Yesterday marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The New York Times has featured articles, user-submitted photos, interactive timelines, and multimedia graphics all week to celebrate the November 9th, 1989 event. I certainly don’t recall the day (two-year-olds generally don’t have a knack for remembering these kinds of things), but I can definitely imagine the throngs of people pouring through the Brandenburg Gate on that evening 20 years ago. I was lucky enough to be in Berlin for New Years Eve last winter, where over a million people flooded the streets around the Gate to ring in 2009. The excitement in the air was palpable that night, and I can only imagine an even greater electricity on the night the wall came down.

The Berlin Wall was an enormously significant historical and geographical marker, the effects of which visitors to the city can still see and feel. During my visit, I blogged about my first impressions of the city. Although I wrote it 11 months ago, I think the entry sums up the city and the legacy of the wall well–very appropriate for this occasion! Enjoy!

Continue reading “Impressions of Berlin”