Fall of Berlin Wall Celebration

We’ve entered the time warp of travelling again, when a few days go so quickly yet feel so long past, and we struggle to remember the many enriching experiences we’ve already had, partly from density and partly exhaustion.  With only four days in Germany, we already have much we want to share.  We spent most of the first two days walking around Berlin, miles at a time, intent on wearing ourselves out to insure solid sleep.  Wear ourselves out we did, or our bodies anyways.  Our minds were wide awake between 4 and 8 am on Sunday morning, as our bodies refused to get out of bed.  At 8 we decided to make a final attempt at sleep; we had a safety net in our alarm just in case.  We were foiled, however, by the am/pm. 

Breakfast pastries from the corner bakery are a little harder when you buy them at 3 pm.  We decided to buy a day pass for the trains, which enabled us to visit several points of interest despite the delayed start.  This included the East Side Gallery (freshly restored for the anniversary), the Christmas festival at Potsdamer Platz and the painted dominos to be a part of Monday’s festivities.  Taking it easy on the feet eased our mind-body dissonance, as well, and we were able to awake at a decent - albeit sleepy - 9 am the following morning. 

Monday marked the day we’d planned around and awaited for months: our stay in Berlin rounded off with the Mauerfall celebration.  After an autumn-tinted walk through Tiergarten, a short break to throw out Dexter-related theories as a scuba police scanned the river floor and a “museum-legged”[1] trip to the Pergamon (lots of old stuff), we wandered the area around Brandenburg Gate to stake out the best spot.  We were bundled in our warmest layers and prepared for the cold.  Though the rain persisted all day, it did not faze us; we planned our time in Germany around this very event and felt the excitement grow as we watched preparations over the three days prior.  We arrived two hours before things got underway and chanced getting a little wet to secure a decent view.

The rain did not turn others away either, and people continued to file in well after the program was underway.  Soon a new wall had formed across Brandenburg Gate – a wall of umbrellas.  A lovely view…

When traveling with a partner there are many quiet moments (maybe more so in our introverted duo).  Casual conversation is not always present or necessary, and what remains is a lovely togetherness.  Walking next to someone without dialog can be fulfilling.  Having previously covered conversations of meaning and importance, as well as being able to communicate with a look, a gentle guiding arm or a squeeze of the hand, we are able to travel some distance in nonverbal mode. Bryce and I were pleased, then, to meet who could be considered our first friend abroad.  As the rain continued to fall, we waited for the show to begin, rocking back and forth with the tide of the dense crowd.  Somewhere in the movements of the crowd, a man around our age landed behind us.  He shifted his umbrella over our heads, and it was not until we looked up, no longer feeling drops on our heads, that we noticed his unspoken gesture of kindness.   We turned around to thank him, and he smiled broadly, telling us to come in closer under his umbrella, ella, ella….sorry, I digress.  We accepted and the three of us huddled together.

After, realizing he spoke English despite his demonstrated German fluency, the conversation prospered.  We learned that he was Australian and came to Berlin with work on his master’s in counseling psychology.  He currently works in child protection.  We told him our plans for this year and next and connected over our interests in psychology, German and living abroad.  Throughout the evening, our new friend was personable and courteous, even looked out for us more than once by asking people to pay attention to their umbrellas, protecting our eyeballs and preventing drops from landing repeatedly on our heads.  He was direct with individuals as they pushed through trying to inch toward the front at our expense (major pet peeve…anyone who’s been to a concert with Bryce knows).  He made sure we all had decent views as we craned our necks to find a window through the umbrellas.

The rain eased and the umbrellas came down, Bon Jovi played his latest masterpiece and we awaited the domino wall fall as we enjoyed ourselves handsomely.  Although a little drawn out (especially for those who do not understand Deutsch), the domino wall fall was spectacular and powerful to witness.  The evening ended in fireworks and except for maybe a few who got into squirmishes, everyone began to head home happily albeit wet and cold. 

With plans to retrieve a cup of Gluehwein for the walk back to the hostel, we thanked our friend for his kindness and for sharing and holding his umbrella for the entire 5 hours. We expressed how much we enjoyed conversing and being with him. He extended his kindness by offering his umbrella to us for our walk home, saying he had a spare in his car.  We thanked him for the generous offer and declined, of course, but not without explaining “Oh no, that’s okay.  I have an umbrella right here.”  So much for good impressions.  I’m sure more friends will come.

 

Dan and Bryce

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[1] “Museum-legged” refers to the fact that no matter how much time one spends in a museum his legs are always exhausted immediately.  It may have to do with the pace one has to walk to view exhibits, or the fact that one’s legs know he is learning something.  It is without fail.