I can't even say how quickly I've fallen in love with Berlin. And as with any new romance, I could write pages about all of Berlin's amazing qualities, and go on and on about all of the things that make it so special . . . but I wouldn't know where to start. All I know is I can't even believe I considered skipping Berlin.

Berlin isn't photogenic like some of the other cities I've seen. It's sprawly and full of construction, and the buildings are very square and concrete in nature.

Oh - and it's been raining for the last 4 hours.

But who cares? Berlin isn't about aesthetics. It's about transition and growth and life.

What I love so much about Berlin is that the Berlin I see today will not be here the next time I return. In the last 100 years Berlin has been destroyed more than once - over 90% was destroyed in WWII alone and it's been rebuilt more times than I can count in the last 100 years. Berlin started the 1900's with Kaisers, saw the rise and fall of fascism, got destroyed twice by war, faced horrible recessions, and got split in two by Communism. It's only been in the last 20 years that Berlin become a free and united country again. That means, its page in history is still being written.

Today's Berlin is so full of possibility and layered with history around every corner. I find myself completely fascinated and enamored.

This is the first place where I really wish I had friends with me who could be here to see this - it's so crazy, the vibe here is so hopeful and youthful, and inspired.

There are a million things after just one day I could say - but I don't want to bore anyone. I'll do my best to communicate what it is that makes this city so unbelievably cool in the next few blogs, and hopefully you'll fall in love with Berlin too.