A personal documentary Written and presented by Michael Frayn

The city of Berlin is an appeal to the imagination. Mention the name and the mind travels back to the Cold War of the 50s, the ravages of invasion and the Third Reich, and the sour-sweet world of the 20s. But behind that is another world. The solid complex world of Imperial Berlin. A mock medieval court preserved into the 20th century. The tough competitive humour of a city that in 1900 was Europe's richest metropolis. Playwright and novelist Michael Frayn is also one of the country's foremost travelling reporters. Regular assignments for The Observer have taken him to Cuba, Israel, Japan and to Berlin. He revisited the city for 2nd House. The result is an attempt to recapture, behind the shattered stonework and political confusion, the vanished world of Berlin in its high season.

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