Our guide in Berlin, Dr. Richard G. Campbell. An extremely knowledgeable individual holder of two PhD's, in Architecture and Musicology, and a former employee of the American Embassy in Berlin. Having lived through the Communist period and the separation of the City, i.e., East and West Berlin, coupled with his job experience at the Embassy, he had a special appreciation and insight for the life and feeling of the period which were clearly noticeable in his explanations.

In the bus going to Potsdam through the streets of former East Berlin. The lack of maintenance was very apparent in this region. Buildings were not properly taken care of during the communist regime and many of them are now in a dilapidated state. For that reason they can be acquired for relative low prices however, because these structures are now protected under special European Union rules, they can not be demolished, only "restored". Restoration is an expensive process primarily borne by corporations and governments and the area is thus becoming the preferred site for embassies and corporate offices.