We traveled to the beautiful city of Berlin in 2014. Although the Berlin Wall had fallen 25 years earlier and is now a part of history, its presence is still keenly felt.
I found it impossible to ignore The Wall.
The path of the former wall dividing East and West Berlin has been set in brick into the road as a permanent reminder of the Cold War years.
It is a chilling marker of what happens when distrust, hostility, and a struggle for power gets out of control.
Some scars never fade.
My Life Lived Full 
I’ve seen on TV the fall of the wall, and seeing the remains of the wall in front of me was taking my breath away…
I’ve been there often specially the last year,and still everytime i’m there i’l finding somthing new…
I’ve made some Street photography there, here’s how I’m seeing it thorough my lens
http://www.mahdiaridjphotography.com/en/portfolio/berlin/
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I would imagine each trip is like a new treat! It is a city that has so many interesting layers to explore 🙂
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[…] B = Berlin, Germany […]
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Even though I was born in Germany and have been back several times I’ve never been to Berlin. Our son’s been there and loves it.
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What part of Germany are you from?
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I was born in Frankfurt.
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Cool 🙂
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So much of the world has changed during my lifetime. I often wonder if the younger generations have any real idea of how much the world has evolve in such a short amount of time?
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I suspect every generation might feel that way. Certainly my parents did who were both immigrants and lived through the war years in Europe during the 40s.
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WOW…living in the US and in Europe are very differing points of view.
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Yes, indeed!!
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Beautiful Boost on Berlin, Germany. Tjis came with a Bounty of history and somber tones, Joanne.
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It’s so true that some places naturally leave a more somber tone than others. Berlin was definitely one of them and couple more will pop up in this challenge.
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A fascinating part of history- one day I’d like to visit Berlin for its modern side too.
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They’ve built an interesting city that has blended the old and new very well. It exceeded my expectations 🙂
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Powerful post…especially for us that lived through this period in history.
We just watched the movie Bridge of Spies (with Tom Hanks) this weekend. It too brought back much of the fear and propaganda the “East” and “West” fed its citizens.
Wonderful shots Joanne.
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We watched Bridge of Spies a few weeks ago and the scene on the train watching the guy trying to escape was very dramatic and emotional.
I think that’s why this whole building of walls stuff coming out of Trump really bothers me. Apparently we learn nothing from history.
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Some people certainly don’t learn from history. I believe people like Trump feel they are too important to waste time on history…because he will make is amazing (oh that even hurts to write)
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LOL!!!! That’s exactly how I felt even mentioning his name 🙂
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Joanne it is powerful seeing this even through your photos. I can only imagine what it might be like in person. In some ways this world has come so far and yet we hear more about building walls. shaking my head as I write.
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It seems all we do is redefine who the enemy is 😦
My question is … why do we need to have an enemy?
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That is the trillion dollar question Joanne. Why indeed.
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Have you watched the movie “Bridge of Spies?” The part where the wall between East and West was sealed gave me chills. I’m thankful that time is in the past and only a brick path remains
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I did see that movie and when he was on the train witnessing someone trying to breach the wall … I agree, it gave me chills too.
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Thought provoking, and your last statement is spot on.
I enjoyed reading A, too. A sunset camel ride sounds great!
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Thanks Laurie 🙂
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Thanks for sharing those photos! I remember when it came down. I was an undergraduate taking German for my language requirement, so it was particularly interesting to discuss in class.
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What I find particularly scary is how long ago it’s been now! We’re closing in quickly on the 30th anniversary.
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I would love to go to Berlin. The history there is amazing. My daughter is visiting in the fall so I will share you post with her.
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My only regret is that we didn’t allow for more time there.
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Isn’t that always the way.
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My uncle told me that they made that trail because it was so many tourists that asked about it. It’s even on the maps now.
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That’s interesting! I had not heard that tidbit of info. I’m not surprised though. When I was writing the post, I wondered at what point they actually decided to commemorate the wall.
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Such powerful photos. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks Nancy 🙂
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Oh Joanne what a wonderful post for B. Simple but full of impact. Berlin is one of my favourite cities, fascinating, full of contrasts, and so much history. Looking forward to the rest of your alphabet posts.
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Berlin was one of those travel surprises. What I was expecting, and what we discovered were quite different.
I expected a typical thoroughly modern city with all the regular big city museum stuff.
As you know, it is so much more complex than that. When we finally left the city, I felt like we could have – and should have – spent many more days exploring it.
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I agree Joanne. Berlin is one of the city breaks that we have returned to and still have things to explore on another trip.
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My daughter recently visited Berlin and was amazed at the remains of the wall, just the concept of it happening for a young person is inconceivable.
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It’s inconceivable to me too. What a horrible chapter in our history.
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Germany seems to have done a good job of memorializing mistakes with the intent never to do them again. It’s served them well and I wish the US would do the same. That brick path is haunting, but important. Thanks for the photos 🙂
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Haunting is the perfect word for it and I love your expression “memorializing mistakes”. That’s exactly what Berlin has done … and very respectfully.
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Powerful images, profound reminders of where we’ve gone wrong… and that wrongs can be righted! A great A-Z post!
Josie Two Shoes from Josie’s Journal
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I agree – it’s comforting that sometimes wrongs can be righted.
I just wish mankind would stop making so many of these mistakes 😦
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I remember when it went up and when it finally came down . Excellent post!
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I’m not quite old enough to remember it going up, but it was definitely dramatic news when it came down!
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I’ve never seen the pictures of the wall’s remnants or it’s path marker. It is chilling to see them. I can only imagine what it would feel like to actually be there and experience it.
