In a recent survey, the market research institute, YouGov, asked Germans to name their favorite German city in which they would like to live and work. Respondents could choose from a list of fourteen. All had populations of more than half a million.

Every sixth citizen chose — not the capital — but Hamburg, making it the Germans favorite German city. Berlin and Munich shared the second place in popularity. However, analyzed by age, the data showed that young adults of 25 years of age or less picked Berlin as their top choice while older adults preferred Hamburg.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.