Sonic Youth Gossip - View Single Post

o o o · 03.25.2007, 01:20 PM

I find that cities/regions in Germany are very different one from another and naturally the atmosphere or the people one is going to meet there also differ a lot… I guess it’s the same in many countries, but I found it quite noticeable in Germany.

I lived in Munich for a bit more than 1 year, then moved one year ago to Berlin, and the two cities felt somehow like opposites… Munich seemed to me rich, bourgeois, clean, orderly, very safe, etc. but with not much going on… while Berlin is bankrupt, more chaotic, very lively, more free, more international, and yes, with a general strong "sense of possibility about it", like demonrail666 said - that might be the city’s main quality… there is a lot of space, too: big parks, a lot "waste lands", some of them very large… and the urban landscape changes really fast. It is quite a city to explore, as the various districts of the city are also quite different one from another. Not a beautiful city, though, some parts of it are in fact incredibly ugly, but some of this brutal ugliness also has its charm.

I still enjoyed my time in Munich (life is good there one must admit, there are definitely some nice places, the Englischer Garten is nice, the beer is nice, and the lanscape around the city is lovely indeed, with all the lakes and the Alps very close), but I much, much, much prefer Berlin. I love this city and I can see myself living here for a long, long time. I'd lke to explain more why I love this city but right now my brain doesn't seem to be able to find out what exactly I want to express. And yes, it is cheap, although the rents seem to rise quickly in certain districts where they used to be really low not so long ago.

Another city I know a bit in Germany is Hamburg: when I was a kid/teenager, I would regularly spend holidays there, because most of my mother-side family is based there… I remember really liking the city, but back then I was always with my parents or family, so I didn’t get the chance to really experience the city on my own. It’s been years since I last went there: I would like to visit it again to see what it’s really like.

03.25.2007, 01:20 PM	#19
o o o the destroyed room Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 613	I find that cities/regions in Germany are very different one from another and naturally the atmosphere or the people one is going to meet there also differ a lot… I guess it’s the same in many countries, but I found it quite noticeable in Germany. I lived in Munich for a bit more than 1 year, then moved one year ago to Berlin, and the two cities felt somehow like opposites… Munich seemed to me rich, bourgeois, clean, orderly, very safe, etc. but with not much going on… while Berlin is bankrupt, more chaotic, very lively, more free, more international, and yes, with a general strong "sense of possibility about it", like demonrail666 said - that might be the city’s main quality… there is a lot of space, too: big parks, a lot "waste lands", some of them very large… and the urban landscape changes really fast. It is quite a city to explore, as the various districts of the city are also quite different one from another. Not a beautiful city, though, some parts of it are in fact incredibly ugly, but some of this brutal ugliness also has its charm. I still enjoyed my time in Munich (life is good there one must admit, there are definitely some nice places, the Englischer Garten is nice, the beer is nice, and the lanscape around the city is lovely indeed, with all the lakes and the Alps very close), but I much, much, much prefer Berlin. I love this city and I can see myself living here for a long, long time. I'd lke to explain more why I love this city but right now my brain doesn't seem to be able to find out what exactly I want to express. And yes, it is cheap, although the rents seem to rise quickly in certain districts where they used to be really low not so long ago. Another city I know a bit in Germany is Hamburg: when I was a kid/teenager, I would regularly spend holidays there, because most of my mother-side family is based there… I remember really liking the city, but back then I was always with my parents or family, so I didn’t get the chance to really experience the city on my own. It’s been years since I last went there: I would like to visit it again to see what it’s really like.
	\|QUOTE AND REPLY\|