First Impressions - Redux

Berlin is a huge city. I read in the NY Times that it's eight times the size of Paris. There are two main rivers that pass through the city, the Spree and the Havel. Not surprisingly, this is also a city of bridges and could certainly give Amsterdam and Venice some competition there. Unfortunately, I've only got a little less than five days, so I'll do my best to see the highlights, but I won't be able to spend anything close to the amount of time I would like to spend. There's so much history - both good and bad - here, but it's all interesting to me.

Of course, everyone knows the history of Berlin since the end of WW2 when the city was divided. Surprisingly, there seems to be a hint of nostalgia (or "Ostalgie") for the old days. No one really wants to return to the way it was, but some memories are rose colored. One can take various tours that focus on life in the days when the city was divided. There are also a lot of tourist shops that sell former DDR memorabilia, museums dedicated to the old days, and even a driving tour in one of the old Trabants that were so prevalent. There's even a GDR Museum that focuses on what life was like in the old East.

In the former West, as money and capital flowed and life began to return to normal, children were taught English in their schools. Hence the level of English spoken by the "Wessies" is reasonably good. However, this isn't quite so true in the former East Berlin. There, instead of English, schoolchildren were taught Russian. In hindsight, they probably wish they had thought that through a bit more.