and all around are sweeping plains, exposed to the Siberian winds. Over the centuries, few of the great figures who have visited have had much good to say about it. Yet now it is the destination to which the world is flocking. It has been a trading post, military barracks, industrial powerhouse, centre of science and learning, consumer paradise, hotbed of self-indulgence and promiscuity - and the laboratory for the worst experiment in horror known to man. It has now achieved global status/it is the geographical and spiritual midpoint between the rival superpowers/it is the city of refuge/it is home to 180 nationalities, and more than a quarter of the population have a migrant background. After all the episodes of disaster, redemption and reinvention, is Berlin finally at ease with itself? This is the tale of a turbulent city that in spite of itself has become a magnet for the world.