Berlin: Culture and art, coffee and beer, water and trees Berlin has a surprisingly great number of faces. It's a superpower of culture. There are hundreds of museums in Berlin, auditoriums for concerts, theaters, movie theaters, art galleries, three Opera houses. There are many historical sites, monuments, sculptures. And alongside the institutional culture there is the so-called "satellite culture" as well: tiny theaters, illegal clubs, and spontaneous institutions in places only visited by fans. This mixture of subsidized culture and of flourishing Avant-garde gives Berlin its uniqueness. This is especially true late at night. Thousands of cafes, pubs, "beer gardens", bars, nightclubs. Berlin is a "city without intermission". Europe has almost nothing similar to the "Berlin nights". Big and small disco clubs operate not only in the central quarters - Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg - but also in the more eastern sectors of the city. Dancing Berlin Berlin celebrates every hour, every day. There are plenty of Festivals and fairs, local and international. An event that attracts millions from all over the world to Berlin is the "love parade ". The crowds spend all night in the streets and dance to the sound of techno and electronic music.
Berlin she is one of the greenest cities in Europe. Two thirds of its surface is made of parks, lakes and rivers. No wonder that it is nicknamed "Athens on river spree". And speaking of water, the city has about 500 kilometers of beaches, where people can sunbathe or go swimming.
Shopping paradise
Berlin is a shopping paradise. There is everywhere not only colossal malls and vast stores to be found, but also a huge variety of unique boutiques and designer stores. The commercial world of Berlin offers all trendy European fashion products for competitive prices. Berlin has great fashion industry of its own.
The average Berliner (resident of Berlin) prefers the more practical and comfortable clothes, and regards sandals and jogging suits as stylish. Evening dresses and expensive suite are only seen in special occasions. However, in the rear chambers of the same boutiques that sell the Berliner what they like, unique dresses are especially designed for fancy customers. Representatives of international fashion companies roam often in Berlin and try to get inspired by the daring and imaginative Berliner design, especially in central quarters like Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain. Fashion design in Berlin was given even a bigger push by the annual fashion fairs conducted in the city.
Lots of attractions There is an amazing number of tourist attractions in Berlin. They are not concentrated in one or two places like in other cities in Europe, but rather spread all over the city. And it's also possible to simply prowl along the hundreds of charming streets either in the quiet parks or near the lakes and rivers. The architecture of Berlin is quite diverse. Even though the city was almost completely destroyed in the end of the Second World War, many of its buildings and monuments have been accurately reconstructed, and nowadays it's possible to see restored houses, which are built in all architectural styles, including medieval houses in the area of Alexanderplatz and ultra modern high rising buildings in Potsdammerplatz, made of glass and steel. An interesting characteristic of Berlin is its so called "architecture of yards". The old quarters of Berlin have a "central courtyard" structure: several buildings connected to each other by yards and passages. One of the famous blocks of this type is Hackeschen Hoefe (Hacke yards), which is located in the center of the city. Similar blocks are Heckmann-Hoefe in Oranienburger Strasse. And the dark side of Berlin: The city was just a few decades ago the center of the demonic plan to annihilate the Jewish people. Indeed, Death camps were operated mainly in Poland, but we shouldn't forget that Berlin was the capital of the Nazi regime, and its horrible decisions were accepted here. There are in Berlin many monuments and museums describing the Nazis and their deeds, and some remains of concentration camps. The fall of the wall Another interesting subject is the Cold War era and the division of the City. Not long ago, a compass was not needed for knowing where East started and where West. There was a wall, separating between the DDR, which was a part of the soviet influence area and West Germany.
Nowadays, after the fall of the wall, visitors in Berlin cannot really notice the difference between those two parts. Many of the dwelling houses that were built in the clumsy style of the German East, have been completely renovated. They seem amazingly modern. Check Point Charley exists only by name, and where it once served as a border pass, there are businesses and boutiques. Next: the royal mansion The Berlin authorities have made a great effort to rebuild Berlin as a modern capital. Construction works are seen everywhere. And some results are already seen. Potsdamerplatz, which was in the middle of the 90's the biggest construction site of Europe, turned out to be a super modern urban quarter. The Sony Center building is regarded as one of the main symbols of "new" Berlin. The new central railway station, Hauptbahnhof, the biggest in Europe, began to function in 2006. The construction of the new government quarter has been completed as well. The coping stone: the Reichstag building. Next Projects are: the new international airport and the restoration of the Hohenzolern dynasty mansion in the famous avenue Unter den Linden. Visit Dresden & Leipzig Tourists who would like to see more may take advantage of another important quality of Berlin: its location in the center of East Germany. Berlin is an excellent departure point for one or two-day tours in other marvelous places. Within two hours by train, you find yourselves in Potsdamm, Leipzig, Dresden, or Magdeburg. It would be an excellent idea as well to combine your hiking tour in Berlin with a wonderful vacation in a nearby resort or region. Click here for further information about your next summer holiday in Berlin or elsewhere in the world. It's very easy to orientate in Berlin. The streets have clear signposts. The spoken language is German, naturally, but many Berliners speak fluent English (click here to know more about the German language). The average Berliner is friendly and helpful. The public transportation system is quite efficient. In general' it's a friendly place for tourists. The authorities are willing to help .There are four information centers, and many services.
