More than six decades after Berlin was bombed to smithereens, the German capital has risen from the ashes. Reconstructed homes, churches and other civilian buildings which bore the same fate as army barracks and armament factories in the Allies' bombardment now ooze vintage.

Though modern skyscrapers pierce the Berlin skyline, the city boasts flavourful history. From the Brandenburg Gate and Parliament building the Bundestag, to the Berlin Wall and the Tiergarten park which was once the hunting ground of royals, the past blends with the present in timeless splendour. Now, Berlin stands as a true cosmopolitan cocktail of cultures and cuisines.

I may be no Phineas Fogg, but my Passepartout tour guide Aikaterini Dimitriou - a Greek who has lived in Germany for 13 years - was a reservoir of knowledge and a source of fabulous fun. Here are some shots from the 'City of the Bear' in my tour 'Around Berlin in 80 hours'.

- André Wright

The imposing cathedral, the Berlin Dome. St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City was its architectural blueprint.

Lovers lap up the beauty of the gardens outside the Berlin cathedral.

A section of the Tiergarten, a massive park in the centre of Berlin, where nature lovers and bikers roam, nudists sunbathe and frolic, families picnic and wild rabbits bunny-hop in freedom.

Kangaroo steak is the main event for adventurous foodies at Australian restaurant, the Corroboree, in Berlin's Tiergarten. - Photos by André Wright

Aikaterini Dimitriou, tour guide with the Goethe-Institut, gestures beside one of the Berlin Wall landmarks that still remain.

The ornate interior of the Berlin Dome church. Though it is inspired by the Catholic St Peter's Basilica, the Dome denomination is Evangelical.

A small bird sits atop a section of the Berlin Wall.