This year is a big year in Germany for many reasons (Weltmeisters! Whaddup!), one of the biggest reasons being the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Originally I didn’t really think anything of it as far as celebrating, but then the Tuesday before the anniversary Susanna texted me and was like, would you want to come to Berlin with me and Gabby this weekend? It was a whirlwind spontaneous trip, but probably one of the most fun and memorable weekends I’ve had so far.
When someone who says this invites you to go to Berlin with them for the weekend (or to do anything with them ever), you don’t say no.
We left Dortmund at 8 am on Saturday morning, and due to lots of traffic jams didn’t make it there until 3 pm. But we were greeted by sunshine and a city filled with really fantastic energy. We stored our luggage in the Alexanderplatz Bahnhof and off we went.
How we feel about Deutsche Bahn strikes, insane traffic, and questionable music choices
After lunch/dinner in Nikolaiviertel we walked down Unter den Linden to the center of the action: the Brandenburg Gate. The city had giant screens posted along the old border showing scenes from the building of the wall and those from the night of November 9, 1989. They also set up a “Lichtgrenze” – a huge light-up balloon installation – to show where the Berlin wall used to stand. At the Brandenburg Gate, different organizations were giving out a ton of free swag, and the west side of the gate had a huge stage with musical acts going. We walked along the Grenze past the Holocaust memorial toward Checkpoint Charlie.
Source (this page has a couple of nice videos showing different parts of the Lichtgrenze)
Party Time at Brandenburg Gate
Other side of the gate, and our first glimpse at the Lichtgrenze
Holocaust Memorial
First Gluhwein of the season at Potsdamer Platz
Checkpoint Charlie
We were insanely lucky that our hostel was only a block away from the East Side Gallery, so day two of our Berlin weekend began at 9 as we cruised along the east side of the wall. I’d never been there before, and I’d never been particularly keen to see it, but I’m so glad we went! It’s such a cool art installation, and we were very lucky that we went so early in the day, because there were minimal crowds that we had to navigate through!
One of my favorite murals
It’s famous
These two…
Shenanigans
After the East Side Gallery we had breakfast in the Kreuzberg district (seeing any repeat patterns from my last Berlin trip?). No longer hangry, we went back to Unter den Linden to visit the Deutsche Bank Kunsthalle’s temporary Contemporary African Art exhibit. It was a small exhibit that mostly dealt with cultural perceptions and differences that the artist encountered moving from Benin to the Netherlands. It was relateable and interactive, and I’m glad we were able to catch the exhibit before it left Germany.
Breakfast at Bateau Ivre
The Meschac Gaba exhibit included a library
Our last stop was Angry Chicken in Kreuzberg. Some Aussies we met in the hostel Saturday night recommended it, and they definitely knew what they were talking about. It’s a tiny little joint on Oranienstrasse but their food is outta this world. Noms.
By the time we were done eating, it was time to head back west to the Ruhrgebiet. We spent just a little over 24 hours in Berlin, but it was amazing to see how much the country has changed since reunification. It was also amazing to see how abrupt and disruptive the wall was (not to mention the oppression it represented). Usually you’re kind of conscious of where the wall stood, but seeing the lichtgrenze in places like the middle of the road helped to put a few things in perspective. Not to mention the lichtgrenze was totally fluid; you could just jump from one side of the balloons to the other like people two decades ago could’ve only imagined.
For further reading, here are a few articles on Germany 25 years after the fall:
Washington Post on the continuing divide between East and West
Time: Germany’s Wall that Didn’t Fall
Washington Post: Walls still standing
Washington Post: Three Generations Reflect on the Wall
Buzzfeed: Germans who love the Hoff (NRW makes an impressive showing, and my own beloved Bochum is represented at number 13!)
Laufen mit Liz 