Ten Reasons Why You Should Visit Berlin

1. The Brandenburg Gate is so much bigger than the Mona Lisa: to see it you don't have to shout "fire" or stand on the tour guide's shoulders.

2. The Chef's Special at the Esplanade Hotel: braised knuckle of lamb with peppered sweetheart cabbage and pan-fried potato noodles, with a side of Zantac.

3. If you like Pizza, this is the place for you. There are more Pizzerias per square mile here than there are Dunkin Donuts in Boston. If you are looking for a cop, however, I'm afraid you'll have to visit or call the police station. I couldn't find any of Berlin's coffee-drinking finest in the Pizzerias.

4. Berliners' fascination with a fried egg and bacon as a garnish for just about any meal you order. My favorite: fried egg and bacon on my fried egg and bacon.

5. To appreciate how cyclists, pedestrians and drivers can co-exist in the same space without anyone the worse off.

6. The Alton Hotel: stand under the balcony where Michael Jackson suspended his infant in mid-air, while shaking and scratching your head, again.

7. Stand at multipe spots along where the Wall used to be, thinking about all those LeCarre novels and spy movies in which it figured so prominently.

8. Berlin Beer and techno disco.

9. The Berliners can handle just about any language you throw at them: English, French, Spanish and more.

10. Finally, the best thing about Berlin: it's not Frankfurt.