Berlin in Seven Parts (Day 4: Schloss Charlottenburg)

Day 4: Schloss Charlottenburg, and a Brief Return to the Middle East

There comes a time in any Euro city trip where it's time to see the local palace. Today was that day. We took the U-Bahn to Charlottenburg, a brief trip in the Western part of the city, and strolled down the regal boulevard to the palace at the end (barely visible in the above picture.)

And finally, up close. This palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, who was the Elector of Brandenburg, but would soon become Friedrich I, the King of Prussia. It was finally completed and inaugurated in 1699, when Friedrich was 42. This is a statue of him (on his horse, naturally) in the front courtyard.

These baroque palaces are fun to walk through, and Charlottenburg has one long wing where the rooms connect in sequence from one to the next. Above, you can see the rooms running straight back about six or seven deep, each with a different color and function.

This room is the Porcelain Cabinet, and it contained Friedrich's beloved collection of porcelain from all over the world, stacked floor to ceiling. Much of it was destroyed in the Second World War (along with much of Charlottenburg Palace) but the palace was restored, and newer imitation china took its place. Still, an impressive room that makes you walk slowly, straight ahead, arms at your sides, with shallow breath.

The Porcelain Room also had this awesome wind indicator that was hooked up to the roof's weathervane. No wind speed yet at this time in history, but you could see the prevailing winds and probably make some weather predictions.

In the center of the palace is the chapel, which is smaller than a usual chapel (owing to the size of the estate and the expected numbers of people at services) but no less opulent. Note how the angel frescoes come from above into the main altar area almost seamlessly, and become the three statues. Out of the frame, to the left, there is even a small pipe organ installed in the loft.

Upstairs there are more guest and servant rooms, and this room that I really wanted to spend more time in. It's an octagonal ballroom, where four of the sides are wall-length windows, and the other four are wall-length mirrors, so the outdoor light is reflected throughout the room no matter where you look. This contributes to the under-lit quality of the photo. There's a huge crystal chandelier with candles, and some more ornate porcelain depicting royal scenes in various corners, and it's a very classy room. A slightly better shot is below, along with a close-up of one of the vases.

Directly behind the palace is an extensive formal garden, done in the same style as the baroque gardens at Versailles. My camera sadly ran out of juice before I could take some shots, so these shots are culled from other albums on the web. There is a fountain and a huge pond, and, beyond the manicured initial part, more winding paths and places to lie down. This shot was probably taken from the ballroom window, which lay directly in the center of the palace.

We sat down here in the shade and listened to some slow Mahler and Rameau. Bliss.

This really cool belvedere was hidden way toward the back of the grounds. I think there must be some royal rule where there's got to be a secluded building on the property far from the main palace area, just for scandals and intrigue and everything.

After the afternoon in Charlottenburg, it was a pleasant walk back to the U-Bahn, a short nap at the hostel, and time for dinner. We walked on down to Bergmanstrasse (the funky street from Day 1) and had a late dinner at Knofi, a delicious East Turkish restaurant. It's a warm atmosphere inside, and the evening was warm enough to eat outside on the street and watch the world go by.



Here are our victuals: Turkish meat soup, a veggie plate with some falafel and other goodies, and an organic German beer.



We found out that Knofi didn't serve desert, but their sister restaurant across the street (also called Knofi) did. Whaaaat?? Very strange. So, this is a shot from the other Knofi toward the first Knofi, and we had a fine dessert and also watched the world go by from here, and wondered if we were just projections of the imaginations of diners from the first restaurant, and which Knofi was real, and whether this was a Heaven/Hell dichotomy, etc. Dessert was delicious. End Day 4.