Berlin the city of contradictions

Berlin is that city which takes you by storm literally. The mix of the old and the new is what makes Berlin the city of Germany and Europe historic in contemporary times. It is a city that has division not just on either side of the wall be it the western or the eastern gallery that you are thinking about. It is a city that takes you at every step with a mix of modernity going forward to post modern built from the history. The history that has been laced with German philosophy to the dark times of Nazi Germany as well as the division of Germany with this city being divided amongst four nations. Imagine that! So one of the very first trip that I took with my friends during my Erasmus Exchange from far off India was to see the city that really blows away your mind. The streets that lead to the museum of Berlin or the Brandenburg gate or be it the gardens of Berlin. The Charlie gate of Berlin where you can get even communist regime merchandise or the replica passports stamped for gate pass of the yesteryears are not to be missed. The whole idea of the city of Berlin is a mix and match of the various cultures, the underground bunker clubs where you feel stuffy but also appalled at the counter culture. Not to forget that the city of Berlin is the way to live and understand the new and the unconventional. The movies like Goodbye Lenin could not have had a better setting than Berlin or even for Bollywood with their King Khan, Shah Rukh making the way into the city with Don 2. Berlin is bold and has also the shock value. The remains of the Fuhrer’s bunker in the historic zone known as “The Reign of Terror” or the last existing Nazi era building which was once a Reich ministry office surely would send chills down the spine of history buffs especially reminding that it was not such a long time ago The picture of Conrad Adenauer asking for forgiveness in front of the people of Israel presented in the photo exhibition near the Brandenburg gate on one hand would remind of the past whereas the electric bikes going past you in the same place reminds of the future. This is Berlin the city of past and the city of future. A city made of contradictions is what Berlin is all about where on the eastern side of the city one sees the Communist era building and the western sides shows the glitzy ones. The same goes for the cars with one having commie era cars and the other side the sports cars. The experience of looking into the new with friends of same age from all over Europe and the rest of the world was truly amazing. The metro system reminded me of my own city’s metro, Kolkata the first one to start in India with the same old rakes which were quite different and contradictory to the rest of Germany and European cities. That is exactly what had made me see Berlin in a new way visiting it twice. The wall pieces of Berlin being sold for you to own a piece of history to the open counter culture which you find it difficult to see or access so openly in other parts of the world. Not to forget the lower hostel or the rent rates in Berlin that makes it affordable for the youngsters and the students to make it. That’s how I started on this trip with my Erasmus program friend back in the year 2014 but even after so many years cannot help to stop feeling alive because of the memories that were created during my trip there. That is what has kept me so obsessed with Berlin ever since I visited the city and the way the city genuinely opens up to you with its own way of embracing hospitality and the cultural warmth that does not reek of superiority but inclusiveness. The very same concept that I have seen in India with the mixing of cultures that creates an unique and kaleidoscopic spaces which are created like Berlin.