Museum für Kommunikation

Pictured above: Amanda, Johanna, Fritz and Frederic outside the museum

Another thing about Germany is that on Sunday, everything is closed... except Chinese restaurants and museums.  We've done Chinese on previous Sundays, but this Sunday, Fritz and I were invited to spend the afternoon with our German grad-student friends, Johanna and Frederic.  We considered going for a bike ride along the river, but questionable weather led us to an alternative indoor plan: The Communication Museum, or Museum für Kommunikation. 

A "Heard" of Phone Sheep 

(I don't think that is actually the name of the exhibit, but I can never resist a pun, even if it's really baaah-d)

Old-school phone booth

There is actually an intricate network behind the glass in front of them so you can see how your call is transferred on the old fashioned phones. 

This was the radio that everyone had in their living rooms during WWII.  Hitler made them very affordable so that everyone could have access to his propaganda.

Another interesting part of the museum was an exhibit on advertising which spanned several decades in Germany.  My favorite ads were from East Germany, a Socialist state, because there was a clear conflict of interest between the need for consumerism and the ideology of socialism.  The government needed its people to buy things to boost the economy, so the ads have messages that say "Our way is the right way" just in case people were getting too excited about capitalism.  The best ads are the ones that simply say "Consume."  No brand names.  No specific products.  They just want you to buy... stuff.  There was one "Consume" ad with a woman in an apron surrounded by fruits and vegetables.  And that's it.  Apparently during that time, it was actually news that vegetables were available for purchase.  An announcement was necessary: Veggies are here!  Buy them!