The most challenging city you’ll ever love
While the name Berlin might still carry echoes of its tumultuous past, the city itself is a spectacular place to visit. Bursting with history, you can waltz under the Brandenburg Gate and place you finger into the bulletholes that testify to the city’s darkest moments. There are dozens of fascinating museums illuminating everything from ancient Islamic art to German filmmaking, even the lamentable habits of the Stasi. Berlin’s skyline mirrors its unusual history. Gleaming modern skyscrapers stand tall against the Fernsehturm, an East German TV tower that was raised with lofty intentions, only to later become a massive relict of the Communist era. You’ll gape in amazement the first time you glimpse “Hollow Tooth" church, with its main spire eerily blasted away, leaving only a sea shell-like curl. While it is impossible to forget the war and its victims on a visit to Berlin, you will also be bowled over by the spirited locals and their infectious passion for diversion. Catch the mayhem of a local pub during a soccer match, or hit any of the countless shopping districts. Once it gets late—very late—the clubs turn up the volume and the remaining locals pour onto the streets to dance until sunrise. You won’t expect to fall for Berlin, but it just might become your favorite European city
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