East meets West

I like the idea of starting this off with a picture that seems to show the contrasts and contradictions that are so much a part of Berlin: east and west, old and new, beautiful and garish, secular and religious, communist and democratic.

I'm only three days deep in my time here, but I'm already enthralled by these contradictions -kind of like in middle school when the cute, popular kid with frosted tips raises his hand in English class and said something oh-so-insightful, and you realized there might be something more interesting under the surface. (Anyone? Relate?)