Berlin is such a fascinating city! Not only is it historically rich and super important, which we were expecting, but it is also one of the most architecturally stunning places we have ever visited. A total surprise!
What makes Berlin so architecturally interesting is that SO MUCH of it is new, built after the Wall came down in the last 20 years.
From Frank Gehry to I.M. Pey, the most renowned architects in the world have new and breathtaking buildings here!
And the government buildings are so beautiful as well! It is really special to see how they use glass as a symbol of transparency and the extra efforts they put in their architecture – truly going above and beyond – to consciously and subconsciously promote the message of reunification and repentance.
Everywhere you go in Berlin there are traces of the past, seamless incorporated into the present and not hidden away. Like the one remaining watch tower from the cold war days we saw near Check Point Charlie.
Old buildings were destroyed from the inside out but their facades often remained intact and painstaking work went into recreating and re-purposing those structures.
And it is just so powerful to go and see the remnants of the Wall. To go and visit all of these places that have played such an important part in history. And to see and hear about it first-hand.
Really powerful stuff! Really amazing trip!
Thankful we are here and that we get to spend a few more days in Berlin!