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About Central Berlin
Few places are as universally popular as Berlin, and it's not difficult to understand why. The city has a very rich history whilst simultaneously containing the latest in art, fashion and architecture. The various parts of the city such as Tiergarten, Mitte, Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg all have their unique characters. Berlin succeeds in the feat of combining small town with city, historic with modern and hectic with meditative. Just open up your senses and embark on a journey of discovery.
Berlin is one of Europe's most fascinating cities. Its range of culture and sights is astonishing. If anything makes the city unique it's the fact that it defies classification - there's everything here. The chic luxury of the Kürfurstendamm stands in stark contrast with Kreuzberg's bohemian quarter. The futuristic Potzdamer Platz in glass and steel, a few stations from the former East Berlin centre Alexanderplatz.
In Berlin you can drink cocktails at the top of a skyscraper or drink red wine in a jazz cellar. It's a city with something for everyone. Since the fall of the wall in 1989/90, Berlin has become a melting pot of innovation and futuristic thinking. Architects have been given the space to think new and large. Artists from all over the world come to imbibe the inspiring atmosphere. Forget the Berlin that only serves sausages and sauerkraut.
Today you can find the best sushi next to world class Italian cuisine. At the same time as the town breathes life and movement, Berliners have always found time for a "Milchkaffee und ein Stück Kuchen" - coffee with milk and a slice of cake. Berlin feels welcoming in a way few other cities do.
The reunited city of Berlin is once again the capital of Germany. Berlin was almost bombed out of existence during World War II, its streets reduced to piles of rubble, its parks to muddy swampland. But the optimistic spirit and strength of will of the remarkable Berliners enabled them to survive not only the wartime destruction of their city, but also its postwar division, symbolized by the Berlin Wall.
Structures of steel and glass tower over streets where before only piles of rubble lay, and parks and gardens are again lush. Even now, in the daily whirl of working, shopping, and dining along the Ku'damm, Berliners encounter reminders of less happy days. At the end of the street stands the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, with only the shell of the old neo-Romanesque bell tower remaining. In striking contrast is the new church, constructed west of the old tower in 1961, in a futuristic design.
Before World War II, the section of the city that became East Berlin was the cultural and political heart of Germany, where the best museums, the finest churches, and the most important boulevards lay. After the wall came down, East Berliners turned to restoring their important museums, theaters, and landmarks (especially in the Berlin-Mitte or center section), while the West Berliners built entirely new museums and cultural Centers. This contrast between the two parts of city is still evident today, though east and west are more and more coming together within the immense, fascinating whole that is Berlin.
It is a perfect time to join the excitement, and to experience Berlin. The city has succeeded in moving forward, and while its entire foundation has shifted in a new direction, Berlin is again making history.
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