Berlin Vs. NYC: Battle Of The Cities

Beauty All-Up-In-Your-Face VS. Beauty By Mistake

[Photo via] NYC and Berlin may both be bustling metropolises, but they couldn’t appear more different on the surface. When you have an island the size of Manhattan, 12 million people and modern 20th century architects, what do you get? Voilà - the birth of NYC’s dazzling skyline. Berlin, on the other hand, is unlike other European cities or other cities around the world that are dashing on the surface. Its beauty lies underneath - in the abandoned buildings and end of the world-esque wreckage that remind you that you’re in a city that wouldn’t be the way it is today - a free-spirited young persons’ utopia - if it weren't for its tragic WWII history. Nevertheless, for my fave spots to stare dreamy-eyed at New York’s skyline, Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center or the Empire State are obvious choices. However, if you want to wine and dine while doing so, I recommend Top of the Standard (Boom Boom Room or Le Bain), Salon de Ning, Hudson Terrace, 230 Fifth, The Crow’s Nest at the Water Club, A 60 Thompson Hotel, Upstairs at the Kimberly, The Sky Terrace at the Hudson Hotel, Press Lounge, Pool Lounge at The Dream Downtown, Gansevoort Park Rooftop or Jimmy at The James Hotel. Winner: Tie. NYC for being dazzling on the surface and Berlin for its “unintentional beauty,” or as I like to call it, “beauty by mistake.”