Berlin Retrospective

Berlin is a city of contrasts.

Everywhere one looks, there are odd juxtapositions of old and new, grand and humble, refined and edgy, east and west. A simple walk through the winding streets reveals discoveries of all kinds: one alleyway might be pounding with the bass-heavy thumpthump of a modern diskotek (replete with all the gritty characters that one would expect to be present), while another might open up into a grand platz resplendent with the ornate decoration and gilded opulence of a bygone era. Another road might lead one to reminders of the dark and bloody past that has shrouded this city's last century of history, a past that has resulted in this division of character. Yet, it is this unique dissimilitude that gives Berlin it's beauty and life.

This sense of contrast has been pervasive through our entire experience in Berlin - the concerts we have attended have been no exception. The Bennewitz String Quartet mixed the sublime beauty of Dvorak with the esoteric experimentation of Horinka; the Staatsoper production of The Magic Flute combined the tradition and simplicity of Mozart with the austerity of modern minimalist stage production; the Berlin Philharmonic placed the ethereal modernism of Crumb alongside Bruckner's bombastic romanticism. This series of concerts has provided a perfect companion (and wholly unintentional commentary) to our adventures in Berlin, accenting the unique character of the city and it's people. 

Berlin is a city of contrasts. 

It is this contrast that has made my time in Berlin an experience that will stay with me for many years to come. From its cobbled streets to its highest skyscraper, Berlin is filled both with whispers of the past and images of the bright future that is being forged with every new building, every hopeful dream. It is a city shaped by its past, but not defined by it. Would that the rest of the world could say the same. 

Now, onwards to Prague.