Canals or Amsterdam?

We were in Amsterdam during the Easter long weekend and got to see the city in snow.

Berlin - where East meets West

The fact that I grew up in a communist country and was educated in the most powerful capitalism country may have been in my way of enjoying Berlin as a city and appreciating its integrity. During my recent trip to Berlin, I spent so much time tracing the cold war and observing/comparing east and west Berlin. Yes, they are indeed still very different, and cold war has left deep marks in the city and the society, although the Wall was gone 18 years ago.

West Berlin is partially successful trying to be a smaller London - clean, well planned, and lots of people traffic. East side is rather messy, not fully developed and sometimes depressing. Walls after walls of graffiti, very disturbing.

I always like to visit the department store or concentrated shopping district when I visit a city. It is truly a great way to know the people through their spending choices. The largest store in Continental Europe KaDeWa, the legendary Kaufhaus des Westens in Charlottenburg, made me feel home. Ku'Damm, Kurfurstendamm, is like any normal, vibrant and concentrated shopping street in New York or London.

The rebuilding of Berlin brought many excellent architectures to the city. Potsdamer Platz is a good example.

Madrid - the new and modern Paris

We were in Madrid this past Jan - one of the best cities we have been to.