An Explanation, Finally, for Berlin’s Renaissance

Tartine, 2003

You probably thought it had something to do with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the reunification of a divided nation, or the opportunity these circumstances gave Berlin to reflect renewed freedom and optimism in the form of the newest, freshest thinking in art, music and contemporary architecture.

Wrong.

Turns out it was the cupcakes in New York City.

My daughter and I were enjoying an afternoon walk in the West Village when we happened to overhear a weary young bohemian sitting at a table outside Tartine, surrounded by a sea of Barney’s shopping bags and complaining to his friends about Magnolia, the Bleecker Street bakery recently famous for its cupcakes:

"This isn’t the New York City I fell in love with when I was thirteen and growing up in Dallas. Look what’s happened to our city. People lined up like lemmings to get cupcakes. CUPCAKES, dammit! This is why everyone’s leaving New York and going to Berlin. I think I might just follow them."

In case life throws a pop quiz at you about the rebirth of Berlin, now you know the answer.