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Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states (Länder) of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.5 million within its metropolitan area and 3.4 million from 190 countries within the city limits. Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its internationality and tolerance, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, for its street art, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite varied. Although badly damaged in the final years of World War II and broken apart during the Cold War, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, especially with the reunification push after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. It is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultramodern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz. Because of its tumultuous history, Berlin remains a city with many distinctive neighborhoods.

The foundation of Berlin was very multicultural. The surrounding area was populated by Germanic Swabian and Burgundian tribes, as well as Slavic Wends in pre-Christian times, and the Wends have stuck around. Their modern descendants are the Sorbian Slavic-language minority who live in villages southeast of Berlin near the Spree River. In the beginning of the 13th century, two towns (Berlin and Cölln) developed on each side of the river Spree (today the Nikolaiviertel and the quarter next to it beyond the river). As the population grew, the towns merged and Berlin became a center for commerce and agriculture. This area stayed small (about 10,000 inhabitants) up to the late 17th century, because of the 30 years' war in the beginning of the 17th century, which led to death of about half of the population. Since the the late 17th century, when large numbers of French Huguenots fled religious persecution, Berlin has welcomed religious, economic and other asylum seekers. 1701 Berlin became the capital of Prussia and in 1710 Berlin and surrounding former autonomous cities were merged to a bigger Berlin. In 1871 Berlin became the capital of the new founded German Reich and a few years later, it became a city with more than one million inhabitants because of the immensely growing industry. Shortly after the first World War, in 1920, the last of the annexations of surrounding cities of Berlin led to the foundation of the Berlin as we know it now. After the coming into power of the National Socialists, Berlin became the capital of the so called Third Reich and the domicile and office of Hitler (though the triumph of Hitler and his companions started in the south of Germany). WW II led to destruction of most of central Berlin, thus many of the buildings which we see nowadays are reconstructed or planned and built after the war, which led to a very fragmented cityscape in most parts of the inner town. Berlin was divided into four sectors (West Berlin into the French, American and British sector, East Berlin belonged to the USSR). In 1949 the GDR was founded with East Berlin as its capital - West Berlin belonged to West Germany (with Bonn as the capital) and was an exclave (political island) in East Germany. Because of the growing tensions between West Germany and the GDR, the latter built a wall between the countries and around West Berlin, so the division was complete. In 1989 the German revolution took place -subsequently leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall- and in 1990 West and East Germany were merged officially together with Berlin becoming the capital of reunified Germany. After WW II and the building of the wall, large numbers of immigrants from Turkey were invited to West Berlin to work in the growing industry sector; in East Berlin the jobs were done mostly by Vietnamese immigrants. But also people from other communist countries, including the former Yugoslavia, not to mention Soviet soldiers who refused to return home, have helped to make Berlin more multicultural than ever. Berlin is also a youth-oriented city. Before German unification, West Berliners were exempt from the West German civil/military service requirement. Social activists, pacifists and anarchists of all moved to Berlin for that reason alone. Musicians and artists were given state subsidies. It was easy to stay out all night thanks to liberal bar licensing laws, and staying at university for years without ever getting a degree was a great way to kill time. In contrast with most of Germany, Prenzlauer Berg is said to have the highest per-capita birth rate in Europe (in fact it just seems so because of the high percentage of young women in the district). After the fall of the wall, Berlin - especially the former East - has evolved into a cultural mecca. Artists and other creative souls flocked to the city in swarms after reunification, primarily due to the extremely low cost of living in the East. Despite the increased prices and gentrification as a result, Berlin has become a center for art, design, multimedia, electronic music, and fashion a

Moldova is a small land-locked country in Eastern Europe, north of Balkans, surrounded by Romania to the southwest, across the Prut river, and Ukraine to the northeast. The capital of Moldova is Chişinău. The local language is Romanian, based on the Latin alphabet, but Russian is widely used. Moldova is a multiethnic republic that has suffered from violent ethnic conflict. In 1994, this conflict led to the creation of the self-proclaimed Transnistria Republic in eastern Moldova, which has its own government and currency but is not recognized by any other country. Economic links have been re-established between these two parts of Moldova despite failure in political negotiations. The major religion in Moldova is Orthodox Christian. Moldova's population is occupied mainly in food production and processing. Once known as the garden of the Soviet Union, Moldova has now lost most of its traditional Russian markets for agricultural products and is exploring new international markets.

The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of Soviet oppression for decades.

STRATFOR : http://www.stratfor.com : Twenty years after the Berlin Wall, STRATFOR founder George Friedman and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev talk on its meaning then and now. Gorbachev says, "We should live peacefully in this European house with its different doors and windows."

After Danny Benson finishes medical school he wants nothing more than to start his residency and settle down to marry his fianc e, Heather. But on the day of his final exam, Danny receives a letter. The engagement is off. Heather's baffling explanation: she's going to London where she will travel overland on the Magic Bus to Kathmandu. His plans shattered, Danny finds himself on a journey thousands of miles from home, in search of the woman he loves. When he discovers her on a bus somewhere east of Europe the reunion is less than stellar. They spend the entire ride to Afghanistan debating whether to stay together or break up forever. Now, arriving in Kabul, exhausted from their long bus trip, fate will decide their dispute for them. The following day, December 27th, 1979, the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. What happens next is their moment of truth as Danny and Heather collide with history. About the Author Mark Stephen Levy was inspired by some of his adventures while traveling throughout Europe, India, Nepal, Tibet, China, and other exotic locales. He drew upon some of those adventures to create portions of the story within OVERLAND. He is a native of Los Angeles and currently lives in Denver, Colorado with his wife and daughter.

An MGM HD original short focused on Sean Penn's unwavering commitment to his characters.