Umberto Eco is probably to blame for the cynicism I feel when I visit the major commercial tourist sights in a city such as Berlin. I can’t help but think about his book Faith in Fakes / Travels in Hyperreality. Or maybe it’s caused by the smell of French fries and hotdogs along with the gaudy sight of all those souvenirs which lie thickly over these places much like a medieval miasma.

Vist Berlin