The Stats:
Hamburger Bahnhof Museum for Contemporary Art
Location: Invalidenstraße 50-51, 10557 Berlin
Opening Hours: Tues to Fri 10 am to 6 pm (open until 8 pm on Thu); Sat and Sun 11 am to 6 pm; Closed on Mon
Ticket Price: 14 Euros
About The Gallery
After a reconstruction by architect Josef Paul Kleihues, the Hamburger Bahnhof reopened in 1996 as the Hamburger Bahnhof: Museum für Gegenwart — Museum for Contemporary Art — one of the first state museums in Berlin devoted to "living art."
The building itself was originally erected in 1847 as one of the first terminal stations of the Berlin rail system, and then, in the early 20th century, the structure was converted into a museum of transport and construction.
This beautiful gallery — my absolute favourite in Berlin — is now all skylights, white walls and polished wooden floors and is the home of an outstanding collection that focuses on art created since 1960.
The central collection is from Berlin entrepreneur Dr. Erich Marx, that includes work by Beuys, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, and Warhol (whose iconic Mao has a permanent home here).
There are a few different collections throughout the museum.
The National Gallery has a permanent collection here with brilliant photography, painting and video art from the likes of Andreas Gursky, Bill Viola, and Marcel Odenbach, while The Marzona Collection — a shining example of conceptual and minimal art — includes work by Ronald Bladen, Giuseppe Penone, and Mario Merz.
When I was first asked by some fellow foreigners in South Korea if I wanted to get naked in a public bathhouse and sauna on my first weekend in the country, I looked at them like they were nuts.
Somehow though, they managed to talk me into it (I blame severe jet lag), and it was one of the best decisions that I have ever made.