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It did feel rather surreal. My head kept trying to visualize what it was like with the wall in place. I would stand back and forth on the different side of the wall staring off into space.
Maybe I’m unusual, but it did have an odd effect on me that I wasn’t expecting.
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I was in the former East Germany in 1995 and there were still traces of cold-war life all around. We didn’t make it to Berlin though – nice post!
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Some of those traces still exist in Berlin as well, although the amount of development in progress while we were there was staggering.
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Amazing photos of such a profound time in history.
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Thank you. When I looked back on my photos, it was clear to see what really enthralled me 😉
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I love the pictures, especially the one with the curving bricks going across the road. Meanwhile, here in the U.S.A., we have a less visible wall coming down between us and Cuba. I like it when people come together, rather than sit apart.
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That’s a really good comparison. That *wall* with Cuba has also been very formidable!
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That must have been quite an experience.
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It was indeed, Marissa. Travelling is really a profound education of history, geography, and culture. The more I learn and experience, the more I want to explore.
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How nice for you to get those opportunities!
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What a great shot Joanne. It is difficult to imagine what it must have felt like when this wall came down. I understand Berlin is a beautiful city to visit. Yet another one to add to my list!😉
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It is a very interesting city Lynn.
I’m almost ashamed to admit my interest in visiting Berlin was tweaked by something so *fluffy* as the Berlin Buddy Bear statues which I had read about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Buddy_Bears
… and while I have many photos of Buddy Bears found throughout the city, the real story was so much bigger than I expected.
I thought I would find a thoroughly modern city which had put its past solidly behind it.
It is a very modern city – well, except for its airport still stuck in the 60s – but it has embraced its past with permanent memorials that are both emotional and respectful.
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So funny about the Buddy Bears, kind of like the our “Moose” campaign in Toronto! I think the history is what fascinates me most about Berlin. In am in no way a history buff but the history of this area intrigues me simply because of the significance & impact it made.
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I’m intrigued by the history too, but I wrongly assumed they put their past solidly in the past. That assumption was why I had previously had no interest in visiting Germany in general. I was very, very wrong.
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I saw the Buddy Bears last year in Cuba – they were amazing! I did a post on them if you’d like to see some photos. I’ve contacted our local city council to see if they,d be interested in hosting a showing, but haven’t heard back. I understand they haven’t been hosted in the U.S. yet. I don’t know about Canada.
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I knew the Buddy Bears had been travelling around the world, but I’m not aware of them having been to Canada. In fact, I didn’t know they still were on tour!
Seeing random Buddy Bears scattered throughout the city was fun to discover. I can imagine seeing a whole bunch of them together would be amazing 🙂
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Another wonderful post. Great choice for ‘B’. I’m originally from the northwest part of Germany & remember many family stories about Berlin & the wall. Thanks for sharing 😊
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Thank you 🙂
I can imagine the stories that came from people who lived those years first hand!
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Berlin is top on my bucket list Joanne. Give you a big thumbs up for taking on the A to Z challenge and look forward to the next 24 posts.
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Thanks Cheryl. Although it is my 3rd time doing this, I was still surprised at how difficult it was putting all these posts together!
I recommend visiting Berlin. It surprised me – modern and energetic while at the same time reflective and respectful of its past.
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Great post Joanne 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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Pertinent post, Joanne. I was in Berlin in 1991. They were still getting used to the idea. I’d love to go back and see it now.
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I found Berlin to be a very interesting city – not quite what I expected. I thought it would be a thoroughly modern city having put its history behind it.
In fact it was both paying respect to its history by “wearing its shame” and driving forward at the same time.
I would like to go back too to re-experience it with new eyes.
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Hard to imagine what it would have been like, living there during those years.
Interesting post.
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I agree Rebekah. It had to have been an extremely difficult time … especially for those on the east side of the wall.
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Yes. My boss at the time, travelled there often on business. I remember hearing about Checkpoint-Charlie and all that. He felt as if it was a different world on the other side.
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I suspect it was a different world in so many ways 😦
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My husband is from Berlin, I have been there when the wall was there; as they were taking it down; and present day. His mother’s family lived in the East and they were divided by the wall (even though they only lived about 15 miles apart) for 28 years. I can’t tell you how thrilled they were when it finally came down and they could move freely again.
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OMG! It must have been extraordinarily emotional!!
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The saddest part was that they didn’t believe the wall would ever come down, so his parents moved to a town near Frankfurt to be closer to their other son, then the wall came down and they wished they had stayed in Berlin. His parents have passed away now, but we still go visit his cousins.
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I didn’t think I would live long enough to see the wall come down. I still remember our stunned surprise at the news.
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It came down the year our daughter was born – how cool is that?
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That is cool … the auspicious beginning of a new era 🙂
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What a great post; fascinating about the brick path following the line of the old wall. I’m looking forward to your next post!
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Thank you 🙂
I found my eyes were pulled to the ground where the brick line was everywhere we went. In my mind I could visualize the wall and it gave me a chill.
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Very true, this brick is the living remainder of what may happen when battle for power gets out of control. And very true some scars never fade. They always remain.
Good post for day 2 of A to Z challenge.
Have a great weekend.. 🙂
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Unfortunately current events suggest we aren’t learning from our mistakes in the past.
Best wishes for a great weekend to you too 🙂
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Yes very true.. Still people fight for power and creating walls of insecurity and thus peace is breaking into pieces.. Hope this changes soon..
Thanks. 🙂
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I keep hoping.
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