What an adventure I've been on! I left for Germany on November 21 and haven't looked back since! I stayed with my sweet sweet friend Nat and her equally sweet husband, Jim.
Nat was an amazing tour guide and showed me so much truly spectacular street art in Hamburg and Berlin. And I have pictures galore, but my very favorite site we visited was the East Side Gallery in Berlin. It's a chunk of the Berlin Wall that has been painted by many artists as a memorial to freedom. The official website says that it is the largest open air gallery in the world.
Here is a peek at some of my favorite bits (this is but a small sampling of the hundreds and hundreds of photos I took):
I took a bunch of pictures of the paint textures as we went along. The wall is large (I'm guessing about 10-12 feet high) so it was wonderful to see the art up close and then watch the images trasform as you got further away.
Nat translated the German for me and said that this piece (above) was an experiment. They tried to throw open buckets of paint over the wall (to convey just how tall it is) and this art is the result.
I didn't understand the significance of the bananas. Nat told me that when the wall first came down the East Germans went crazy for bananas, which they previously hadn't had access to.
The back of the wall has grafitti that Nat told me is closer to the kind of thing you might have seen on the Berlin Wall back when it divided East and West Germany.
We spent a very happy, very cold, several hours enjoying the art and discussing the meaning behind many of the pieces. If you're ever in Berlin, I strongly recommend a visit. It was a wonderful thing to see!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for sharing.. So much great inspiration in one place…
Thank you for sharing.. So much great inspiration in one place…
Thank you for sharing.. So much great inspiration in one place…
Thank you for sharing.. So much great inspiration in one place…
Wooow!
Wooow!
Wooow!
Wooow!
Love the photos and I can see why you spent so many hours there. Thanks for sharing this, the art is amazing.
Love the photos and I can see why you spent so many hours there. Thanks for sharing this, the art is amazing.
Love the photos and I can see why you spent so many hours there. Thanks for sharing this, the art is amazing.
Love the photos and I can see why you spent so many hours there. Thanks for sharing this, the art is amazing.
This is brilliant! Thank you for posting these great photos. There is such drama and excitement in this art. How long is this East Side Gallery stretch of wall? It looks big as there’s so much to see.
This is brilliant! Thank you for posting these great photos. There is such drama and excitement in this art. How long is this East Side Gallery stretch of wall? It looks big as there’s so much to see.
This is brilliant! Thank you for posting these great photos. There is such drama and excitement in this art. How long is this East Side Gallery stretch of wall? It looks big as there’s so much to see.
This is brilliant! Thank you for posting these great photos. There is such drama and excitement in this art. How long is this East Side Gallery stretch of wall? It looks big as there’s so much to see.
Thanks for sharing the photos Julie. I was there in 1990 and it looked nothing like that! We bought a chunk of the Wall and kept it for years. My family on my mother’s side were all German, some separated by the Wall.
A very bitter-sweet read… =)
Thanks for sharing the photos Julie. I was there in 1990 and it looked nothing like that! We bought a chunk of the Wall and kept it for years. My family on my mother’s side were all German, some separated by the Wall.
A very bitter-sweet read… =)
Thanks for sharing the photos Julie. I was there in 1990 and it looked nothing like that! We bought a chunk of the Wall and kept it for years. My family on my mother’s side were all German, some separated by the Wall.
A very bitter-sweet read… =)
Thanks for sharing the photos Julie. I was there in 1990 and it looked nothing like that! We bought a chunk of the Wall and kept it for years. My family on my mother’s side were all German, some separated by the Wall.
A very bitter-sweet read… =)
Thanks for sharing, Julie. I was really moved by the sea of faces, in particular. Glad you and Nat were able to spend such good time together.
Thanks for sharing, Julie. I was really moved by the sea of faces, in particular. Glad you and Nat were able to spend such good time together.
Thanks for sharing, Julie. I was really moved by the sea of faces, in particular. Glad you and Nat were able to spend such good time together.
Thanks for sharing, Julie. I was really moved by the sea of faces, in particular. Glad you and Nat were able to spend such good time together.
