East Berlin – Eye on the East

Note: This is the second of two posts recounting Eye on the East’s recent visit to Berlin. The first post can be found here.

“You were just there, I was there, and now you say you may move there. Why is it that everybody’s in Berlin these days?”

“Someone told me that Berlin has the same energy and vibe today that Beirut had five years ago. I guess that may explain it…”

So I finally made it to Berlin, one of those cities high on my travel list for many reasons and no reason whatsoever. Coming from Beirut and after having visited Belfast last year (see Eye on the East’s account of Belfast here and here), I’m starting to believe my travel priorities are mandated by alphabetical preference or by a hidden fascination to explore cities that are quite like my own…

Continue reading “A walk beyond the Berlin Wall”

Note: This is the first of two posts recounting Eye on the East’s recent visit to Berlin. Part two can be found here.

I hate to admit it, but until very recently, I still associated Berlin almost exclusively with the Berlin Wall. Even after 25 years since the wall crumbled to pieces, stories of successful and failed escapes from East to West Berlin, neighborhoods divided by a simple concrete structure and tales of how a Cold War of worldwide proportions was also played out in the alleys of a single city, have never failed to intrigue me. It is mostly due to this socio-political curiosity – and not my love of sausages – that finally led me to visit Berlin. The fact that the visit coincided with the 25th anniversary of the fall of the wall, made the sightseeing a bit more crowded, but surely not less emotive. Continue reading “A walk along the Berlin Wall”