Checking in from Berlin
I have good news! My stress level dropped precipitously once I got to my hotel in Berlin. And now that I've had my first meeting at the Jewish Museum, I'm feeling even better. This newsletter was started with the intention of sharing my fieldwork journey, so this is going to be quite a long email, as that journey is now well underway!
First, let's have a quick review of the first two days of museum visits. I walked over 10 miles on Sunday, and about 9 miles on Monday. I'm exhausted, but I saw a lot of things! I'm taking notes on each of the museums I visit, so it seems relevant to share tidbits here.
Sunday
The Neues Museum was not very exciting. I did see the bust of Nefertiti (pictures not allowed), but James Simon was a looting asshole. Egypt has been asking for her back for a long time and Germany has said no.
I wasn't planning to go to the DDR Museum, but I happened upon it while at Museum Island. It's predominantly interactives, which are very cool, although I am not too sure about this interrogation one. I did enjoy the Trabant driving simulator.
The Computer Games Museum actually required paid admission (everything else I've gotten into with my ICOM card), but it was totally worth it. You can play over a hundred consoles, arcade cabinets, and computer games, and there was at least a little interpretation and art put into it.
Monday
The entire time I spent in the Deutschland Museum, all I could think of was "this is the Medieval Times of German history." Which is how you get replica castle toilets in a museum, I guess. Also, it was completely inaccessible - uneven terrain and no elevators between floors, only stairs.
This is Die Mauer, a museum designed to support the preservation of the last remaining Berlin Wall watchtower. I don't know if the barbed wire is actually from the wall, or is just random wire from somewhere. The museum is almost entirely picture-oriented, and I suspect the audio tour had more information, but I didn't get it, so who knows.
The Topography of Terror center is located on the site of the former Gestapo and SS offices. I wanted to go because lieux de mémoire ("places of memory") are of great interest to me, but the exhibition was primarily about what the Nazis did in general, not specifically in the offices. I did appreciate walking around the grounds, though, and there was quite a bit of content in German Sign Language. (Of note: the sign language materials are only mentioned on the German version of their website.)
Tuesday
I started today with a gentle walk, and arrived at the Jewish Museum Berlin precisely at the time on my ticket, which was 90 mins before my meeting. I had a bite to eat at the museum cafe while preparing my notetaking pages, and then did a quick turn through some of the museum so I'd have a basis for the conversation to come.
My favorite part, of course, was the section of the music exhibition that had sign language translations. I'd felt appropriately somber in the Holocaust Tower, and noted my own history in the Ashkenaz section, then felt mildly alienated by the music area - until I found this video! My own reaction is of note to my research - I felt overjoyed finding this, and that's important for museums to know if they want to reach deaf visitors.
The meeting with representatives from the Visitor Experience and Education departments went really well. They brought up a lot of things I've already thought about, and some things I didn't know before but made perfect sense - just like I experienced in Ottawa. I had an interpreter on my iPad translating between spoken German and International Sign (leaning heavily on ASL and English mouthing), which was an interesting experience; I don't think I've ever worked with an interpreter for a language I didn't know at all. I couldn't rely on lipreading at all - my only input was the sign language. This will probably happen again on January 3, when I have a Spanish-ASL interpreter for another meeting.
After the meeting, I visited the rest of the museum that I hadn't finished beforehand. It's a really outstanding place, I recommend it for anyone visiting Berlin.
I took this right after the meeting - I hope you can see how pleased I am.
I only have two participants for tomorrow, not the 3-5 I'd hoped for. We're meeting at 3pm, not 10:30am, as I expected. But I think it's going to be good anyway. The museum has a lot of features that I think will make for great discussion, and I'm really excited for this. My stress levels, which have been so high over the past couple of months that I've lost a lot of sleep, are way down now. I feel good - and I feel like I'm on the path I'm meant to be on. What an adventure this is!
I'll close out here with the obligatory tourist selfie at the Brandenburg Gate. My next update will probably be in a few days, after I've finished the Berlin interviews and toured some museums in Amsterdam.
Thanks for following my journey!