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Berlin - Nightsky’s first trip to Germany’s capital
Since I worked hard with my website about Berlin from my visit, I don’t want to put effort in making an extensive thread, instead I post just a few pictures and some links.
I visited Berlin in August 2012 for the first time, except for a brief visit in 2005 on the way back home from Prague. I have thought about making a more extensive visit to Berlin for many years, but have been cancelled many times. But now the time had come.
I flew to Tegel Airport from Copenhagen with Air Berlin, the flight took just one hour. I stayed at a hostel called the Helter Skelter; cheap, simple and centrally located between Friedrichstrasse and Oranienburger strasse. I visited both the west and the east part. Today you can hardly see where the border was.
I find Berlin both attractive and unattractive, both beautiful and ugly. It is an exciting metropolis with a vibrant nightlife and it is very interesting since it is constantly changing, it is easy to get the feeling that the city is being built right now! It is a bit annoying with all those construction sites though, with cranes and scaffolds that hide historic sites. Kreuzberg is the most hip district of Berlin, it attracts artists, hippies, punks and immigrants. Potsdamer Platz with its modern skyscrapers, the Parisian avenue Unter den Linden that begins at Brandenburger Tor, Kurfürstendamm that is the fashionable main avenue of West Berlin and Friedrichstrasse with its brand stores are the most luxorious roads of Berlin. At Friedrichstrasse you can find the once notorous Checkpoint Charlie, where people were shot to death if they tried to escape to the west, but today cars pass by as nothing happened. It is worth to notice that I bought a part of the wall, just next to Checkpoint Charlie.Alexanderplatz was the most centrally located place in the former East Berlin, and is still the most DDR looking place of Berlin, except for the super tall futuristic TV tower. It feels safe to walk in the center of Berlin, even at night. But Kreuzberg feels quite dangerous, especially after dark.
I visited the famous Reichstag, the TV tower (Fernsehturm), Pergamon museum, DDR museum, Neue Synagogue, Charlottenburg Castle, some churches, all major squares and streets, as well as some parts that are not so wellknown for tourists, like Oberbaumbrücke and Kreuzberg. I walked around at night at some occasions, but unfortunately I didn't see much of Berlin's famous nighlife, except for the rock bar at the hostel. Anyway, as the city lies only a one hour flight from where I live in Sweden, it is easy to come back. Berlin is the city with many sides. I also made a daytrip to the beautiful city Potsdam, one hour by train from Berlin (will be in a separate thread).
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A lot of walking and lots of impressions. 
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