As you quote Franziska Eichstädt-Bohlig, a Green member of Berlin’s Senate, the German capital is really three cities: the old east, the old west, and the new middle (“Not Quite Grown Up,” November 7, 2009). This was my own impression on two visits—the first a few years after the fall of the wall, and the second a decade after the historic event. Following the move of the capital from Bonn, the middle has grown quite a bit. The country’s administration has attracted many company headquarters, as well. The middle also thrives on tourists attracted by culture and cafés. But the city still feels lost in the wilderness. Perhaps the main reason for this is lackluster development of East Germany of old, but also of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia beyond the border. It is in the city’s hinterland that its future will be made. Or not.