Happy German Unification

[€uroMeinke]

I keep an odd set of calendar entries for personal commemorations, this is one of them.

18 years ago the two Germanys became one - which means the current crop of high school grads never knew of East Germany.

Not Afraid and I vacationed one Summer in Berlin in that transition time when the wall had come down, but there was still and East and West. We even had to pass through Checkpoint Charlie in the "American Zone." It was such an odd place and I know in the ensuing years new construction has transformed the place. I'd love to see what it's become.

[scaeagles]

Wow....amazing. Reading this brings back such vivid memories of watching citizens on boths sides taking sledge hammers to the wall. I have a piece of it that a friend bought for me while in Germany a few years back.

A happy Unification Day indeed.

Isn't this also the day OJ was acquitted back 11 or 12 years ago?

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Isn't this also the day OJ was acquitted back 11 or 12 years ago?

Perhaps, but that's not one of my personal calendar notes

[Kevy Baby]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Perhaps, but that's not one of my personal calendar notes

Somehow, I am not surprised.

[katiesue]

Wow. I was in Berlin in 1985. Went to Checkpoint Charlie but got to East Berlin via subway which at the time I thought odd. Being in East Berlin made me uneasy the whole time. I do have some DDR Marks around somewhere.

We also took the train from Frankfurt to Berlin. It was amazing the difference in scenery going from West Germany to East. I remember thinking when we got to the East that it looked like WWII was last week and they hadn't had time to rebuild yet.

I we also went to my Host Parents hometown which was very near the border. We went to look at the fence and I remember my Host Mom, Gertrude, making faces and yelling taunts at the East German guards on the other side of the fence. I was thinking at the time - erm not the best idea they could just open fire but she kept at it. Scared the bejebbers out of me.

Such a short time ago and so much has changed, hopefully for the better. I'd love to go back and see the difference.

[BarTopDancer]

Wow. Seems like a lifetime ago. I guess for some, it was.

How far the world has come. How far we have to go.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by katiesue

We also took the train from Frankfurt to Berlin. It was amazing the difference in scenery going from West Germany to East. I remember thinking when we got to the East that it looked like WWII was last week and they hadn't had time to rebuild yet.

We took the same train route. We took an overnight train and tried to sleep in the sleeper car. The rails would in such bad condition and the ride so rough I didn't sleep at all - even after 1/2 a bottle of Asbach Uralt. This was after a long flight from the US, a day in Frankfurt and the time change. The next day in Berlin it was unseasonably hot (90 degrees in May) and I was so hot and tired I was sick. That was also the day Chris left me alone with all of our luggage in the Bahnhof Zoo next to the drunk man wagging his wiener in one hand and holding a bottle of Jack in the other while yelling at at everyone in the station.

But, I LOVED Berlin.


Oh, this day also makes me remember my evil sister visiting our house for Christmas (we were wathing the Ode to Freedom being performed by the Berlin Philharmonic). She brought her floor length Black Gamma mink over to "wear later if we walked on the beach". (In LONG BEACH? In a mink?) Our black cat, Mephisto, however loved the mink. Kill Kill!

[sleepyjeff]

Vielleicht Deutchland ist ein vom Ronaldo Magnus

Enchuldigung bitte, mein Deutch ist sehr schleich

[wendybeth]

Reading NA's post, I suddenly had an Eighties flashback: Berlin's video "the Metro'.....

[Morrigoon]

We've come a long way from 99 Luftballoons.


(or have we?)