Wow thank you for posting these- so many wonderful works of art- love how the styles vary so much!!!! I would love to visit Berlin- it’s in the bucket list for sure. You took some amazing shots- would love to see more.
Wow thank you for posting these- so many wonderful works of art- love how the styles vary so much!!!! I would love to visit Berlin- it’s in the bucket list for sure. You took some amazing shots- would love to see more.
Wow thank you for posting these- so many wonderful works of art- love how the styles vary so much!!!! I would love to visit Berlin- it’s in the bucket list for sure. You took some amazing shots- would love to see more.
Wow thank you for posting these- so many wonderful works of art- love how the styles vary so much!!!! I would love to visit Berlin- it’s in the bucket list for sure. You took some amazing shots- would love to see more.
Julie Thanks for sharing that! Sounds like an amazing several hours. The war memorials in DC often have art pieces lying at the bases of the memorials or pictures with stories of loved ones – truly fascinating to study -only you have to bend way down to do it. Each night they are picked up by the National Archives and saved!! Thanks for a good arty start to my day! I hope you are feeling better!
Julie Thanks for sharing that! Sounds like an amazing several hours. The war memorials in DC often have art pieces lying at the bases of the memorials or pictures with stories of loved ones – truly fascinating to study -only you have to bend way down to do it. Each night they are picked up by the National Archives and saved!! Thanks for a good arty start to my day! I hope you are feeling better!
Julie Thanks for sharing that! Sounds like an amazing several hours. The war memorials in DC often have art pieces lying at the bases of the memorials or pictures with stories of loved ones – truly fascinating to study -only you have to bend way down to do it. Each night they are picked up by the National Archives and saved!! Thanks for a good arty start to my day! I hope you are feeling better!
Julie Thanks for sharing that! Sounds like an amazing several hours. The war memorials in DC often have art pieces lying at the bases of the memorials or pictures with stories of loved ones – truly fascinating to study -only you have to bend way down to do it. Each night they are picked up by the National Archives and saved!! Thanks for a good arty start to my day! I hope you are feeling better!
That is profound art! What meaning comes out of thehuman soul in an event like the wall coming down. I never knew this existed. .. thank you for sharing!
That is profound art! What meaning comes out of thehuman soul in an event like the wall coming down. I never knew this existed. .. thank you for sharing!
That is profound art! What meaning comes out of thehuman soul in an event like the wall coming down. I never knew this existed. .. thank you for sharing!
That is profound art! What meaning comes out of thehuman soul in an event like the wall coming down. I never knew this existed. .. thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the pictures and the interpretations! Mary Werner
Thanks for the pictures and the interpretations! Mary Werner
Thanks for the pictures and the interpretations! Mary Werner
Thanks for the pictures and the interpretations! Mary Werner
You have now given me a deep desire to go to berlin. I would to see this gallery. What an amazing experience
You have now given me a deep desire to go to berlin. I would to see this gallery. What an amazing experience
You have now given me a deep desire to go to berlin. I would to see this gallery. What an amazing experience
You have now given me a deep desire to go to berlin. I would to see this gallery. What an amazing experience
The website says its 1.3km.
The website says its 1.3km.
The website says its 1.3km.
The website says its 1.3km.
Thank you for sharing…to be able to see things through an artists eyes are good for my soul…living vicariously 😉
Thank you for sharing…to be able to see things through an artists eyes are good for my soul…living vicariously 😉
Thank you for sharing…to be able to see things through an artists eyes are good for my soul…living vicariously 😉
Thank you for sharing…to be able to see things through an artists eyes are good for my soul…living vicariously 😉
Oh I had no idea the gallery was so rich. Well that’s a trip on my to do list. I see why we need it.
Oh I had no idea the gallery was so rich. Well that’s a trip on my to do list. I see why we need it.
Oh I had no idea the gallery was so rich. Well that’s a trip on my to do list. I see why we need it.
Oh I had no idea the gallery was so rich. Well that’s a trip on my to do list. I see why we need it.
This one is going on my bucket list! It is stunning! Thanks for sharing!
This one is going on my bucket list! It is stunning! Thanks for sharing!
