Wonders of Berlin.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 288, 6 December 1890, Page 4 (Supplement)

Wonders of Berlin.

The grcab sights aod wonders of Berlin are concentrated along thefamous avenueUnter den Linden and in the vicinity of the old Schloss, whither the visitor will inevitably direct his steps, and where he will certainly acquire hia mosb imposing and durable impressions of the German capital. v\ e> will suppose that he reaches Unter don Linden through tbo IViedriehstrasse, one of the larcost, busiest, and most brilliant streets of Berlin, lined with shops of all kinds, and interspersed wibh several remarkable new buildings in the old German style, devoted to the sale of beer. Gambrinus ia the most liberal and enlightened patron of architecture in modern Berlin. The intersection of Friedrichstrasse and Unter den Linden is a peculiarly busy and characteristic spot. On one corner ie an old-fashioned ' conditorei,' or pastry-cook's shop, with a little terrace barely two feet wide, which forme a pleasant vantage point whence to view the spectacle of the street as you sip coffee and eat cakes. On the opposite corner is the Cafo Bauer, which the Berliners hold to be one of the sights of the capital—a modern Viennese cafe arranged in the most approved style, lighted by electricity, and decorated with brilliantly coloured classical frescoes by A. de Werner and Wilberg, representing the joys and luxury of the Greeks and Romans. Ab another corner, under the trees, is a Trinkhalle for the sale of non-spirituous drinks, suchaa syrups, seltzer, and coda, presided over by a patient Gretehen of the claas called by the Berlinere ' Sodalisken,' in contradistinction to the ' Kellnerinnen , and ' Shankmamsells,' who serve in beer saloons nnd 'Kneipen/or tap-rooms of low degree. The traffic here is crowded ; there are vans, drays, omnibuses, small carts drawn by do<*s, a few private carriages, and quantities of cabs, or ' Droschken,' as they are called, the last of two categories, first and second class, the one as undesirable as the other. In the middle of the railroad a mounted policeman sits hie horse with an. air of corpulent authority and austere uselessness. Unter den Linden stretches to the right and loft, 160 feet broad, 1500 yards long, planted with four rows of chestnut and lime trees, and divided into roadways, foot-paths *\nd riding tracks. At one end of this avenue is the Brandenburg Gate, which forms the entrance to the Thiergarten, very much as the Arc de Triomphe at Paris marke the entrance to the great fashionablo promeande of Boie de Boulogne. The Brandenburg Gate is effective, whether we look at ib from the pretty Fariserplatz or from the Thiergarten side, where its architectural lines contrast with the surrounding verdure, and form the background of familiar scenes of elegant life in Berlin, such as the equestrian groups of brilliantly Uniformed officers and smart ladies going or returning from the morning ride in the park. The reader will nob be astonished to learn that the Brandenburg Gate is built on the model of the Propylasa, Athens ; that it is surmounted by a quadriga driven by Victory; that it is flanked by a guard-house, whose guard is kept busy ealutiug and presenting arms to the numerous military big-wigs who are constantly passing ; and, finally, that all its splendour is sham, and its Doric' columns simple stucco. Let us note also that the Tbiorgarten is traversed by linos of horsa-cars.

Turning eastward, we will stroll along Unter den Linden, and note such things as may strike our eyes.' The firefc observation that we make is that the famous linden trees are nob so regularly planted or co flourishing as we expected to find them, and the second that Unter den Linden is badly kept, indifferently paved, and a mere quagmiro when the rain falls. The dividing post and rails are even more elementary and unpleasinp: than those which disgrace Kotben Row in London, while the benches are the most primitive thafc could be itnasined. Oil the right we notice lshe handsome palace of Counts Kedern, a reproduction of a Florentine building. Then come some picture-shops, where something pink and delicate by Gabriel Max attracts the eye. Here is a terra-cotta store, full of busts of the Kaisers, of Bismarck, and of Moltke. Wβ reach the Kaisergallerie, a fine arcade, less splendid than the Victor Em- ' manuel arcade at Milan, but still a laudable effort in tho Renaissance style, and as good a3 yellow brick and terxa-cotta can make it. j The Kaisergallerie is lined with shops that do nob seem prosperous ; in the middle is a Wiener Cafe, which has a marked- importance in the eyes of the young bloods of Berlin. On the upper floors of the arcade is the wax-work show, called Casfcan'e Panopticum, the Musee Grevin of Berlin. We cross the Friedricbs-fcrasse and note the quainb aspect of the drivers of the yellow parcels post vans, who seem lost in their vast seats on the top r and much hampered by the brazen horn slung under their arms with a red and white cord. Then we take a cup of coffee afc the Cafe Bauer, glance around at the various types at the tables, discreetly sheltered from the gaze of curious passers by a thick hedge of shrubs, and after this brief rest \?e stay to look at nothing until we reach tho monument of Frederick the Great, at the eastern extremity of Unter den Linden.