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That's an impression from a visitor, not a learned historical analysis, but it's difficult to otherwise explain the vibrant dynamism we've witnessed in every corner of the city we've visited.

I think it's because the last 20 years in the city have been defined by a reaction against East German/Stasi authoritarism. The folks who brought down the Berlin Wall - and most especially their children, who have never lived under dictatorship - have embraced the 'Never Again' slogan, which European Jewry adopted after World War II when establishing Israel, and are building a new Germany here whose values and approach to living is antithetical to Nazi and Communist totalitarian rule. On that score, though, Berlin's got us beat by a country mile. Word War II and the Cold War left a scar on this town's psyche which in many ways still defines the city, if only by what its denizens are AGAINST (which typically defines people much more than what they are FOR.) There's a disdain for conformity and a celebration of diversity and individualism that's striking and rather extreme, even coming from the United States which of course fancies itself the global bastion of individualism. While we've been here (in late August and early September) the high temperatures have been in the 60s - a little cold for Kathy but right in my wheelhouse. It's flat as a skillet and perfect for bicycle riding - particularly compared to hilly Austin where biking is great for bulking up your calves but not really a viable way for average people to get around when the weather's hot.

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This town is full of museums, restaurants, monuments and other touristy spots, but one is most impressed, perhaps, by the city itself - the cosmopolitan crowds, the cutting-edge architecture, and the huge areas of green space everywhere. Western developers for years had been eyeing the no-man's land between East and West Germany before the wall fell and and today near what used to be 'Checkpoint Charlie' you'll huge, impressive, glass and steel monuments to western capitalism with no trace of the old divisions beyonnd a few out-of-the-way memorials and a bizarre tourist-trap set-up where people get their pictures taken near a mock-up of the old sign, 'You Are Now Leaving the American Sector.' On the day we went they required no fee, so the whole visit cost us the sum total of subway fare to get there and the cost of a few snacks picked up at a local market for the occasion. It'd be a great place to take kids and let them run around, and a spectacular place for picnicking. If I lived in Barcelona I'd go to Laberint d'Horta all the time. Having visited Kew Gardens outside of London earlier in the trip, which admittedly may be an unfair comparison, the differences in the levels of upkeep weren't even close, and there were portions of the garden that would have been even more spectacular if they'd been kept in top-notch shape.

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I should add that they were only barely keeping the place up to the level it deserved, doing minimal upkeep and watering but perhaps not in the most efficient, effective or professional manner. The place was a former estate from some royally endowed late 18th century fiefdom, from whence period the hedge maze and gardens date.

The place was filled with intimate little grottos like this one brilliantly designed to encourage private moments even when the gardens are filled with a large crowd (as it was for part of the time we were there). Remarkably, though it's difficult to tell from the photos we came back with, the rest of the park was perhaps more impressive, even, than the portion with the Labyrinth. When you reached the center there was a small circular area surrounded by tall shrubbery with multiple exits, along with this grotto: Leaving after you'd found the center was actually more difficult than reaching the middle in the first place.

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The maze was deceptively large and somewhat difficult, though trial and error would eventually let anyone out without too much trouble. Then we visited Park Laberint D'Horta in Barcelona, pictured below in a photo taken by either Kathy or me. I've teased my wife that it should be the next thing she adds to her already extensive garden, to the point that it's become a years-long running joke.