On November 9th, 1989 the Berlin wall fell after more than 40 years of political and economical partition in Germany. Since the reunification Berlin regained its status as a single city. But the different dimensions between the former eastern and western sector of Berlin still remained. The relocation of the German government and parliament to Berlin has focused world attention on the city, as could be seen by the mass of international visitors. Politics and diplomacy have lent the city a new internationality. With an area of 889 square kilometer and a population of approximately 4 million, Berlin is Germany's largest city.

Let’s have a look on the most attractive sights of the city, starting in the eastern center of Berlin, on Alexanderplatz:

The Television Tower (built in 1969) remains to this day the city’s tallest structure at 365m (1.197ft). One of the attractions of the tower is the revolving café. A full rotation takes about half an hour, so it is possible to get a bird’s-eye view of the whole city while sipping a cup of coffee.
The Weltzeituhr, showing the times around the world, dates from 1969, the year of the moon landing.
The Red Town Hall (Rotes Rathaus) [Rathausstraße 5] is Berlin’s main town hall. The present building was designed by H.F. Waesemann, and the construction works went on from 1861 until 1869. The walls are made from red brick, that gave the town hall its name. Today the Rotes Rathaus is the center of authority, housing the offices of the mayor and the Berlin cabinet.
The Museumsinsel, a long island that nestles in the tributaries of the Spree river is the cradle of Berlin’s history, because it was here that the first settlements appeared at the beginning of the 13th century. There are some interesting buildings on the island, including the neo-baroque Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral) and the impressive collection of museums (Altes Museum, Old National Gallery, Pergamon Museum) that give the island its name. The Pergamon Museum houses a collection of antiquities as well as the famous Zeus altar of Pergamon, the Isthar Gate and the Marjetgate of Milet.
The Berliner Dom [Am Lustgarten], situated opposite the Schloßplatz, has a Neo-Baroque interior decoration with a central copper dome some 85m (279ft) high.
The New Synagogue on Oranienburger Straße bears witness to the past significance of the Jewish community in Berlin. Saved during "Kristallnacht" by a courageous policeman, it was destroy by bombs in 1943. The front part of the building was rebuilt and today houses the exhibitions of the Centrum Judaicum.
The well known grand boulevard Unter den Linden starts at Schloßplatz and runs down to the Brandenburg Gate. There are a lot of famous buildings of Berlin: Neue Wache designed by Schinkel, Zeughaus, State Opera House, State Library and Humboldt Universtiy.
The Humboldt University Building [Unter den Linden 6] was constructed in 1753 for the Prince Heinrich of Prussia. The overall design of the palace, with its main block and the courtyard enclosed within two wings, has been extended many times. Two marble statues by Paul Otto (1883) stand at the entrance; these represent Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. The Humboldt brothers rank among the most distinguished Berlin citizens. Wilhelm (1767-1835) was a lawyer and politican on whose initiative the Berlin University (later renamed Humboldt University) was founded in 1810.
The new Berlin is represented at the Gendarmenmarkt area [U Stadtmitte or U Französische Straße] with the French Cathedral and the German Cathedral standing on opposite sides of the Concert Hall and the Friedrichstraße. This street was in the pre-war time the main shopping street of Berlin. Today it attempts to become an attraction again with the help of modern architecture, elegant restaurants and international designer shops.
The probably most well-known landmark of the town is the Brandenburg Gate [Pariser Platz]. The magnificent Neo-Classical structure, modeled on the Athenian Propylaea (the entrance to the Acropolis), was constructed between 1778 and 1791. The whole structure is crowned by J.G. Schadow’s famous sculpture, Quadriga. Throughout its history, the Brandenburg Gate has borne witness to many of Berlin’s important events. Located in East Berlin, the gate was restored in the fifthies, when the damaged Quadriga was rebuilt in West Berlin. Over the next 40 years it stood watch over the divided city, until 1989, when the first section of the Berlin Wall came down.
Built to house the German Parliament, the Reichstag [Platz der Republik] was constructed between 1884 and 1894 to a New-Renaissance design by Paul Wallot. Capturing the prevailing spirit of German optimism, it became a potent symbol to the populace. After German reunification in 1990, the Reichstag was the first meeting place of a newly elected Bundestag. The latest rebuilding project, the huge glass dome designed by Sir Norman Foster, transformed the Reichstag into a modern meeting hall in which the first parliamentary meeting took place on 19 April 1999.
In the short space of a few years a new financial and business district has sprung up on what was the vast wasteland surrounding the Postdamer Platz [S & U Potsdamer Platz]. It boasts splendid constructions designed by Renzo Piano, Arata Isozaki and Helmut Jahn. As well as office blocks (Debis and Sony buildings), the area has many public buildings, including cinemas and a theatre, as well as a huge shopping centre (the Arkaden) plus luxury hotel, restaurants and several bars.
The Tiergarten [S Tiergarten or S Bellevue or Bus 100] is Berlin’s largest and most popular urban park. Once a forest used as the Elector’s hunting reserve, the Tiergarten was transformed into a landscaped park by Peter Joseph Lenné in the 1830s. He added the lakes and watercourses which are responsible for the charm and attraction of the park.
The Victory Column [Großer Stern, S Bellevue or Bus 100], based on a design by Johann Heinrich Strack, was built to commemorate victory in the Prusso-Danish war of 1864. It originally stood in front of the Reichstag building but was moved to its present location (Großer Stern) by the Nazi government in 1938. Those who climb the 285 steps of the spiral stairway are not only reward with a panoramic view of the city, they also come close to the statue "Golden Else".
The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche [Breidscheidplatz, S & U Zoologischer Garten or Bus 100] is one of Berlin’s most famous landmarks. The vast Neo-Romanesque church was designed by Franz Schwechten. It was consecrated in 1895 and destroyed by bombs in 1943. After the war the ruins were removed, leaving only the front tower at the base of which the Gedenkhalle (Memorial Hall) is situated. In 1963, Egon Eiermann designed a new octagonal church in blue glass and a new freestanding bell tower.

