ErinLaing.com

I noticed these colourful steel pipelines running through the city. Turns out Berlin is built on swampland. The name Berlin, translates to swamp in German (or is believed to be related to the Old Polabian stem berl-/birl which means “swamp”.

These pipes are carrying water and sewage from the grounds where new buildings are being constructed. There is so much development going on in the city, that these pipes almost blend in with the general atmosphere.

This is a photo of the people’s palace, also known as The Palace of the Republic (or what’s left of it). It was opened to the public in 1976 and is being taken apart (after much debate) because the government wanted to show the world that they are moving on and ridding its city of its communist past (that, along with some asbestos rumours). Citizens of Berlin protested its demolition, wanting to preserve the building for historical purposes, but lost out.

The city has decided to rebuild the original Royal Palace or the Berlin City Palace (which was finally destroyed in the 1950’s to build the people’s palace) and turn it into a museum.

I thought Montrealers were bad at making decisions but this city takes the cake.

They’re taking apart the building very slowly, piece by piece. If the city were to eliminate the building in one go, the loss of weight on the land would cause the Berlin Cathedral (featured below), which is located on the other side of the street, to sink.

This is what happens when you build a city on swampland.

Berlin Cathedral