BERLIN

I woke up this morning and took a five hour train ride to Berlin. The whole ride, I felt a little bit like I was in the first scene of Cabaret, sitting in my compartment with the ticket agents periodically coming in and asking me for my tickets in non-nonsense German. Of course, instead of sharing my space with a gregarious German who wanted to show me all around town, I was across from a sullen backpacker who typed away on his Apple computer the whole time.

But none of that mattered when I actually got to Berlin. Berlin! From the moment, I stepped in the train station, I knew that this is the type of city that can only be spoken about with exclamation points. Outside of New York, I have not been in a place before that pulsated like this. It is a kaleidoscope of cultures and languages and just plain stuff happening.

A walk down Oranienstrasse presented a bevy of stimulating things to see from quirky shops, hip bars & clubs, dynamic modern building, and cozy little coffee shops.

Now I would be completely shallow to not mention that a lot of what is thrilling about Berlin is due to its complicated and devastating history. Multiculturalism stemmed out of years of occupation by various countries. The sleek, jaw-dropping architecture grew out of a need to rebuild post-war.

But Berlin is not a city that hides from its past. It looks it square in the face and keeps on moving on.