Momentary Musings: Baltic Cruise: Berlin, Germany

Berlin meant a 3 hour bus ride in from the coast, but it was completely worth it. The most fascinating part was seeing the contrast between East and West Berlin. Historically, West Berlin was the place to be - there was money and capitalism, so they could afford to rebuild. East Berlin was communist and poor, and consequently they couldn't really rebuild. An interesting after effect is that decades later, East Berlin has become the place to be. When west Berlin was rebuilt, it was rebuilt in a rather utilitarian, unimaginative style. It was after a war, the important thing was just to get the city functioning again. East Berlin was barely rebuilt at all during that time, and remained in ruins for decades ... but the good news was that as it has started to be rebuilt, the builders are taking their time, and the architects are getting artsy. East Berlin is now where all the cool cats hang out.