Berlin - A holiday in the sun
I'll never see Berlin through the eyes of Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten back in 1977. "Holidays in the Sun" was written about their two week visit to Berlin and what they discovered about communism and economy.
Today it is very much different, although they have preserved enough history to keep the tourists coming. A fact I am thankful for. It's the reason I wanted to see Berlin anyway. I wasn't here in 1989 but I would have loved to see how quickly things transferred after the wall fell. There is little difference in how the old Eastern block looked compared to western architecture. I'm sure the city wanted updating and although they had to knock down some history, am sure they didn't want people still living in blocky, concrete high rises anymore.
In addition to the history, what else can I say about Berlin (other than it was extremely Baltic for July)? Kreuzberg seems to be the one famous neighborhoods there. We spent some time walking around but it seems there's much more depth to its history than meets the eye. All I know so far is that it bordered the wall and harbored a colorful and diverse community full of punks, artists, Africans Rastas, and skinheads. It resembled the west bank of Minneapolis or Kiefernstrasse in Dusseldorf.
Thankfully I was able to see Berlin as it was then and as it was today.
Today it is very much different, although they have preserved enough history to keep the tourists coming. A fact I am thankful for. It's the reason I wanted to see Berlin anyway. I wasn't here in 1989 but I would have loved to see how quickly things transferred after the wall fell. There is little difference in how the old Eastern block looked compared to western architecture. I'm sure the city wanted updating and although they had to knock down some history, am sure they didn't want people still living in blocky, concrete high rises anymore.
In addition to the history, what else can I say about Berlin (other than it was extremely Baltic for July)? Kreuzberg seems to be the one famous neighborhoods there. We spent some time walking around but it seems there's much more depth to its history than meets the eye. All I know so far is that it bordered the wall and harbored a colorful and diverse community full of punks, artists, Africans Rastas, and skinheads. It resembled the west bank of Minneapolis or Kiefernstrasse in Dusseldorf.
Thankfully I was able to see Berlin as it was then and as it was today.