That makes Berlin so strange. The gentrification of the lower east side or whatever part of Manhattan you want to take happened not in the sixties or seventies, but in Prenzlauer Berg and Kreuzberg etc, ten, fifteen years ago.
And is not just a vague impressions: Berlin is still the cheapest city in western europe or even in Germany.
I try to find authors appearing in bookstores or interesting people giving lectures somewhere, often for free, so lots to do. I even enjoy sitting or standing off to the side in Grand Central Station or on the steps of the Library - something always happens. 'tis strange I should be old and neither wise nor valiant. From "The Maid's Tragedy" by Beaumont & Fletcher
