INTRO | STORIES | JOURNALISTS                                              UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA BERLIN STUDY ABROAD 2005

An overview of Berlin today
History and pride breed a free-wheeling spirit

   
                                                                                          Trevor Clark
 

                            The mile-long Eastside Gallery features modern art on sections of the original Wall. (1/9)
 

 

Text by Matt Sanchez
 

 

      The city of Berlin is inseparable in the world’s imagination from the division and war that plagued its history. Other nations see it as the same stark, over-militarized industrial city as was the popular image during the World War II era.
         Anyone who visits the city today, however, can see how far this is from the truth.
         Berlin is a bustling, thoroughly-modern city that features few of the stereotypes attributed to it. The people are as varied as in any other city, though skewed toward the young liberal population common in “artsy” cities – which Berlin, believe it or not, most definitely is.
         Berlin’s unique combination of history and modernity is apparent anywhere you look. If given a chance, it offers as deep a cultural experience as the visitor is willing to seek out.                                                                           (continued)