This one is going on my bucket list! It is stunning! Thanks for sharing!
This one is going on my bucket list! It is stunning! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for posting all of these pics Julie. Nat must be in Heaven there with all the wall art. I especially love the many faces flowing through the open wall (the one you had your pic taken with).
Thanks for posting all of these pics Julie. Nat must be in Heaven there with all the wall art. I especially love the many faces flowing through the open wall (the one you had your pic taken with).
Thanks for posting all of these pics Julie. Nat must be in Heaven there with all the wall art. I especially love the many faces flowing through the open wall (the one you had your pic taken with).
Thanks for posting all of these pics Julie. Nat must be in Heaven there with all the wall art. I especially love the many faces flowing through the open wall (the one you had your pic taken with).
Wow. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Wow. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Wow. Thanks for posting the pictures.
Wow. Thanks for posting the pictures.
REminds me to be thankful for all my/our freedoms. Thanks for sharing the wall.
REminds me to be thankful for all my/our freedoms. Thanks for sharing the wall.
REminds me to be thankful for all my/our freedoms. Thanks for sharing the wall.
REminds me to be thankful for all my/our freedoms. Thanks for sharing the wall.
It’s a bit edgy. We have a piece of the wall as we were there when it came down. My son is studying in Germany and really did not like Berlin. He saw a lot of it with his professor. But it has a place in history and will continue to evolve.
It’s a bit edgy. We have a piece of the wall as we were there when it came down. My son is studying in Germany and really did not like Berlin. He saw a lot of it with his professor. But it has a place in history and will continue to evolve.
It’s a bit edgy. We have a piece of the wall as we were there when it came down. My son is studying in Germany and really did not like Berlin. He saw a lot of it with his professor. But it has a place in history and will continue to evolve.
It’s a bit edgy. We have a piece of the wall as we were there when it came down. My son is studying in Germany and really did not like Berlin. He saw a lot of it with his professor. But it has a place in history and will continue to evolve.
it was an amazing trip with you Julie and I couldn’t think of anyone better than you sharing some hours there! Love ya and miss ya 🙂
it was an amazing trip with you Julie and I couldn’t think of anyone better than you sharing some hours there! Love ya and miss ya 🙂
it was an amazing trip with you Julie and I couldn’t think of anyone better than you sharing some hours there! Love ya and miss ya 🙂
it was an amazing trip with you Julie and I couldn’t think of anyone better than you sharing some hours there! Love ya and miss ya 🙂
That is very cool to see. I saw the Berlin wall when it was still dividing Germany and guarded by men with big guns. It had a lot of graffiti but not quite the same colorful kind as now. You’re very lucky to see this.
That is very cool to see. I saw the Berlin wall when it was still dividing Germany and guarded by men with big guns. It had a lot of graffiti but not quite the same colorful kind as now. You’re very lucky to see this.
That is very cool to see. I saw the Berlin wall when it was still dividing Germany and guarded by men with big guns. It had a lot of graffiti but not quite the same colorful kind as now. You’re very lucky to see this.
That is very cool to see. I saw the Berlin wall when it was still dividing Germany and guarded by men with big guns. It had a lot of graffiti but not quite the same colorful kind as now. You’re very lucky to see this.
Amazing pictures Julie, thanks so much for sharing. I agree with Marjie, the sea of faces made me really stop and look a good while. My step son lives in Berlin I will for sure ask him if he has seen this wall of unbelievable art.
Amazing pictures Julie, thanks so much for sharing. I agree with Marjie, the sea of faces made me really stop and look a good while. My step son lives in Berlin I will for sure ask him if he has seen this wall of unbelievable art.
Amazing pictures Julie, thanks so much for sharing. I agree with Marjie, the sea of faces made me really stop and look a good while. My step son lives in Berlin I will for sure ask him if he has seen this wall of unbelievable art.
Amazing pictures Julie, thanks so much for sharing. I agree with Marjie, the sea of faces made me really stop and look a good while. My step son lives in Berlin I will for sure ask him if he has seen this wall of unbelievable art.
