made it

a view of Berlin's famous TV tower from Alexanderplatz

We're finally here in Berlin! *sigh of relief*

After 24-plus hours of travelling (including two long layovers in London and Stuttgart), we were happy to finally find our way to our hostel around 6pm local time. Our first night was a mellow one, mostly spent walking around Alexanderplatz and the neighborhood of Prenzlauer Berg, a trendy district about a 20-minute walk from where we live.

It feels strange being back--Berlin feels very familiar and yet unfamiliar. The city changes every year, so much so that I keep saying to Byron, "This is so different from what I remember!" Alexanderplatz developed all of these big shopping malls. Neighborhoods look more gentrified. Yet despite the changes, it's still the same fascinating city--a strange mixture of history and modernity, a paradoxical blend of past and present, Hapsburg glory and Cold War sterility.

Some of my initial impressions after six years: I was reminded of how dirty the city can be, but that is also part of its uniqueness. There are buildings that look like they still have straces of bullet holes and bombings leftover from the war, never fixed or reconstructed. So many buildings are abandoned and dilapidated, yet now taken over by artists and squatters, canvasses for urban personal expression. Berlin may not be the most beautiful city in Europe, but it is definitely the coolest.