Berlin is a city unlike any other, re-inventing itself again and again. Brutally divided by a wall at the end of World War II, it was reunited on November 9, 1989. 25 years after the wall’s demise, the city is still in the throes of metamorphosis, forging a new identity as German’s booming capital while openly carrying the scars of its extraordinary history.

Only a few remnants of the wall exist, but this is not a city that has forgotten its past. Its Holocaust Memorial, commemorating the fate of Berlin’s once thriving Jewish community, ranks among the most impressive monuments in Europe. Gone are the growing pains and problems that came with re-unification. The 21st century Berlin is in the midst of a sweeping reconstruction. The return of the German Government to Berlin has produced a slew of architectural treasures, most prominently Sir Norman Foster’s copula to the German Reichstag, the old and new German Parliament. Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing point between East and West, is a prime tourist attraction.

Today Berlin is on open-minded city that lets the international community in. As “opportunity replaced authority as the central element in Berlin’s DNA” (Adam Nicolson), it attracts young people from all over the world who live their lives uninhibited in this most open and absorbent European metropolis.

In the 1990s, British architect Norman Foster restored Germany’s 1984 parliament building, the Reichstag, damaged in World War II. He added a central glass dome to symbolize transparency. Berlin, Germany.

A Slovakian street artist poses as an East German border guard in front of the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin, Germany.

The Sony Center in Berlin stands in the high-sheen Potsdamer Platz, where the Wall had split the city. Berlin, Germany.

The quote on the wall of the St. Oberholsz web-hub café, on Rosenthaler Strasse, reads: “Das Leben ist kein Ponyhof” – life isn’t easy. Berlin, Germany.

The Berlin International Film Festival, called Berlinale, is one of the most important media events of the city and among the world's leading film festivals. Berlin, Germany.

The face of East German Dieter Weckeiser, killed while attempting to swim to freedom across the Spree River to West Berlin, forms a part of a memorial on Bernauer Strasse. Berlin, Germany.

The Humboldtforum is a partial reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace (Berliner Stadtschloss) which was demolished under East German rule. Berlin, Germany.

The Franken Bar in Kreuzberg has the feel of an old pub with a punk attitude. Berlin, Germany.

The 21st century Berlin is still in the midst of a sweeping reconstruction. Detours around construction sites are omnipresent. Berlin, Germany.

A tattooed couple stands at water’s edge at the Wannsee Lido. Berlin, Germany.

Audi City, where customers can configure their Audi of choice using digital technology with multi-touch tables, Germany's first Digital Audi Show Room on Kurfuerstendamm in Berlin. Berlin, Germany.

First Paris, then Prague, then today Berlin, young people from Europe and overseas enjoy the relaxed and creative atmosphere of the city. During summer sunny days, they relax on previously-discarded furniture, in front of a pub. Berlin, Germany.

Close to the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial is a city-block-filling maze of solid grey sarcophegi. Visitors can find themselves sunk into lifeless canyons of grief. Berlin, Germany.

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