Just like speaking the native language, conveying a basic knowledge of your locale's points of interest is just good politics.

But even more than that, Reagan specifically mentions these landmarks and monuments:

• City Hall (Rathaus Schoneberg), built in 1911-14 (1, 83)
• Grunewald, whose name derives from a 16th-century German castle (5)
• Tiergarten, a Berlin park that dates back to 1527 (no, that "5" is not a typo) (5)
• Brandenburg Gate, built in the 18th century (18, 20)
• The Reichstag building, originally constructed in 1894 (28)
• The Ku'damm, Berlin's Rodeo Drive, which originated in the 16th century (41)

Check those dates again. The newest landmark on that list was built before World War I. What does this tell us?

One, Berlin is old. Like, way old. Five hundred years older than the United States, Reagan reminds us (5).

Two, these monuments and landmarks were here before the Berlin Wall, they're still here now, and they'll still be here in the future. In other words, German monuments have seen some stuff, and they've stood through it. No reason to think they won't outlast the Berlin Wall, too.