Berlin
Before going to Berlin you need to forget almost everything you know or have heard about Germans and Germany. Berlin is not Germany and Germany is not Berlin. Berlin is the most cosmopolitan and non-conformist place in Germany so you need to abandon all preconceptions upfront. A trip through Kreusberg got me thinking: people radiate freedom.
Slightly looked down to by Western Germans Berlin is the most anti-capitalist city I have seen and the high level of tolerance for all possible ways of living makes it impossible to confine it into any set of rules, be it even the simplest courtesy ones. Berlin is full of art and this leaves very little room for prejudice. Berlin is the city that lets you make it your own. It is friendly even if it seems cold. It’s huge but has a small town intimacy. It has the markings of the sad history it went through, it was left with a long scar on the pavement – the area where the Wall passed is marked in stone.
It likes to fool you throwing the West-East differences in your eyes and if you allow it (99% you do) you immediately think you understood it and figured it out. Nothing more untrue! Yes, the East is a big party! Full of bohemian youngsters and trance music clubs, it is cool and cutting-edge. West is old and quiet, full of brand stores and bored people. As a matter of fact West is not as different from East; they both shelter bohemians but of different types. Berliners understood how life is and what’s important in it. That is why they know how to have fun without being ridiculous or making trouble.
Berlin
Before going to Berlin you need to forget almost everything you know or have heard about Germans and Germany. Berlin is not Germany and Germany is not Berlin. Berlin is the most cosmopolitan and non-conformist place in Germany so you need to abandon all preconceptions upfront. A trip through Kreusberg got me thinking: people radiate freedom.
Slightly looked down to by Western Germans Berlin is the most anti-capitalist city I have seen and the high level of tolerance for all possible ways of living makes it impossible to confine it into any set of rules, be it even the simplest courtesy ones. Berlin is full of art and this leaves very little room for prejudice. Berlin is the city that lets you make it your own. It is friendly even if it seems cold. It’s huge but has a small town intimacy. It has the markings of the sad history it went through, it was left with a long scar on the pavement – the area where the Wall passed is marked in stone.
It likes to fool you throwing the West-East differences in your eyes and if you allow it (99% you do) you immediately think you understood it and figured it out. Nothing more untrue! Yes, the East is a big party! Full of bohemian youngsters and trance music clubs, it is cool and cutting-edge. West is old and quiet, full of brand stores and bored people. As a matter of fact West is not as different from East; they both shelter bohemians but of different types. Berliners understood how life is and what’s important in it. That is why they know how to have fun without being ridiculous or making trouble.