My family and I visited Berlin in 1965 while my Dad was stationed in Europe. I was 14. We traveled by train through East Germany at night, the only option in those days, from Frankfurt to West Berlin. My Dad was the ranking officer on the train so he had to present all the passports to the East Germans at various checkpoints along the way. The windows were covered with curtains and we were not allowed to peek out of them en route. After arriving in West Berlin, we took a day trip on a bus to East Berlin which was very bleak compared to the West side. It didn’t seem that much had been rebuilt after being bombed 20+ years before. The Wall was about 4 years old then but there were already quite a few memorials on the Western side for people who had tried to escape. At the time, I never imagined that one day it would be used as an art gallery! It seems like a bit of a miracle.
My family and I visited Berlin in 1965 while my Dad was stationed in Europe. I was 14. We traveled by train through East Germany at night, the only option in those days, from Frankfurt to West Berlin. My Dad was the ranking officer on the train so he had to present all the passports to the East Germans at various checkpoints along the way. The windows were covered with curtains and we were not allowed to peek out of them en route. After arriving in West Berlin, we took a day trip on a bus to East Berlin which was very bleak compared to the West side. It didn’t seem that much had been rebuilt after being bombed 20+ years before. The Wall was about 4 years old then but there were already quite a few memorials on the Western side for people who had tried to escape. At the time, I never imagined that one day it would be used as an art gallery! It seems like a bit of a miracle.
My family and I visited Berlin in 1965 while my Dad was stationed in Europe. I was 14. We traveled by train through East Germany at night, the only option in those days, from Frankfurt to West Berlin. My Dad was the ranking officer on the train so he had to present all the passports to the East Germans at various checkpoints along the way. The windows were covered with curtains and we were not allowed to peek out of them en route. After arriving in West Berlin, we took a day trip on a bus to East Berlin which was very bleak compared to the West side. It didn’t seem that much had been rebuilt after being bombed 20+ years before. The Wall was about 4 years old then but there were already quite a few memorials on the Western side for people who had tried to escape. At the time, I never imagined that one day it would be used as an art gallery! It seems like a bit of a miracle.
My family and I visited Berlin in 1965 while my Dad was stationed in Europe. I was 14. We traveled by train through East Germany at night, the only option in those days, from Frankfurt to West Berlin. My Dad was the ranking officer on the train so he had to present all the passports to the East Germans at various checkpoints along the way. The windows were covered with curtains and we were not allowed to peek out of them en route. After arriving in West Berlin, we took a day trip on a bus to East Berlin which was very bleak compared to the West side. It didn’t seem that much had been rebuilt after being bombed 20+ years before. The Wall was about 4 years old then but there were already quite a few memorials on the Western side for people who had tried to escape. At the time, I never imagined that one day it would be used as an art gallery! It seems like a bit of a miracle.
Julie, thanks for sharing that amazing piece of history. You were fortunate that you could spend so much time there, getting a “lay of the land” so to speak. Great art work! TFS
Julie, thanks for sharing that amazing piece of history. You were fortunate that you could spend so much time there, getting a “lay of the land” so to speak. Great art work! TFS
Julie, thanks for sharing that amazing piece of history. You were fortunate that you could spend so much time there, getting a “lay of the land” so to speak. Great art work! TFS
Julie, thanks for sharing that amazing piece of history. You were fortunate that you could spend so much time there, getting a “lay of the land” so to speak. Great art work! TFS
So cool that you took the time to share that. Can’t thank you enough!
So cool that you took the time to share that. Can’t thank you enough!
So cool that you took the time to share that. Can’t thank you enough!
So cool that you took the time to share that. Can’t thank you enough!
What amazing art….I hope to visit Berlin someday to see it for myself. If there were a book of these images, I would love to purchase it. Perhaps a project for you?? Your images are gorgeous, and really seem to represent the variety of art there is to see.
What amazing art….I hope to visit Berlin someday to see it for myself. If there were a book of these images, I would love to purchase it. Perhaps a project for you?? Your images are gorgeous, and really seem to represent the variety of art there is to see.
What amazing art….I hope to visit Berlin someday to see it for myself. If there were a book of these images, I would love to purchase it. Perhaps a project for you?? Your images are gorgeous, and really seem to represent the variety of art there is to see.
