Some fond memories were brought up this past weekend. In 1989 I was watching the news of the wall coming down and called my father to revel in the event. I mentioned I would love to be there and then like a bucket of cold water, he said “you don’t even have a passport”. To which I said if I can get one then I am going. Living close to San Francisco they had a passport office and said I could get one the same day with a ticket.
Anyway I purchased a ticket and went to Berlin a few days later. I arrived and jumped on a bus to Brandenburg to see what was happening. The first thing I noticed was Budweiser neon signs in every bar, my heart sunk because I was looking forward to good German beer. Then I got to Brandenburg and it was a bustle of commotion. I walked to a fence where a old man was standing just watching people flow in from East Berlin. He had a huge smile and a tears. That was the essence of what was happening.
I had a great few days just talking to people and walking around. It was wonderful. The Bud was not our Bud, but rather a Chekhovian beer that was wonderful. The first night I was suffering jet lag and walked around town at 3am, it was just as active at 3am as 3pm.
Got to enjoy great food, great been and an awesome event in world history. The “Evil Empire” was crumbling and I was there!
A few things I did learn in talking to people. The East Germans got 50 mark, shopped the stores empty and went home. That made many of the West Berliners bitter. The US news fabricated many of the great stories we saw and they didn’t need to. The East Germans were very abrupt and rude, or as the West Berliners said, they were real Germans.
Finally I went through Check Point Charlie and saw the East. It was a stark contrast between the West. Where one side was colorful and bustling with life, the other side was grey and dead. No joy. That showed the difference between a communist society and a capitalistic one. Freedom and spirit vs control and beat down.