Last summer, I went to Berlin on a study trip with my year and the year above me. We roamed through the city and visited tons of Sehenswürdigkeiten (sights). Berlin was divided in East and West for several years. The western part belonged to the allies (England, France and the US). And because it was much more (..attractive) to live in West Berlin, the people in the eastern part started to emigrate. To stop the masses of people leaving East Berlin, Walter Ulbricht and the Sovjet Union leader, Nikita Chroesjtsjov, decided to build The Berliner Wall around West Berlin.You must be wondering why the government of West Berlin didn't do anything about it. Well Berlin was situated in Soviet grounds and only the western part of it belonged to the allies. The Sovjet Union could easily build the wall just outside the borders.
After the wall was taken down, you could see the differences between West and East very clearly. The East was poor and the majority of the houses were cheap flats. Nowadays, the differences are less significant than they were previously. Today the streets of East Berlin are full of street art and the citizens of Berlin say that the Eastern part is what you could call "hipster central."
I love the way East Berlin looks and I made some great pictures there.
Hope you enjoy this post!
Let us know what other things you would like to see!
-Juul-