Berlin

We took a long train ride northeast, a trip which thirty years ago would have been impossible. We traveled deep into the Eastern, previously Soviet controlled side of Germany. When we arrived in Berlin, a city that lives in historical infamy for several reasons, the first thing I noticed was the distinctive contrast between the East and West sides. The West was filled with the flashy decadence associated with many European cities. While the East distinguished itself with the straight edged, right angled obsession with efficiency blended with dilapidation and decay characteristic of so many failed communist regimes.

The night we arrived was New Years Eve and we to the largest New Years party I have attended by a long shot. With nearly one million others we ate, drank and were merry as we counted down the New Year

We went on a tour of Berlin the next day which was one of the best tours of the trip. There is so much history in this city as can be expected from being ruled by two totalitarian dictatorships back to back. An East Berliner had to answer to Hitler and then Stalin, possibly the two most famous villains of the twentieth century. We saw Checkpoint Charlie and stood right on top of the Furher’s bunker where he finally offed himself when things were looking grim for his Riech.