SECRET BERLIN

Wander around the hotel lobby where a glass floor revealsexcavations of the old medieval town; take a seat in anamphitheatre where animal dissections once took place; letyourself be moved by the sounds of the largest pipe organ, stillused today to bring silent films to life; take a break in one of thefew well-preserved Baroque vaults housing coffins fitted withwindows; climb onto a bunker that contained anti-aircraft gunsduring the Second World War and accept a Russian soldier sinvitation to admire it from within; take a dip in one of the mostbeautiful bathing spots built during Europe s Art Nouveaumovement; enjoy a stroll under the Spree river; go see the veryfirst computer (designed by a Berliner) or the first synthesizerof East Germany; scale the mountain of rubble where a SkiingWorld Cup race was held; station yourself at the peak of theartificial hill where aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal made his firstattempts at flight; and grab a bite on the island in the Havelriver where Werner von Braun launched his first rocket.