Books in Berlin

Berlin was my next stop after Budapest, and I must admit that I enjoyed it far more than I expected. I spent almost all my time in East Berlin, which is an amazing place to explore, since the majority of the city has been rebuilt within the last ten years - and is still being rebuilt.

It is also East Berlin which was the original city - West Berlin is actually outside of the old city borders. Went on an amazing walking tour of East Berlin (mostly, some of West Berlin as well) which went for nine hours. The guide was a British man, who used to be a history teacher and had worked for the British navy, stationed in Berlin for a dozen years, before working for the British embassy for a number of years, including during the fall of the wall. Although very British in his point of view, his knowledge of the city and it's history - both recent and ancient - was fantastic, and his accounts of families and friendships torn apart by the wall were ... they really made it real to me - brough it home to me.

Another place that did this, was the site of the book burnings by the nazi party. There is an amazing piece of art now in the square before the Humboldt library to commemorate the tragic event. It is a pane of glass placed in the floor of the square. When you look down into it, all you can see is empty bookshelves, stretching as far as you can see, if you step back slowly, continuing to look into it, you first see the bookshelved continue to stretch, before the glass becomes a mirror, reflecting the library and other university buildings. Wow.