Berlin symbol: Beware of bears
BERLIN - It is nearly impossible to walk around Berlin without spotting a bear - as a heraldic emblem carved into a stone plaque on a building, a garishly colored statue decorating the street, or even a fluffy souvenir hanging outside one of the many tourist shops on the Unter den Linden boulevard. But why is the bear such an important symbol for a city that has no real bears? If Berlin were located in Canada or Russia, it would be much easier to understand the connection to the animal - grizzly, brown or otherwise - that roams in the wild.
