by Andre Sanchez

A few years ago if someone had suggested taking a Berlin vacation, you would have shuddered. Prior to the Second World War, Berlin was the heart of Europe, with great food and great entertainment. The film ‘Cabaret’, which is pretty true to the mark, indicates just how popular Berlin was. After the war, however, Berlin came under a Russian rule of iron, and all that stopped. Now, however, Berlin is again the capital city of Germany and has worked hard to regain its former glory.

With cutting edge music and theatre, Berlin is now the place to be. The arts scene in Berlin has achieved international acclaim, and what has been achieved since the wall fell in 1989 is no less than remarkable. This has occurred through the efforts of the Berlin people and the response of these efforts by the rest of the world. Berlin now provides a vacation to people of all ages through its history, arts, entertainment and hospitality.

Berlin is not a beautiful city in the same that Paris or Edinburgh is, but it is vibrant, and possesses a unique Germanic architecture that you cannot fail to be impressed with when you enter the city. It is now an international cosmopolitan city, and it is possible to visit Berlin on vacation, and leave, without ever having experienced Germany! There is French and Italian cuisine, the music of Strauss who was Austrian, the movies of America and the musicals of the British. You can purchase the sartorial creations of Versace and the perfumes of Lancôme and never come across true Germany.

However, this is to its credit. A city that has spent so long isolated from western influence has encompassed it with a will that belies its reputation as a stern city, to which fun was an anachronism. Berlin is now finding itself. It has a vibrancy that it never knew after 1936. It is rebuilding its traditions and is now a fascinating city to visit for a serious, and a fun, vacation.

So what do you do when in Berlin on vacation? Firstly, people who make a habit of vacationing in Disneyland do not vacation in Berlin. They should, because they are missing a lot, but the entertainment is of a different order. The Berlin Wall comes to mind immediately, but it is mostly gone. It has been sold in every souvenir shop in the world, and is part of many new German buildings as a symbol of freedom.

The Berlin Wall Museum is well worth visiting, though it seems to be a bit toned down, and not to show it as it was. Perhaps, however, we have inflated preconceptions of what it really was like. It is after all an embarrassment for the German authorities and the watchtower close by was recently removed for apparently no reason. It is close the site of Checkpoint Charlie at the corner of Friedrichstrasse and Zimmerstrasse. You should also visit the Barnderburg Gate which is the symbol of Germany’s occupation and freedom. The museum is well worth a visit and seems a bit more authentic than the Berlin Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie, which was, after all, only one checkpoint on the interface between East and West Berlin.

These museums are still both worth a visit and you should not visit Berlin with a preconception of what life actually was in the city during the cold war. There was a lot of propaganda on both sides, much of which was proved to be false once the wall came down, and the facts given in these museums are frequently regarded with distrust due to these preconceptions.

Berlin is famous for its festivals. There seem to be festivals for everything all year round. Among them are the Berlin International Film Festival, the second most important in the film festival calendar, the Berlin Jazzfest and the Fete de la Music. Then we have the Love Parade which I shall not tell you about, but its political alternative is the Fuck Parade. The Carnival of Culture is very popular, and there are countless others, all very popular and all attended by a friendly and multicultural crowd.

Of course, you mustn’t forget the shopping in Berlin. Berlin is not yet renowned for the top designer outlets, and it benefits from that. Shopping is a different experience in Berlin and it is well worth a Berlin vacation just to check out the shops and the art and craft centers.

If you brought the children, Berlin has the largest zoo in the world. The aquarium is also close by and one day is not enough to visit all the animals. There are also almost 200 kilometers of waterway in Berlin, and the children will enjoy being on the boat while you take part in the boat tour through Berlin.

If you like history, Berlin has over 170 museums and Museum Island, or Museuminsel, is very popular with the Old Museum and the National Gallery among others.

A Berlin vacation is something different, and well worth taking. You will be surprised at the vibrancy of this city which combines the youth of being reborn with the old of what was, and still is, an ancient city of Europe and one of the major cities of the world. It is a unique experience, and as with Rome, everybody should go there at least once in their life.

A Berlin Vacation Will Surprise You was originally published at http://www.globallifenow.com