Victory Column from the tunnel that crosses the 19th of July Street roundabout
“Näschte Halt, Alexanderplatz, übergang zur U2, U8, zum Regionalverkehr, zur S-Bahn mit verbindung zum Hauptbahnhof, und zum Bus mit verbindung zum Flughafen Tegel. Change here for bus service to Tegel Airport.” ~ U5 announcement for Alexanderplatz Station
I’ve been on the U5 to Alexanderplatz so many times I can memorise every single announcement along the way from my former Soviet apartment in Karlshorst district. Berlin is really the place where I found myself and I even wrote a book about me experience living there. Berliners are different from other Germans. Sure, they follow rules and uphold superior moral values while expecting others to do the same, but there’s a sort of freedom there – the freedom to be yourself.
My three-speed Columbus on a Regio
I asked myself what Berlin really means to me deep down inside my heart. In a way, falling in love with Berlin was almost like falling in love with a real person. I felt important in Berlin, as if everything anyone did could have an impact on shaping the city. It’s not an anonymous façade of glass walled buildings, but a friendly collection of local businesses with faces that I could relate to.
By day, Berlin is the girlfriend that I cohabited with and had a steady, enduring relationship; by night, it was the college slut that I had an affair with unbeknownst to my girlfriend. Without a doubt, Berlin is one place, but its two personas satisfied my contradicting cravings for stability and excitement. It’s that unique split personality that made Berlin special to me, I’m proud to share it with three million others and happy to call it my own.
There’s simply no city worthy of comparison: Berlin is an agglomeration of the culture of Dresden + the architecture of Pirna + the history of Warsaw + the vibrancy of Hamburg + the organization of Frankfurt + the people of Wuppertal. There’s no place…like home.
