Berlin - I

How to describe Berlin? On a day such as today, it's easier: crystal-clear sunny, mid-50s temperature - a great day for walking. Yet I think many people of a "certain age" (those not interested in the bustling night-club or social scenes; that would be us) would find Berlin not too interesting. The city has some beautiful museums, all grouped together on "Museum Island" and beautiful parks and streets. But, compared to almost any other major European city, it's not particularly pretty and the food is, well, German food, and there are not really any beautiful churches or buildings to see.

But I find Berlin fascinating, because in its short life on the world stage (Germany became an important country only in the late 1800s), it has often occupied the center of the stage. Craig talks about how dispropotionate Berlin's influence has been in the last 150 years: a middling-sized city, it was the capital of the Hohenzollern empire, which culminated by starting World War I; the capital of the Nationalist Socialist Party (Nazi) that started World War II; the focal point of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the Western Allies stood eye-to-eye many times; the most visible scene of the collapse of Commumism, and finally, the capital of a re-unified Germany, which has led the economy of Europe.

In most cities of the world, that's a history that should take up a thousand years; in Berlin, it's recent history, occuring over less than 150 years.

A visitor can see remnants of much of this rapid-fire history in Berlin's architecture, its monuments, its cemetaries, and other not-so-obvious places. Since he arrived here two years ago, Craig has been researching this history (a work visa is almost impossible for him to get), and he has been a phenomenal guide; certainly a large part of the reaon we like this city wo much. I hope to write a bit about some of this here and I warn you: it will likely be long and it will almost certainly be boring. I'll break it down into several posts and try to get them written while I'm here.

Location:Invalidenstraße,Berlin,Germany