientated and lost, like the Jews who were forced into exile. It was interesting to discover the different symbolic meanings along my way through the new building, where all of the main exhibitions are. The new building is reserved for special exhibitions, which is all about architecture at the moment, with marvellous photos, models and information about various Jewish Synagogues around the world.

The main exhibitions include a timeline that goes right back through 2000 years of German-Jewish history. There are lots of interactive games and activities for the young at heart to take part in along with the usual artifacts, information, photos and personal letters for the oldies. There is also a learning centre, where you can sit all day at the computer if you so wish, reading through all of the different presentations on various themes such as, Survival through Jazz music (during the Holocaust), Jewish Cooking and Recipes, Clothes, and other Jewish traditions. All of the exhibitions and displays are presented in German and English, there are also tour guides littered around the museum that speak other languages too.

You really do need a good couple of hours to spend here, I can't recommend it highly enough. When you get to the end of the marathon you can return to the cafe for another coffee. There's a massive range of books, mostly in German but with some in English aswell, posters, and other usual museum shop purchase to be made. Retail therapy, mixed with history, religion and culture at its best!

 

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