One of Berlin’s main boulevards is the legendary Kurfürstendamm [U Kurfürstendamm].

The baroque palace Schloß Charlottenburg [Luisenplatz, U Richard-Wagner Platz or Sophie-Charlotte-Platz] was intended as a summer home for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Elector Friedrich III. Construction began in 1695 to a design by J.A. Nering, and ended in 1746 with extensions by Frederik the Great (Friedrich II) who added the east wing. The palace was restored to its former elegance after World War II and its richly decorated interiors are unequalled in Berlin. It houses a collection of paintings by Watteau, Caspar David Friedrich and Spitzweg.

Potsdam – A beautiful daytrip from Berlin

Take S7 to Potsdam-Hauptbahnhof (in C Zone; see Public Transportation).
From station Alexanderplatz or Friedrichstraße take train RE1 (direction: Brandenburg or Magdeburg) to Potsdam-Hauptbahnhof every 30min.

In Potsdam, the glittering city of Frederick II (the Great), master builders and artists created a fascinating ensemble of palaces, parks and gardens.
The most important park is the 600-acre Park Sanssouci, the summer residence of Frederick II. There are countless marble fountains, exotic pavilions (for example Chinesisches Teehaus) and Baroque castles. At the end of the long Hauptallee (central path) stands the Versailles-esque Schloß Sanssouci with a terraced garden. At the opposite end of the park is the largest of the four castles, the 200-room Neues Palais.
Built in the style of an English country manor, Schloß Cecilienhof [Bus 694 to Cecilienhof] hosted the signatories of the 1945 Potsdam Treaty.
The Holländische Viertel (Dutch district) is an impressive peculiarity of Potsdam. Between 1732 and 1734 a separate city for Dutch emigrants was built in the city: a lot of red-brick-houses (today 128) have beautiful white-green portal decoration and window-sill [area Benkertstraße/Hebbelstraße].