Berlin. The capital of Germany. The Athens on the Spree River. The Berlin Wall. The Brandenburg Gate. World War II. The Cold War. Stunning beer gardens, cutting-edge art, world-class museums, enormous parks, and the best nightlife on the planet. Berlin, dear friends, is a lively cocktail of history and hedonism, a tantalizing jigsaw pieced together by culture, graffiti, sausages, and techno beats that hum under the city’s breath.