This is my fifth time in Berlin and I’ve done the free walking tour three times now, which is where all of my knowledge of German history comes from. So I’m not an expert, but I think I’ve finally figured out that what I love so much about Berlin is the extent to which it has reformed itself in such a short time. Just a generation ago life here was pretty dismal and two generations ago I would certainly not have been welcome here. But today Berlin is a green, left-leaning, cultural melting pot, and it comforts me to know that a city is capable of such a turnaround. I can’t think of a way to say this that isn’t cheesy, but if Berlin is capable of such self-improvement, then maybe there’s hope for the rest of the world. Berlin makes me feel like someday I’ll be something more than a wannabe writer who’s always in need of a nap and a visa.

And this is why I think it’s such a shame that the only mention of Germany in my American education (until I got to high school and elected to take German) was about Nazis. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t have taught us about the Holocaust; of course they should have. But at the risk of sounding cynical, I’ll admit that I don’t believe that Holocaust education was built into our curriculum for the right reasons, or the reason out teachers gave us: So that it (genocide) never happens again. First of all that’s a load of crap because it did happen again, repeatedly, and is never discussed. But I also think that Americans extensively study--dare I say dwell on—the Holocaust because it not only distracts from our own unsavory history but also fits with the narrative that America is the best country in the world. History as we learn it clings to an era when this might have been true. We love to say “Look at these incompetent Europeans and the atrocities they committed. Look at how much help they needed, and how wonderful we were being by providing that help.”

But we never (outside of my German electives) stopped talking about Nazis to have an honest discussion about modern Germany and modern America, and how each country treats the environment, foreign policy or its own citizens. Because such a discussion would make it painfully obvious that America is, in fact, no longer number one.

But anyway, besides the free walking tour I’ve encountered a few obstacles in doing things I’ve wanted to do. It’s totally possible to eat well in Berlin with 10 Euros a day, and if you’re willing to eat the same thing every day it doesn’t even require any planning. But I used my googling skills and planned out where I could go to sample all kinds of cuisines whilst sticking to my budget. The problem is that three of these places so far are closed, either permanently or for the summer. I wanted to climb the Reichstag, but turns out I would have had to register for that weeks ago. (Every other time I’ve been to Berlin you just had to show up and wait in a ridiculously long line.) Oh, and Museum Island isn’t actually free on Thursday nights, even though an English website and my French guidebook both said otherwise. But I’m still having as much fun as one can have alone. And given that I can’t be in France, and will be at the beach in less than ten days, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than Berlin for the moment.