Berlin
I first visited Berlin in 1976 at the height of the Cold War and when the city was divided by a wall, many buildings were war damaged shells with little future hope. The dividing wall contained a wide desolate death strip patrolled by guards under instructions to shoot to kill, dogs, razor wire, trenches etc. In 1989, along with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the wall came down. Since then the city has been totally rebuilt with imposing new buildings. The purpose of my visit in 2013 was to see how the city has changed in the last 37 years and since re-unification.

See also article entitled "Berlin"