The city of Berlin has had an interesting, to say the least, history in the 20th century. It was the capital of the Prussian empire until its fall at the end of World War I, then it saw the rise of the nazi’s, where grandiose civic designs were constructed to build a capital for their global empire, until their defeat in World War II. Post war Berlin was a city split in two, with West Berlin controlled by America, Britain and France, lying within the Russian controlled East Germany and surrounded by the Berlin Wall. 1989 saw the reunification of east and west Germany, the wall was torn down and the city was once again one and eventually regaining its status as the capital.

There is a subtle monument left to remember the wall – a line of bricks, two rows wide, has been inlaid into the ground and throughout the city where the wall once stood. You can see the line quite distinctly right next to the Brandenburg Gate as it passes by, but as I skated through town and explored some of the districts outside the center, you come across these bricks in all sorts of places. Its interesting to see at these locations how the city is building itself back together. The wall was a nowheres land for about 50 years, where you could get shot on site for just approaching it. In some areas, the spaces are empty and you can still feel the distance between east and west. Other areas are completely rebuilt and the line of bricks only represent an ever increasing distant past.