Ich Bin Ein Berlinerin

Here are some things to love about Berlin:

For all its history, Berlin feels like a very modern city. Lots of modern art and architecture, and just a very vibrant energy to it. The Reichstag (German parliament building) is a good example of this - the facade of it is the original old stone structure, but inside that shell is a totally modern building. I love this juxtaposition of old and new.

East and West: Though the city has united in many ways over the past 20 years, there's still a very present awareness of the city's divided history. There's a line of bricks that runs through the streets to show where the wall once stood. There's been so much construction in the area where the wall stood that you can't really see the division there anymore, but you can tell a difference when you're farther into the east side, or into the west side. One of my favorite remnants of East Berlin is the walk/don't walk signs on that side of the city. I just find them totally charming.

The Holocaust Memorial is incredibly powerful. It's not literal, but it's very moving. It reminds me of the Vietnam Memorial a little bit, in the way it just kind of rises out of the ground somewhat inconspicuously, and then just renders this amazing emotional blow. Walking through the stone pillars gets really disorienting, and you can hear echos of voices and catch glimpses of people walking through, but then they disappear. And the lines and angles and shadows change as you move through. It's an experience not to be missed if you're in Berlin.

The Germans definitely know their way around a pastry kitchen. Dang I had some tasty treats in Berlin! Really, all the food I ate there was excellent, from the Doener Kebap to the legendary Currywurst, but the desserts inspired us to learn the word for "delicious" in German: Lecker!
An excellent public transit system makes Berlin super easy to get around. The S-Bahn (above-ground train), U-Bahn (subway), buses and trolleys are clean, punctual and make it totally unnecessary to drive pretty much anywhere in the city. Love. It.

Don't miss the Checkpoint Charlie Museum! It's not super scholarly, nor particularly linear, but it is a labor of love and really tells some amazing stories of the divided city. Plus it's filled with powerful imagery and artwork - some by well-known artists, some by Berlin school children. It really packs and emotional punch, which I wasn't expecting.
I can't wait to go back and explore more of this city!