Chapter 134: From Canada, For Freedom

nerd blog post #146

Monday marked the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. (Yes, we knew this before booking berlinpad.com. It was part of it.) Steve and I wondered what this would be like, and checked online and on posters to see what we should get up to that day. It seemed, though, that nothing really started until the evening, so we spent the day the usual way. We avoided the touristy parts, knowing they would be busy, and instead went to Kreuzberg, the hood we love. We looked at Turkish treats in windows.

After dindins, we headed to the action. We took a bottle of champagne and some dark chocolate treats in our gepack and took the metro to Brandenberg Gate. Once there, we were diverted on a death march through a large forest to get to the entrance to where the speeches, dominoes and fireworks would be. We went through a lame security check (bottle of champagne in my pants) and then joined the crowd. We made it to about 6 rows from the dominoes and were right in front of the B-Gate. It was amazing how close we got, and we figured it was because of the forest diversion and the cold rain. But we were happy. We met some nice Germans who were pleased we were there to help celebrate Freiheit.

1000 dominoes (which looked like painted theatre flats) were lined up along a stretch of the wall, and when they fell, everyone cheered. There were also speeches. But mostly, there was an attitude of life and friendship. I remarked to Steve that it was the nicest crowd I had ever been apart of. No one pushing or angry, but there to celebrate peace and freedom. It was an incredible feeling. When the last domino fell, the crowd erupted, and the fireworks began. It was pretty magical, and I hope I never forget the feeling of unity that was in that crowd.

Afterward, Steve and I wandered through the Christmas Markt at Potsdamer Platz, purchasing a delicious hot wine spiked with ron. We looked at the food there and I met some French L'Archies (a real treat) and then we eventually headed back to our neighbourhood where we met up with Nicole and Matt for a little bit before calling it a night.

It was an unforgettable evening. At one point, a radio station came up to us and asked us what we thought of it all. I used my amazing German to say that it was good. Steve used his better German to introduce us, and share that we had come from Canada, and that we had come for freedom.

In other exciting news, we made a really good pork roast the other night. And we love the Turkey Markt and bought a ton of veg there yesterday. And today we are meeting up with friends of my parents from Lesotho. Life is good.

Much love,
Hincks.