About Berlin

VIDEO CLIPS

Potsdamer Platz

Friedrichstrasse
Checkpoint Charlie

Nikolaiviertel

Hackensche Markt
Sofienstrasse, Gr.Hamburgerstrasse,Dicksenstrasse
Jewish Cemetery

Old quartiers
Nikolaikirche

Oranienburger Tor
Tacheles
Neue Synagogue
Reinhardtstrasse

Holocaust Memorial
Pariserplatz, Bebelplatz
Friedrichswerder, Town Houses

Chancellors Office
Paul Löbe House

MUSEUMS:

Museumsinsel
The cathedral

CITY WEST:

Charlottenburg

Tiergarten
Moabit

Berlin by night - pt 1

Alexanderplatz, Nikolaiviertel, Friedrichstrasse, Spree

Berlin by night - pt 2

Potsdamer Platz, Reichstag, Hauptbahnhof

Berlin by night - pt 3

West Berlin, Breitscheidplatz, Brandenburger Tor, Tegel

ABOUT BERLIN:

Country: Germany - capital and largest city
Population: 3 513 000 (metro 6 000 000)
Tallest building: Park Inn Hotel (132m)
Tallest structure: Fernsehturm TV tower (368m)
District: Brandenburg
Founded year: 1307 (merged from Berlin and Cölln)
Area: 891.85 km² (metro km²)
Year visited: 2012 (and 2005 briefly)

Berlin is the largest city and capital of Germany since 1998, and before 1949 (when Bonn took over the title). It is also the 2nd most populous city in the EU (after London). Berlin was a divided city until the unification of Germany in 1989; the west part belonged to West Germany (BDR) while the East part belonged to East Germany (DDR). Between them was the famous Berlin Wall. But today only small parts of the wall are left.

Berlin was bombed by allied forces in 1945 so most of the historic buildings are destroyed. To add the decay from the DDR era, when most buildings were badly maintained, Berlin was very grey and rundown when the wall came down in 1989. But since then Berlin has been transformed into a vibrant, dynamic, exciting, hip, modern capital and metropolis. It has been like a playground for architects with exciting new building projects coming up all the time, new chain stores open all the time, districts has been gentrified and the Trabants have been changed to Audis and Mercedeses. At the same time a vibrant nighlife has started, hippies and punks have been common, all famous rock bands play there, it is the main capital for artists, restaurants from all over the world has been opened and the rundown has become art and culture. And tourists from all over the world travel to Berlin to see the historic sites and new monuments, shop and experience the vibrant nightlife. The city is also filled with large museums of all kinds. There is even a special island called Museuminsel.

You can see construction sites everywhere. For example, the once empty Potsdamer Platz, where part the wall was, was for many years the largest construction site in Europe. Gendarmenmarkt is probably the most beautiful square in Berlin, while Potsdamer Platz is the most modern, with new skyscrapers.

Berlin is located in the inland district of Brandenburg in Northeast Germany, surrounded by forests and lakes. Most parts of the city are completely flat, and the large river Spree flows right through the city center. A huge park, Tiergarten, is located just west of Brandenburger Tor, the monument that was part of the wall and has became somewhat of a symbol for the united Germany. The city center is called Mitte (midpoint) and lies in the former East Berlin. There you can find Alexanderplatz, Potsdamerplatz and Gendarmenmarkt as well as most museums, churches and other sites. The East is also the most cultural part. The former city center of West Berlin, around Breitscheidplatz and the elegant Ku'damm, is now more like a 2nd city center. Charlottenburg in the former west is a large, fashionable district that is famous for its large castle and park, Schloss Charlottenburg. There is a good public transportation system in Berlin; metro (U-bahn), trains (S-bahn), trams, buses and double decked buses (like London). Most of the vehicles are yellow. The S-bahn use trains that go on a rail above ground that gives a kind of retro futuristic feeling to the city.

My point of view:

I visited Berlin in August 2012 for the first time, except for a brief visit in 2005 on the way back home from Prague. I have thought about making a more extensive visit to Berlin for many years, but have been cancelled many times. But now the time had come.

I flew to Tegel Airport from Copenhagen with Air Berlin, the flight took just one hour. I stayed at a cheap, simple and centrally located hotel between Friedrichstrasse and Oranienburger strasse. I visited both the west and the east part. Today you can hardly see where the border was.
I find Berlin both attractive and unattractive, both beautiful and ugly. It is an exciting metropolis with a vibrant nightlife and it is very interesting since it is constantly changing, it is easy to get the feeling that the city is being built right now! It is a bit annoying with all those construction sites though, with cranes and scaffolds that hide historic sites. Kreuzberg is the most hip district of Berlin, it attracts artists, hippies, punks and immigrants. Potsdamer Platz with its modern skyscrapers, the Parisian avenue Unter den Linden that begins at Brandenburger Tor, Kurfürstendamm that is the fashionable main avenue of West Berlin and Friedrichstrasse with its brand stores are the most luxorious roads of Berlin. At Friedrichstrasse you can find the once notorous Checkpoint Charlie, where people were shot to death if they tried to escape to the west, but today cars pass by as nothing happened. It is worth to notice that I bought a part of the wall, just next to Checkpoint Charlie.Alexanderplatz was the most centrally located place in the former East Berlin, and is still the most DDR looking place of Berlin, except for the super tall futuristic TV tower. It feels safe to walk in the center of Berlin, even at night. But Kreuzberg feels quite dangerous, especially after dark.
I visited the famous Reichstag, the TV tower (Fernsehturm), Pergamon museum, DDR museum, Neue Synagogue, Charlottenburg Castle, some churches, all major squares and streets, as well as some parts that are not so wellknown for tourists, like Oberbaumbrücke and Kreuzberg. I walked around at night at some occasions, but unfortunately I didn't see much of Berlin's famous nighlife, except for the rock bar at the hostel. Anyway, as the city lies only a one hour flight from where I live in Sweden, it is easy to come back. Berlin is the city with many sides.

I also made a daytrip to the beautiful city Potsdam, one hour by train from Berlin.

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