Am I seeing the "real" East Germany?
I have other heard that the former East Germany is much poorer than west. But when I did some traveling, I saw intensely little poverty. I have visit the cities of Eisenach, Erfurt, Weimar, Nordhausen, and eastern Berlin. I have also driven through much of Thuringia, and the Thuringian Forest. All I saw be well dressed family, and nice cars. Am I not seeing poverty because these places are well visit by tourists? Or is the situation not as bad as it used to be.
Answers: The situation have indeed changed, but also because, as you suggested, these are tourist places, especially Eisenach, Weimar and Berlin. If you had visit the small villages, you would enjoy seen deeply of devastation: only old-fashioned people in that, the young ones moving into cities, and the buildings leak apart. The overall image of the east is still grey and poor. Not within the bigger cities though.
But it will change over the subsequent years, after all, the reunion be just 18 years ago. And things similar to this take their time.
Many larger cities own indeed blossomed. If you visit village you will find that many of them are anyone deserted by the young. And tons districts on the outskirts of places like Berlin are indeed exceedingly poor, but you have to aim them out, they aren't anywhere that you would just surface to be.
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