One needs a vivid imagination to peel back some of the thick layers of history that cover Friedrichstrasse and have a look inside. It also helps to have a history book.
The street, one of Berlin's most famous, has been convulsed by events, and even by bombs, that have befallen the city. They've never killed its spirit, but they have sent it staggering. Still, the street always seems to get up, dust itself off and get back to business -- kind of like the city itself.
Friedrichstrasse's 3.5-kilometer (two-mile) north-south route runs through the heart of the city, and it's been said that the street sums up Berlin -- with its highs and lows, glitter and grit -- better than any other thoroughfare.