Egyptian influence

You'll find some visitors from North Africa in the Langhans Hall inside Schloss Bellevue. This room is used to receive visitors and where new ambassadors are formally received. 

I hope you've enjoyed this short tour of the Schloss Bellevue. If you're interested in seeing more, there is a brochure you can download here.

Dresden from the Left Bank

This painting of the Elbe in Dresden is by Italian artist Bernardo Bellotto. It is on display in the President's office in Schloss Bellevue. While each President has some freedom to decide which works will be displayed throughout the residence, this is one of the permanent works.

Golden room

This is the grand ballroom where state dinners are held. At one end of the room is this beautiful, golden painting; the other end has a similar piece with more pinkish tones. Both were grand pieces of art which fit the room. They were painted by German artist Gotthard Graubner.

Crystal

One of the beautiful grand chandeliers from inside Schloss Bellevue. Unfortunately, none of the original furnishings or decorative items survived the war. Luckily other palaces and museums from around the country have loaned items from the period.

A look inside

The Schloss Bellevue has only been used by Germany's President since 1994. During the divided years, the President worked at the Hammerschmidt Villa in Bonn (the former capitol of West Germany). The palace was originally used as a hunting lodge by the Prussian royalty. It suffered quite a bit of damage during WWII, but luckily was preserved.

Today the President of Germany has his offices here. He also hosts state dinners and other events for foreign dignitaries onsite. Each elite visitor signs a special page in the guest book. The President of Slovenia had just visited a few days before I was there.

Schloss Bellevue

The Schloss Bellevue is the building where the German president works and hosts visiting foreign dignitaries. I was lucky enough to be invited on a tour of the building and grounds recently (it is not open to the public) and I saw his personal study and the many rooms he uses for entertaining. Stay tuned for more!

March theme day: Black and white in color

A look inside the Bundespräsidialamt in Berlin. It's the working place of the German President (not to be confused with the German Chancellor) and his staff. I believe this shot lends itself quite well to this month's theme, a color shot that looks like black and white. For more interpretations, take a look here.

PS: I'm also posting more regularly on my travel blog. I recently took a three month adventure through Southeast Asia.

Sunny days

Sadly, it seems the sunny days have come to an end. It's been cold and rainy here in Berlin and there's more autumnal weather forecast for the weekend. This shot was taken just this past Monday on German Unity Day. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to see so many people out and about, both on boats and on land. I got this wonderful view of the Spree and the city skyline on the famous Kronprinzen Brücke (known locally as the dragon bridge) in Tiergarten. 

In other news, today was my last day on the job. Unfortunately, the company didn't have the financial means to extend my contract. It's a bit frustrating to know that I'll have to start over with my job search, but the dh and I have some big travel plans to look forward to in the meantime.

Reflections on the Spree

You can see Angie's washing machine reflected in the steel and glass government buildings that line the Spree in the Regierungsviertel. Not such a bad place to work, eh? You'll find more reflections from around the world at Weekend Reflections.

I'm so glad Friday is finally here, this week seems to have dragged on forever. If the weather is nice this weekend, I plan to play a few holes of golf. If not, maybe I'll take in a movie. What exciting plans are on your agenda?

Naked man in the Tiergarten

I guess I'm just on a naughty roll... I actually took this picture a few weeks ago at the height of fall. All these leaves are probably gone now, but don't they look pretty scattered on the grass? And to be fair, you do see quite a bit of nudity in the Tiergarten during the summer. There are areas where nude sunbathing is tolerated, if not explicitly allowed.

Send your light

I can never resist taking a candle shot in a church. This one comes from Saint Matthäus church near Potsdamer Platz.

A phoenix in Berlin

Look closely and you'll see a Phoenix rising above the Berliner Philharmonie building in the middle of Berlin's Kulturforum. 

The bird was designed by Berlin native Hans Uhlmann and represents how the city of Berlin arose from the ashes of WWII and once again became a bright and vibrant city. The Kulturforum is just a short walk from Potsdamer Platz, which itself is a symbol of the reunification of East and West.

Celebrating summer: part two

If the Fan Meile is too much for you, you can also relax in one of Berlin's many Biergarten to take in the football match. 

These shots were taken during Saturday's match - Brasil vs. Chile. It was fun time, but I especially like the people-watching aspect of public viewing.

What's wrong with this picture?

From a distance, this looks like a typical winter scene here in Berlin. However, if you take a closer look, you'll see something is terribly wrong!

This man was walking around in shorts and flip flops on a cold snowy day. I think he must be Canadian!

Two benches and a bike

A lovely fall scene from the Tiergarten park in Berlin. A very typical city scene!