What amazing art….I hope to visit Berlin someday to see it for myself. If there were a book of these images, I would love to purchase it. Perhaps a project for you?? Your images are gorgeous, and really seem to represent the variety of art there is to see.
Fantastic, Julie. Thanks for sharing that with us! patty
Fantastic, Julie. Thanks for sharing that with us! patty
Fantastic, Julie. Thanks for sharing that with us! patty
Fantastic, Julie. Thanks for sharing that with us! patty
what art filled colorful fun!
what art filled colorful fun!
what art filled colorful fun!
what art filled colorful fun!
Hi Julie: Thanx for sharing that beautiful and heart-warming wall art. Some beauty that came out of an ugly history.
Hi Julie: Thanx for sharing that beautiful and heart-warming wall art. Some beauty that came out of an ugly history.
Hi Julie: Thanx for sharing that beautiful and heart-warming wall art. Some beauty that came out of an ugly history.
Hi Julie: Thanx for sharing that beautiful and heart-warming wall art. Some beauty that came out of an ugly history.
Wow! Thank you Julie. That’s impressive. I never really considered Berlin before, but I’d go just to see that.
Wow! Thank you Julie. That’s impressive. I never really considered Berlin before, but I’d go just to see that.
Wow! Thank you Julie. That’s impressive. I never really considered Berlin before, but I’d go just to see that.
Wow! Thank you Julie. That’s impressive. I never really considered Berlin before, but I’d go just to see that.
Fantastic photos, Julie! What a great time you must have had.
I will tell you a personal experience I had with the Berlin Wall: In summer 1989, on homeleave from Egypt where I was then living, I stayed in Berlin for a few days, and that was my first time to see the wall, with no idea at all that it would fall a few months later. The next summer, 1990, again on homeleave, I revisited that exact spot, and there was no trace of the wall any more, with grass growing over the area in the word’s literal sense. A very strange feeling, indeed!
At present there is a row and lots of protest going on, because an investor building expensive flats in the area of the East Side Gallery has removed part of the gallery wall. They claim that the removed parts will be put back again, but this remains to be seen.
Fantastic photos, Julie! What a great time you must have had.
I will tell you a personal experience I had with the Berlin Wall: In summer 1989, on homeleave from Egypt where I was then living, I stayed in Berlin for a few days, and that was my first time to see the wall, with no idea at all that it would fall a few months later. The next summer, 1990, again on homeleave, I revisited that exact spot, and there was no trace of the wall any more, with grass growing over the area in the word’s literal sense. A very strange feeling, indeed!
At present there is a row and lots of protest going on, because an investor building expensive flats in the area of the East Side Gallery has removed part of the gallery wall. They claim that the removed parts will be put back again, but this remains to be seen.
Fantastic photos, Julie! What a great time you must have had.
I will tell you a personal experience I had with the Berlin Wall: In summer 1989, on homeleave from Egypt where I was then living, I stayed in Berlin for a few days, and that was my first time to see the wall, with no idea at all that it would fall a few months later. The next summer, 1990, again on homeleave, I revisited that exact spot, and there was no trace of the wall any more, with grass growing over the area in the word’s literal sense. A very strange feeling, indeed!
At present there is a row and lots of protest going on, because an investor building expensive flats in the area of the East Side Gallery has removed part of the gallery wall. They claim that the removed parts will be put back again, but this remains to be seen.
Fantastic photos, Julie! What a great time you must have had.
I will tell you a personal experience I had with the Berlin Wall: In summer 1989, on homeleave from Egypt where I was then living, I stayed in Berlin for a few days, and that was my first time to see the wall, with no idea at all that it would fall a few months later. The next summer, 1990, again on homeleave, I revisited that exact spot, and there was no trace of the wall any more, with grass growing over the area in the word’s literal sense. A very strange feeling, indeed!
At present there is a row and lots of protest going on, because an investor building expensive flats in the area of the East Side Gallery has removed part of the gallery wall. They claim that the removed parts will be put back again, but this remains to be seen.