Where East meets West The ravages of war and Communist rule have left their marks everywhere, but equally noticeable is the transformation of East Germany in the past couple of decades, writes after a visit to Berlin, Gorlitz and Dresden

Where East meets West

The ravages of war and Communist rule have left their marks everywhere, but equally noticeable is the transformation of East Germany in the past couple of decades, writes after a visit to Berlin, Gorlitz and Dresden

In Berlin, cycle taxis are a good mode of transportation to explore the city

The stark contrast between the dozens of baggage runways at Frankfurt airport and the lone conveyor belt at Berlin's Tegel airport pretty much represents the divide between West and East Germany. While Frankfurt in the West got on to the fast track, Berlin nurses a hangover of the Eastern days. As I was driven into the German capital, I got the feeling that even two decades after reunification, Berlin still retains the distinctive stamp of the Communist era.
Born-again Berlin
Karl Marx Street, formerly called Stalin Strasse, a 20-lane-wide tribute to the common man, left me wondering at the size of the Communist armies that must have marched down this street. It was only at the Potsdamer Platz that the before-and-after story became apparent. This entire area once had either vacant land or buildings ravaged by war. Seeing today's futuristic buildings at Potsdamer, it was hard to believe that the transformation had taken place in less than 20 years.
What has changed little is the traditional food, from gnocchi (soft dumplings) at the TV Tower's rotating restaurant to a dinner of pork knuckles and flat pasta at Zur Letzten Instanz, which is the oldest restaurant in Berlin (started in 1621, according to its own signboard). Or you can be equally satiated with the 1euro sausage-breads on the sidewalk.
Old-world Gorlitz
From Berlin to the quaint town of Gorlizt is just a couple of hours by road, but it seems like a world apart. From rooms in homes-turned-boutique hotels for less than 80 euros and traditional meals for less than 10 euros (with a glass of wine thrown in), to shopping for German souvenirs at Polish prices, Gorlitz is one value-for-money European destination.
And how often do you get to travel between two countries on foot? Cross the bridge across the Gorlitz river, and you are in Poland.
Indestructible Dresden
If Gorlitz represents old world charm, you have to visit Dresden to see German resilience. Long after the allies won the war, they came striking at Dresden just to test the potency of their weapons of mass destruction. And whatever was left after the carpet bombing during the war, was reduced to rubble by the Communists in the 60s and 70s. It's remarkable therefore how they have put the pieces back together and rebuilt the entire city in the last two decades.
The only monument that survived was the Church of Our Lady, which today is the nucleus of the city. For an Indian, a visit to the green vault in the Palace Museum is well worth one's while for a look at a big green diamond that came out of India and a local artist's lavish interpretation of Aurangzeb's court. As much as the inner city is about art and architecture, the outskirts are an epitome of European beauty — from the Saxon Switzerland, with its rolling meadows and grazing cows, to Glashutte, an entire village dedicated to watch making; from the Bastei rock formation, which is a tourist magnet, to the Meissen porcelain factory, which has its roots in the quest to make gold in a laboratory. Never mind the gold, this place promises golden memories.