Berlin- City of Scars

In order to see the sites in Berlin I decided to go for one of the tourist staples- the Hop On Hop Off narrated tour bus. You know the one- double decker navigating horrible urban traffic while somebody on a PA system blandly intones "and if you look to your left".

I got a great overview of the city including seeing part of the still standing Berlin Wall which I really liked. It's amazing to see the recent history written all over the city. Signs of the war are everywhere and yet Berlin is over 700 years old.

While it was very interesting to see the monuments, I didn't feel like I got a good feel for the pulse of this part of Germany. People from all over the world are everywhere taking pictures, touring, buying souvenirs. I'm glad I saw it and visited but I believe there is a more intriguing current human soul elsewhere in the country.