“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”- Rose Kennedy

Berlin is the heart of Europe; the inheritor of eastern and western European influences. Though if Europe were a runway, you won’t find Berlin modeling the catwalk.

Not renowned for beauty, Berlin is a city of contrasts: often considered ugly, dirty, even violent in her image. Her face bears the scars of war and the tumultuous effects of change. This is the capital of Germany. Hers is an inner beauty: the resilient spirit of an over-comer. The inspiration of song, the Wall for her was a “fact of life”.

Like a self-conscious debutante, Berlin captivates our heart with her multi-cultural diversity. Hers is a rich Bohemian rhapsody gracefully dancing to a modern, upbeat tempo. To know Berlin is ” to be” and ” to see” her as a Berliner.

She has withstood all would-be challengers: Prussians, Nazis, and Communists.

Leviticus 17:11, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

For the heart to function properly, the four chambers must beat in an organized manner. The four heart chambers fill with and pump blood. In Berlin bled the revolutionary life of dissent that kept alive the hope of a nation beaten down by oppressors. Berlin is where East kisses West and mix heterogeneously. One-third of her 3.5 million inhabitants are incomers.*

*(An outsider who moves to a community or a place; not an original inhabitant).

Turkish rivals German as the everyday language of the streets in some parts of the city, and Berlin is host to many Slavic-speaking minorities. The dominant religion in this region of northeast Germany is Evangelical Lutheranism, but the immigrants to Berlin have brought their own faiths: Islam, Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity.

Like a heart, Berlin pulses with her links to the east, especially Poland and Russia, as well as western. Her eastern perspective has become even more important with the expansion of the European Union. Remember that the middle of Berlin is just an hour’s drive from the Polish border.

Slow to embrace modern technologies, Berlin is not an affluent city and quite unlike other western European capitals. But inside Berlin beats the historic heart that traditionally was noted for eclectic commentaries and detached, impartial yet passionate writing that still feeds Europe today.

“Ich bin ein Berliner.”

There are many ways to get around Berlin. You can travel on bicycle; foot; bus; “rickshaw”; S-Bahn; U-Bahn. See Berlin as the Berliners do. Half of Berlin’s households don’t own a car. Berliners like to bike. The city is flat, green and highly accessible via bike lanes. Even in mid-city the streets are quite safe.

“Bike the Berlin Wall”

Take a ride along seven miles – stop off to climb up one of the last border watch towers, complete with the original border fortifications. See where East Berliners desperately jumped from their roof tops to get into the West. Stop at Checkpoint Charlie and hear the gruesome stories of travel in and out of the Iron Curtain was for those at the time. Visit the Wall Museum. Enjoy the open air and definitely pick up some pieces of the Wall. Relax and enjoy a view of the platz via a window seat at Starbucks with the spectacular Brandenburg Gate in the background.

“Walk the Wall” – take a leisurely stroll and get an overview of the French, British, Ameican and Soviet sectors.

Take a tour of the Third Reich: visit Hitler’s bunker, the Nazi Air Force Ministry, the SS and Gestapo HQ. Feel the bitter Cold War that was fought in the shadows of Berlin. Visit the museums for glimpses into the people, places and secrets that kept two worlds on the brink of World War III, and the Wall that separated them. From Ghost Stations, the Stasi Museum, and the only remaining complete section of the Wall.

Sachsenhausen, Concentration Camp Memorial -

Just outside the city limits stands a reminder of the darkest days of Berlin history: Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Built in 1936 by slave labor, Sachsenhausen became the model that all other camps followed. It was a school of brutality, training guards for positions in other camps. By the end of WWII, over 50,000 people had died there. The tragic history continued from 1945-1950 when the new Communist occupiers followed in the Nazi footsteps and used the camp to detain political enemies. Thousands more perished during this period. Visiting Sachsenhausen is one of the most important things you can do on your visit to Berlin.

J