[Skybird]

You might be surprised, but many former Westberliners of my age and older think that the city was more pleasant and better off during the cold war, than it is now. It is hard to explain and probably even harder to understand for foreigners, but it was a closed, protected habitat, with a clear border line for when you were "in" and when you were "out". When you were in, life was good and the mood of general life was "gemütlich". Compared to the 80s which I lived from autumn 79 to autumn 89 in WB, I think life in Berlin now being much worse, and the Western part of the city by looks and state definitely has lost, I thought of it all looking so shabby when I was there the last time. Even when ignoring higher crime and worse public traffic, social problems and bad financial situation, worsening school situation and a general left-leaning, prolet-like trend in the city, the mood and character in W-Berlin in the 80s was much better than it was the last times I was there, which is some time ago now. Have no intetion to ever go back there again. My friends who lived there, all have left the city. More precisely: they fled. And that is their word, not mine.

And from a personal view, since my father was classical musician, both the two major orchestras of the city were of much better quality back then (world format, both the philharmonic and symphonic orchestra) than they are today. Today they are good - not more. Which means, by global elite standards they are mediocre. A shame. Actually, there have been even more orchestras back then, not just these two big players.