Today my 7 year old daughter Uliana and I were walking through the part of the city, where traditional pre-war "Altbau" architecture is adjoined with the more recent post-war Soviet "Plattenbau" projects. My daughter's reaction was quite amusing.
"Papa", she said, "don't you think most of these buildings look very similar to those in Moscow?"
"Yes, they do", said I. "This is because after the war this part of the city was under jurisdiction of the Soviet Union. This is what we call Russia nowadays. And that's why it was the Soviet government, which built these projects here."
Uliana, casting a glance at a German family, standing at a doorway of the one of such "Soviet" buildings, "But then they should have said 'Thanks' at least!"
Should they really?
