" BERLIN AND THE WALL " Berlin by Frisbeeace

Since 1999 as Germany’s capital, Berlin is trying to find its place among the great European cities like Paris, London and Madrid. Old buildings and monuments are being renovated while new modern steel and glass buildings pop up everywhere. Both parts of the city gradually merge and blend leaving behind the trails of the wall and the comunist scene.

My Eastern Europe trip started here to then follow with Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and ending in Budapest. Berlin is less related to the other four in historical terms but it is so close to Prague that I thought it made a good start specially as my Lufthansa overseas flight was landing in Germany.

I really liked Berlin and I would recommend anyone to include it in your trip. However, I didn’t find Western Berlin very attractive and was the Eastern part which made the visit worthwhile. In between the ultramodern Potsdamer Platz center is emerging and many think that this area will be the center of the new Berlin. I stayed there, at the Marriott, but the area felt a bit cold to us despite its perfect location for sightseeing.

In this page I won’t spend time getting into historic details as you can read them in your travel book. I only hope to drop a few tips that others may find useful regarding how to organize your visit and make the most advantage of it.

# of days suggested: 3
Berlin Card: NO
Highlights: East Berlin
Best season: Summer

IPod conquering Berlin

I like the image of this Capitalism icon pictured from the old Luftwaffe building. What a change of lifestyle for East Berliners!!!

Einstein exhibition in Berlin

The great Einstein studied here during his young years. I admire him as well as all the major scientist in history, starting with Newton.

• In a nutshell:A convenient gateway to Central Europe