I just had the privilege of being a Hosted Buyer at this year’s IMEX in Frankfurt. IMEX, along with its slightly smaller Barcelona-based competitor, EIBTM, are the two major European meetings and incentive trade shows that bring together buyers and suppliers from all over the world. A perfect setting to meet all of my hotel and DMC partners, as well as find out what else is out there. There’s a lot.

I don’t have too much to say about Frankfurt except that it is Europe’s hub of hubs, and that its convention center is huge. How huge? I am pretty sure that you could have the entire population of China in a meeting on one end, the population of India on the other, and they would never meet each other because there would still be room for Nepal to meet in between them. Bhutan would fit in a breakout room. Someone told me that the convention center is actually bigger than the city center, so if you have a “Congress” to put together, Frankfurt is a contender.

I do have to say though, and with my sincere apologies to any Frankfurters out there, the city does not have much of a heart, or soul, or maybe both. I tend to wander through the cities of the world without any particular destination, just to see what there is to see, and I usually end up somewhere. Not so in Frankurt. I walked and walked, and never seemed to end up anywhere. Just a lot of near deserted streets, closed offices, and empty restaurants.

I did, by accident (I am telling the truth), find myself in the Red Light district. There was definitely street life there, but it consisted mostly of very aggressive, over-sized, Eastern European mafia types who literally tried to use their enormous bulk to push me into their establishments, while their “dancers”, grabbed at my arm and insisted that I tell them if I liked them. I figured there was no right answer, so I pushed forward, only to have the same thing happen at the next doorway. I had to walk down the middle of the street to get away, and still they followed me. Must have been a slow night. Maybe every night in Frankfurt is a slow night. Hard to tell.

My wonderful hosts, the folks at Concorde Hotels, took us to Berlin for two nights after the show to see their property there, and to educate us about Berlin as a destination. Oh by the way, before I forget, they also have some really fantastic properties in many parts of the world. And they are nice people.

I looked at quite a few hotels in Berlin, but before I tell you about my visit, you have to know a back-story. In 1975 I spent three months living on a hippie commune in Sweden (long story). Afterwards I got a ride with a West German guy who owned a VW van that had a day-glo painted map of Europe on it with big letters saying, “Going to Mallorca” and a sound system on the roof blaring Beatles music wherever we went. Our first destination was Berlin, which meant we took a ferry from Sweden to what was then Communist East Germany. Then we drove on a series of strictly controlled back roads through the countryside to a very divided Berlin. Every so often during this trip we were stopped at Russian checkpoints, taken out of the van, searched, and then questioned as to what we were doing and where we were going. At one of these stops I sat for four hours with a machine gun pointed at my head as the soldiers tried to figure out whether or not we were a threat, or even from the same planet.

Back then, the city of Berlin was like no other. On the western side it was always time to party as if the world would end at any moment. For a city surrounded by the “enemy” for decades that was a very real possibility. The lights on the Ku’damm burned brightly and the sound of disco music (ugh) filled the streets. On the eastern side, darkness and an eerie silence. Between the two halves a no-man’s land of deserted fields, bombed out buildings, boarded up windows, barbed wire, guard towers, mine-fields, and the ever-present political realities of the Cold War and the evil of repression and fear.

I remember walking around on the eastern side after getting a day pass at Checkpoint Charlie, and noticing that the wide boulevards were devoid of cars and the huge plazas of people. In one giant square, Aleksanderplatz, young people from east and west were allowed to briefly mingle. As some friends and I flirted with girls from the eastern bloc, the German Police would appear out of nowhere and drag someone off. People would look, and then go back to whatever they were doing. This occurred about every twenty minutes or so. Sad to see that up so close and feel the helplessness of the kids in the square who otherwise would have been just like me and free to roam wherever.

That was then. This is now. It is as if I had never been to Berlin at all. Nearly everything formerly considered no-man’s land has been developed with hotels, office buildings, restaurants, clubs, museums, and almost completely unrecognizable from its former, Communist self. I returned to Aleksanderplatz and although I could pick out some landmarks, the square was jammed with people and surrounded by the noise of traffic.

So where am I going with this? I can’t remember. Oh… Berlin is a new city and has everything a major world capital should have but it’s not a typical European city as Americans imagine them. It was nearly destroyed during the War, and was re-built in a hodge-podge of architectures that were often cheap and hastily put together in order to provide basic shelter. There are some beautiful places, classical buildings and the original facades of what were upper-class Berliners homes before the war. Set on tree-lined streets they give a hint of what life here was like, but there are also lots of sixties-era boxes mixed in with some really cool ultra-modern design museums, office buildings and hotels. So be prepared for a big, bustling, often confusing city, set amidst many large parks and lakes. It’s worth seeing.

And where is it worth staying? Well, there are quite a few hotels in Berlin and it would be too much to go into detail, so just ask me if you have something specific you want to know and I will respond right away. But a few salient points….

The concept of “a good location” is only relevant if you want to be near a certain something. Berlin is a big city, so for purposes of this discussion, every hotel is in a good location. You just have to take a taxi, bus or subway to get to the other “good locations,” if you know what I mean.

Our host hotel was the Concorde Berlin. They treated us extremely well. The rooms were big--even by American standards, let alone European ones--the service friendly and efficient, and the food excellent. It is near the Kurfustendamm with all of its shopping, restaurants, nightlife and attractions. A very good place for meetings.

Just a block away is another great meetings hotel, the Steigenberger Berlin. It is also just a short walk to the action, but has the advantage of facing a small park and so has a quiet, relaxed feel. I enjoyed an excellent “Steigen Burger” (I’m not kidding) at their sidewalk café facing the park. Very pleasant. Their meeting space is also very high-tech with all the latest bells and whistles. Too many to describe here, but it has whatever you think you need.

On the other side of town, just off the Postdamerplatz, is a very chic/trendy Design Hotel, the Mandala. It is more of an incentive hotel, or for a board meeting as their largest room holds about 20 comfortably. I am not exactly sure how to describe it, except to say that it is very cool, kind of Zen, and has one of the best day spas in town. The Director of Sales told me that their business clientele is mostly CEO types who want to be left alone, but at the same time want everything they want when they want it.

One other property I had the pleasure of seeing was the Ritz Carlton Berlin. Great hotel for both meetings and incentives and in Ritz Carlton style has both a Grand yet a very homey feel simultaneously. Be prepared for a high-ticket. It’s definitely not for those who think money is an object.

There is so much more to say about it, but even if you got this far, you’ve probably had enough. So… on to Denmark.

See some great photos of Berlin and Frankfurt on my Facebook fan page, www.Facebook.com/TheCramerCollection.