Berlin Beats Rome as Tourist Attraction as Hordes Descend
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Wieland Giebel’s stores near the Brandenburg Gate that sell Berlin Wall pieces for less than $10, miniature Trabant cars, and 3,000 books about the German capital were struggling four years ago. Then tourism kicked in.
“The interest in Berlin’s turbulent history is huge,” said Giebel, a 64-year-old whose sales have risen 20 percent since 2011. “If I ask my customers why they’re visiting Berlin, they tell me: ‘Because everyone wants to come here.’”