Every time I’ve been in Berlin, I’ve looked down at the tour boats moored at Museum Island, just across from the Berlin Dom, the cathedral, and made a mental note to find time for a water tour… and then missed it. This time I actually made it onto the boat.
Opposite the dock, lines wait to get into the DDR Museum, a temple of ‘Ostalgia’ for the former East Germany.
It was worth the trip, but it was different from nearly every other city boat tour I’ve been on, and I think that’s because unlike Paris, or Berlin, or Amsterdam or even New York, Berlin isn’t really focused on its waterways. They’re there, they’re all over the city, but it’s not the same.
The tour starts off in serious monumental architecture territory, passing from the cathedral to some of the museums of Museum Island, especially the Bode Museum, which sits directly on the water.
With one notable exception, that’s pretty much it for the ‘classics’ on this trip, but there’s quite a lot of interesting, and in some cases ‘trying-too-hard’ modern just around the bend. But, one of the main features of this stretch of water is cafes, such as the one above at the edge of the Dom, and others below. In Berlin in August, lots of cafes seems like a good idea.
The other ‘classical’ offering along our way is a notable one, the Reichstag building with its Norman Foster dome. That dome is not the German parliament’s only modern touch; since the Bundestag moved to Berlin in the early 1990s, it has surrounded itself with a plethora of plazas, office buildings, meeting halls, and even its own bridge across the Spree, nearly all in the most unimaginative modern styles available.
I’m not a qualified architecture critic, but I’m pretty critical of these, which are parts of the Bundestag library; they remind me of the models first-year students in high-school design classes might put out for Parents’ Night. Alright, I did say I’m not qualified. But I am critical…
A little more imagination went into this first one, which houses the office of the German chancellor, and the second, another Bundestag building, makes interesting use of reflections. Below that i the blocky building of the Ministry of Education and Research, which has a bit of color play to keep it from being just a box.
And, if you’re a fan of boxes with arches, there’s one here for you: it’s the Berlin headquarters of Google and its parent Alphabet. Not all the modern and post-modern buildings are recent; almost hidden behind yet another cafe is the Cold War-era House of the Cultures of the World, known since its construction as “the Pregnant Oyster.” After that, another bit of Bundestag.
An intermission, just to remember that we’re on a boat tour, not just ranting about architecture… a view of Berlin’s photo-bomber: the TV Tower makes itself known from nearly everywhere… an elegant apartment house, and a brief glimpse of Berlin’s oldest church, the Nikolaikirche with its twin towers.
And now for two railroad stations, and the true standout of the tour… At the Friedrichstrasse station, a key point during the Cold War, the platforms extend out over the river. Not far away, and also on the river, the post-unification main station, the Hauptbahnhof, which combines two office buildings, a huge retail mall and an amazing variety of subway, local, commuter and long-distance trains.
But I’ve saved the best for the last: The Cube, worth a trip from anywhere. It sits next to the Hauptbahnhof and draws attention from any direction… and your view of it will almost never be the same because its compound angled facade is designed to reflect the world around it in ever-changing variety. Opened in 2020, it’s one of the first ‘smart buildings’ anywhere, with all its operating functions monitored and controlled by artificial intelligence. It knows how many people are inside, what their lighting preferences are, when the elevators need service and much more. I think I’ll stick to admiring it from outside!
