The Queen of the Night Wears a Mask
As announced, this is a view of the metro station Museumsinsel itself. When I first read that the station was inspired by Karl Friedrich Schinkel's famous set design for the scene of The Arrival of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute; please see the link to Schinkel's design in the description for my previous upload which you can also find in the first comment), I thought "Wow, I can't wait to see it, it must be gorgeous!" And when I finally visited the station shortly after it had been opened, I was a little disappointed because it has none of the lightness and airiness that made Schinkel's set design so special and magical. To me, the station's overall impression is quite heavy, even somewhat oppressing, mainly because of the big, square columns and the fairly low ceilings. All of it probably because a part of the station lies under the river Spree, so there must have been special requirements regarding the station's structure and safety. But still... Somehow, the station even reminds me of modern-day brutalism of sorts, not of beautiful music and a starry night. But that's just my perception.
For Sliders Sunday, here's a selective colour version. I think this image lends itself to that type of editing because in the full-colour version, the dark grey granite from the Fichtelgebirge (Fichtel Mountains) in Bavaria had a yellowish hue due to the lights in the station. I didn't like that at all, so I desaturated all colours except the vibrant blue. This time, I also left the (one) person in the image, for scale. And yes, it was 2021, so the lady who waited at the station wore a face mask.
Happy Sliders Sunday, Everyone, wishing you a sunny week ahead!
The Queen of the Night Wears a Mask
As announced, this is a view of the metro station Museumsinsel itself. When I first read that the station was inspired by Karl Friedrich Schinkel's famous set design for the scene of The Arrival of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute; please see the link to Schinkel's design in the description for my previous upload which you can also find in the first comment), I thought "Wow, I can't wait to see it, it must be gorgeous!" And when I finally visited the station shortly after it had been opened, I was a little disappointed because it has none of the lightness and airiness that made Schinkel's set design so special and magical. To me, the station's overall impression is quite heavy, even somewhat oppressing, mainly because of the big, square columns and the fairly low ceilings. All of it probably because a part of the station lies under the river Spree, so there must have been special requirements regarding the station's structure and safety. But still... Somehow, the station even reminds me of modern-day brutalism of sorts, not of beautiful music and a starry night. But that's just my perception.
For Sliders Sunday, here's a selective colour version. I think this image lends itself to that type of editing because in the full-colour version, the dark grey granite from the Fichtelgebirge (Fichtel Mountains) in Bavaria had a yellowish hue due to the lights in the station. I didn't like that at all, so I desaturated all colours except the vibrant blue. This time, I also left the (one) person in the image, for scale. And yes, it was 2021, so the lady who waited at the station wore a face mask.
Happy Sliders Sunday, Everyone, wishing you a sunny week ahead!