YES! Something I can answer. There is actually a difference really only truly visible from space. It's something quite cool actually. In the eastern part there are sodium-vapour lamps with a yellower colour. And in the western parts there are fluorescent lamps – mercury arc lamps and gas lamps – which all produce a whiter colour. http://imgur.com/VEeuUqE Berlin from space taken by Chris Hadfield

This is my first comment on an /r/askhistorians post so here I go.

Yes, there is a significant difference between East and West German infrastructure and even in culture. Here's one source that details how the Russians deeply affected the industrial capabilities of Eastern Germany. Basically, because Western Germany had been given fair treatment after the second World War, it was allowed to grow at a continuously much faster rate than its eastern counterpart.

In addition, because of the harsh conditions in E. Germany, there was a significant brain drain as skilled laborers and other educated folk crossed the border to seek a better life.

When East Germany joined West Germany, West Germany had to invest several billion dollars trying to "modernize" and "update" the infrastructure of East Germany, but even that wasn't even enough to allow the former Soviet nation to catch up yet.

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