At the end of WW I in 1918, Berlin was finally shorn of her empire.  The monarchy was vacated, and the Wiemar Republic was proclaimed.  Released from her global responsibilities, Berlin blossomed.

Despite the intervening political turmoil and hyperinflation, Berlin became a haven for artists, poets, freethinkers, filmmakers and many others.  Christopher Isherwood—whose novel of Berlin I am a Camera would eventually be made into the musical picture Cabaret—lived in Berlin for half a decade.  Albert Einstein was the director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin from 1914 through 1933, only departing for the United States upon Hitler’s rise to power.

But to really conjure up the image and feelings of those heady times can be done with just two names: Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou.

To this day, the magic of films from Lang and Harbou’s famous husband-and-wife collaboration can send ...

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Well, let’s see... “unique” means “one of a kind,” and Berlin is definitely one of a kind.

•Berlin has the lowest rents of anywhere in Europe, and the second-lowest cost-of-living.
•Berlin has the most opera houses (i.e. http://www.deutscheoperberlin.de) and the most symphony orchestras (i.e. http://www.berliner-philharmoniker.de) in Germany
•Berlin also has more cutting-edge music clubs then anywhere else in the world   (the most opera houses and the most electro clubs? ...it must be something in the water!)
•Berlin has more museums per capita than any other major city in Europe.
•Berlin has more canals than any other city on Earth (including Amsterdam and Venice!)
•Berlin is considered by many to have the most vibrant and diverse nightlife in Europe
•Berlin has the most affordable—and available—classes in the German language anywhere i.e. http://kapitel-zwei.de (a German Language school directly ...

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