"The "always becoming, yet never being" city" Berlin by tauroctonia

The words of Karl Scheffler haven't lost their meaning - even though they date back to the 1910s.

Berlin is never static, always changing. You can get a grasp of its vibrant and diversified history at every corner - from monarchy, fascism and the two world wars to the cold war and reunification. There is reminiscence of the city's ancient history and culture (just consider the "Museumsinsel"), but on the other hand, Berlin is still developing due to the post-divisional history. It seems, however, that the people here have difficulties in deciding and debating which aspects of history are worth to be preserved. There's a lot of room for controversy here. One just has to consider the example of the Berlin wall or the debate about the demolition of the GDR "palace of the republic" and the reconstruction of the Prussian city castle.

Of course, Berlin also has the charm (and curse) of a capital and cosmopolitan city. Nonetheless, in the outer suburbs, Berlin sometimes seems to be quite provincial. With its lakes and forests, you can easily get close to nature.

• Pros:a vivid history, which created many oppositions, distractions and controversies
• Cons:it's quite grey and melancholic during the winter months
• In a nutshell:"Du bist verrückt mein Kind. Du musst nach Berlin - wo die Verrückten sind, da gehörst du hin." Franz v. Suppé (translation: "You are crazy, my child. You have to go to Berlin, where there crazy people are, that's where you belong.")