Berlin was buzzing and has a wonderful vibe.
Apart from first class productions of the three operas at the Deutches Oper (Ii Viaggio a Reims, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Il Trittico) what particularly struck me was how the legacy of the Cold War and the Berlin Wall is still very much in evidence. In many ways, the city’s hub has moved eastwards since the collapse of the Berlin Wall.
In 1978, I remember very well walking through Checkpoint Charlie with friends into the Eastern Sector. It was an eerie experience as we walked past so many destroyed buildings unchanged since the war – everywhere so desolate. This time as we drove through the same checkpoint on the excellent Open Top Double Deck Tour the contrast was extraordinary. Hordes of tourists milling around the former checkpoint and then all those same ruined buildings mostly now beautifully restored such as the iconic Französischer Dom, the Deutscher Dom and the Konzerthaus Berlin all surrounding the Gendarmenmarkt – surely now the most beautiful public plaza in Berlin.
