Whenever we spoke of our travel plans to Berlin we were often told, "Berlin is great, you'll love it...but it doesn't really look like Europe."
That last comment was always an interesting one to me. Europe is often perceived as the "old-world" and visions of beautiful and decorative early century buildings flood the mind. Did I expect to find that in Berlin? No. About 90% of it had to be rebuilt after the war due to all of the destruction it had sustained. Would that change my perception of its worth or affect how we experienced the city? Not at all!
Those big beautiful buildings found in other major European capitals are gorgeous, yes. But there's so much more to a city for me! It's the people, the culture, it's infectious energy and promise. There's an obvious beauty to Paris or Rome, whereas in Berlin you have to look a bit deeper which is why I find it so fascinating.
At face value, Berlin appears rough around the edges with its graffitied Soviet-style architecture which graces many parts of the city. But there lies the beauty!
Given Berlin's VERY dark history, I found Berliners to be very resilient people who have embraced change. They've had to rebuild (literally) and imagine new identities for themselves to numb the memories of the past. The creative presence found on every wall, and every passerby is a testament to that change. There is a creative energy here that I have never encountered in any other city. It's rather difficult to put into words what I mean by that, except to say open yourself up to Berlin and you'll see what I mean.
After all, Berlin is all about self-discovery.
A few things we've learned while in Berlin:
- Berliners are very friendly and ready to chat
- it's a very international city, with ex-pats from every place
- it's not all sausage and sauerkraut
- to be curious
- bike culture is alive and well
- public transportation is easy to navigate
