Berlin:be naked, wee in the street, have sex in public but never cross the road when the ammpleman is red

So far the places I had been offered picturesque town centres or stylish architecture, they had been generally gentle and calm places. Berlin certainly mixed things up a bit. It is built to last; robust and dynamic. The immediate thing I noticed in Berlin was that there was a lot of sky; public space does not seem an issue here. Large expanses of space sit between the powerful and massive buildings in and around what was the hear t of Nazi Germany. The city reminded me of an architectural model, the little plastic figures look so small against the huge pristine buildings. But on this model as you move away from the centre the buildings have been scribbled on and some trampled over. For me there was two distinct parts to Berlin. Perhaps because I was only there two days and visited two different areas...but no, there is.



The centre of the city, which for me represented the struggle and problems that the people of Germany had been through throughout history, shows the power and command that was once here, under Nazi and then communist rule. As you move out away from this area you see the people’s responses to the history and how they have shaped this city into a very unique and diverse place: unlike any other capital city. It is away from the ‘historic’ buildings, which constantly cloud your vision with recollections of what Berlin once was, where you get a sense of what Berlin is and who the Berliners are. They are creative and endearing. What I liked most was their use of space. If a building becomes out of use and in disrepair they don’t knock it down and build something flashy, they inhabit it, utilise it and make the most out of that building. Techno clubs in power stations and art centres in bombed out department stores. Although this is becoming a struggle as the government are selling off land to large corporate companies. Some communities are fighting against the invasion of commercialism which does not seem to have hit Berlin like other capital cities. They deface billboard over and over till eventually the advertiser gives up. The street art is hard to miss. Graffiti is everywhere on anything. Some of it is brilliant, beautiful and evocative, some of it shit scribble. It seems to be how Berliners express themselves, protesting through an art form which is very public and honest.


Berlin is not the city once was. Through its honesty and openness it has been able to overcome its very negative past. But it is still and will always remain a place which evokes many different emotions. Sadness, anger and compassion as you look to its past but hope, excitement and anticipation as you look towards the future.