Hyberliner...(25/6)

Without having much expectation about the capital of Germany, I saluted to Berlin in the weekend. No doubt, Berlin is a unique city that has carried out its cycles of reform and city regeneration in the 20th century. The city greeted me with its freshly opened Haupbahnhof in the centre. The station demonstrates an outlook of a modern railway station. It has a spectacular glasswall-structure and an improvising of the use of the inner space between layers. Trains appear to be intercepting with each other in layers from a transactional view. Actually, this new station consolidates the public transport system in Berlin and connects the eight main stations in pre-war era that had never been linked together.

The city evolved from its past and history. Since its pride of being the capital of the Prussia Empire in the 18th century, it experienced its glorious and vulnerable ups and downs, separation and unification. 1989 is also an unforgettable year shared by the Berliners with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the recognition of a new start.
Berlin has always been a city of burden and passion. Wandering in the city could be interesting. The city is undergoing numerous reform since the unification of Germany, and as a capital city, there is a need administratively to bring aestheticism to the reconstructing and renewing of the urban area. Modern buildings can be one of the abbreviations for Berlin at present. The new high-rise buildings erect not only a fabulous skyscape but also a sign of rebirth. I believe that urban planning in Berlin can be a very interesting topic. Unlike simply rebuilding an old city or developing a new centre, projects in Berlin should have involved balance of power, preservation of different development in East Berlin and West Berlin, attempt to mix and match the existing elements and historical differences, design and injection of new elements and dynamism to the city. Apparently it is not an easy task to conduct.

In some sense, Berlin is doing well. It is right to claim that being the fourth largest cities in EU, Berlin is appealing in reserving and fusioning greenland into the city centre. It possesses a Garten der Welt, Grosse Tiergarten and Bellevue green area at the heart of the city. To me, it has perhaps a pre-requisite to model like this - the Berlin Wall. I have not studied in details the topography of the ex-lining of the Wall in Berlin, but I guess that the demolition of the Wall before the city regeneration could give space and dimensions of planning and developing the centre of the centre as well as accommodating the green spots, instead of other cities' green belts.
The dynamism of the city is shown in its New meets Old as well, such as the Reichstag building remolded by Sir Norman Foster. It may be of a similar approach for the Louvre and the glasswall pyramid, but the Reichstag contains a feeling of regeneration where the Lourve lacks (nor would it need to be). Having an old facade of the parliament, the add-on dome structure in the middle of the building strikes for a new commencement of the Berlin city.

Revitalising the system connection between the east and the west within the city has been amazing. Think about reactivating the old cable system, drainage network, electricity transfer etc. in between the eastern city and the western city, and this is what the city has been executing since 1989. Not only be it a terminal of U-bahn, Ruhleben has also a large scale waste incineration plant to recycle energy for the city. Once you recognise the plenty construction projects Berlin has had in the decade, there is no surprise knowing the huge construction waste it has produced, but then, the city claims that 98% of its construction waste can be reused or recycled. This is quite a fascinating figure.
Cycling is enjoyable in Berlin, I feel, and with the plan of "FahrRat", Berlin develops its cyclist-friendly roadwork and system, and perhaps this is why all the people I met on the cycle were so relaxed.
My visit was randomly made, and I look forward to another tour to the place to capture the missing spots including the museum islands, the housing estates listed on the World Heritage List, the Brandenburg Gate, the Olympic City etc. Well, at least I made a little step to my understanding about the city after watching its orchestra playing in the Royal Albert Hall 8 years before...