25 years before: the Wall fell down

Today is a very importante date in the world history. If you didn’t not catch it yet, it is the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Wall. 25 years ago, on the 9th of November, the Wall was opened in Berlin and the people from the East side were allowed to go to the West. That huge piece of concrete lost against people. It is now a part of History. But it is not only part of History, it is also part of the daily life of Berliners as some parts of the Wall remain in the city. You can still see the route of the Wall which divided the capital of Germany.

A few areas where the Wall was are used to remember this important time of Europe. One of the most famous is the East Side Gallery, an international memorial for freedom. « It is a 1.3 km long section of the Wall located near the centre of Berlin on Mühlenstraße in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall. It is possibly the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world. » (Wikipedia).

An other very interesting place is Mauerpark, a public linear park in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district. The name translates to « Wall Park », referring to its status as a former part of the Berlin Wall and its Death Strip. The park is located at the border of Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnendistrict of former West Berlin. Every weekend, lots of Berliners come to this park to share music, art, food, to spend time with friends or to have a walk in the flea market.

As I said in my previous post Berlin: a black and white adventure, I had the chance to be in Berlin last month and I went to those two places. There is nothing better than seeing how the life came back in those areas and how people use their creativity to make them beautiful and very enjoyable. When the Wall fell down, Europe changed. My life would have been totally different without this important event but I am sure it would not have been better. Let’s celebrate this wonderful day but don’t forget there are still a few similar walls in our world. I hope one day people will turn them as they did with the one in Berlin.

Here are a few pictures I wanted to share with you.

The East Side Gallery:

People hanging out along the East Side Gallery

The East Side Gallery

Park between the Wall and the Spree (river in Berlin) where is the East Side Gallery

People hanging out along the East Side Gallery

Painting on the East Side Gallery

Painting on the East Side Gallery

Painting on the East Side Gallery

The Oberbaum Bridge: it links Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg, former boroughs that were divided by the Berlin Wall, and has become an important symbol of Berlin’s unity.

Mauerpark:

Mauerpark: the old Death Strip of the Berlin Wall

Mauerpark: the old Death Strip of the Berlin Wall

The karaoke of Mauerpark: every weekend, hundreds of people come to sing.

Having fun in Mauerpark

Painting in Mauerpark

Mauerpark Basketball

Flea market

Food stand in the flea Market

Here is the video of an official celebration of the 25th anniversary:

A symbolic frontier of lights, the LICHTGRENZE consisting of thousands illuminated balloons to be lit throughout the weekend of November 9th, will be the festive highlight of the numerous events that are scheduled in Berlin throughout this year. Situated right in the heart of the city this unique and arresting light installation will trace a circa 15 km long segment of the former course of the wall that once separated Berlin in two. The light installation is based on an idea by Christopher Bauder and Marc Bauder.

If you want to see more about the history of the wall, I recommend two fabulous movies: GoodBye Lenin and The life of others.

Goodbye Lenin:

In 1990, to protect his fragile mother from a fatal shock after a long coma; a young man must keep her from learning that her beloved nation of East Germany as she knew it has disappeared.

The life of others:

In 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police, conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover, finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.

Thank you for reading. 😉

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