Berlin is a city of cats. Not a dog city like Amsterdam: warm, cozy, brick, intimate, clear, small-scale. Everything always comes running towards you there. Not in Berlin. Before you know it, you’ll be on the wrong street, between high-rise residential towers, next to a roller coaster motorway like Leipziger Strasse, which cuts through the center.
When you visit Berlin, forget all your (pre) judgments about how a city works and / or what it should look like. That does not apply to Berlin. Conversely, because this city does not fit in a well-known box, there is much to discover. Very, very much. From the traces of the many histories that can clearly be found in the street scene, to beautiful parks, just a few steps away from the busy Hauptbahnhof.
Berlin is never what you see. There is always a story behind it. Berlin is a city of cats. A city that doesn’t care what you think of her. This makes it a place for people who want to discover something. Who want to experience the spontaneous, the unexpected. Berlin is not a concept city, not a glossy folder full of nice coffee shops here and boutiques there. Of course you can also find that …
But this lasagne city with its many (historical) layers is asking to be discovered. Every day…but with a slight warning: Berlin can swallow you mercilessly. The many (nocturnal) temptations are not always visible in the street scene. But once you know the places and the routes and give in to the nightlife, you run the risk of drowning in them. That doesn’t bother Berlin at all…
For you, she has ten others! Her unpredictability makes her seductive and dangerous.
Vincent Kompier
Vincent lived in Berlin from 2008 to 2014 and worked as a tour guide with an emphasis on urban development / urban planning / urban culture.