Barbara Gessler knows Berlin well. She worked at the European Commission Representation in Berlin from 1998 to 2003. Back then, today’s European House at the Brandenburg Gate did not exist. „I knew this building before it even existed,“ says the 59-year-old. „And I also know Potsdamer Platz as a tabula rasa.“ Even in all the years in between, Berlin is always worth a trip for her. She regularly visits family and friends here and loves the theaters and the Berlinale.