Berlin is a city that thrives on contrasts: east and west, old and new, efficient and eccentric.
The city came to prominence as the capital of Frederick the Great's mighty kingdom of Prussia and it is filled with magnificent monuments to this golden age; but Berlin is still defined by the Cold War years, when the much-hated Berlin Wall tore the city in two.
Modern Berlin is a city escaping the weight of its history, yet while Berliners seem intent on inventing their own future, visitors will find themselves constantly reminded of the city's past.
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, opened in 2005, is impossible to ignore. Although the design was, inevitably, controversial, the vast and abstract form is a bold attempt to convey the incomprehensible magnitude of the Holocaust.
A more surprising form of remembrance is the phenomenon known as "Ostalgie". Derived from the German words "ost" meaning east and "nostalgie", the term refers to a nostalgic yearning for the old German Democratic Republic. 
Read full article »
