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Peter D. Clee looks to the future in Germany's capital

WHILE Berlin may not be top of everyone's wish list for a weekend break, for me it remains one of Europe's great cities. What is more the place has changed faster than any other large city I have ever visited.

My first excursion to Berlin was way back in 1985. Then the city was divided by a graffiti emblazoned barrier imaginatively known as the Berlin Wall (or Die Mauer to locals). This was the defining monument for the city and without doubt the biggest tourist draw. With The Wall's fall in 1989-90 all that changed. The now united city seized the spirit of change and successfully battled to regain its status as Germany's capital.

This was to be far more than a mere administrative change. The whole city embarked upon a giant leap toward the future. The impressive pre-war centre of Berlin, Stadt Mitte, had for years languished as a slowly decaying edifice for the D.D.R. (East Germany). For a while the place was Europe's biggest building site. The focal point of the rebuild was Potsdamer Platz, a mini-Manhattan where glass meets metal in a riot of towering skyscrapers. But the changes are far more than architectural. After all Berlin has been at the epicentre of building prowess before. Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus movement prospered here. And renowned modernist, Mies van der Rohe, built two of his finest buildings, the Neue National Gallery and Europa Center in the city.

The real revolution is in the way the city sees itself. Before Berliners felt isolated at the edge of East and West respectively. Now they are at the very heart of northern Europe. Take a look at a map and you will see just what they mean.

Berlin has thus transformed itself from a political oddity into a truly cosmopolitan city. In Europe only London (and maybe Paris) offers a more diverse mix of people and culture. This is really a case of history repeating itself. Up to 1933 and the arrival of Hitler the city was a haven of variety and innovation. Even the N.A.Z.I.s struggled for years to pacify what Goebbels referred to as Red Berlin. The Sachsenhausen death camp just a few miles north of the city in Oranienburg helped squash that out. Thankfully now the good guys have returned. The worst of the city's past, although not forgotten, can no longer be fairly associated with today's vibrant liberal culture.

Enough politics already. A trip to Berlin today affords the visitor a gaze at an exciting German future. The Arts are prospering and are as creative now as they have ever been. Berliners are not just passionate about the performing and visual arts, a Prussian sense of civic pride ensures that funding is strong too. From eye-wateringly stocked galleries to so-hip-it-hurts theatres there is plenty for the adventurous to enjoy.

All this high-falutin culture stuff is all very well. But I have to say if there was one word that I could use to sum up why I love Berlin so much it would be this. Doner. Yes, the large Turkish community in the city ensures that the trusty old doner kebab re-incarnates itself from a manky piece of bread and meat to a cheap culinary sensation. Try one and you will forever keep a place in your heart for the town they call Berlin.

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