I was in college when the Berlin Wall fell. I remember watching it on teevee in the common room of my dorm.
I had been in Berlin 3 years prior to the fall. After traveling there and going through to East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie and experiencing having to wait to eat lunch–3 people come out of the cafe, 3 people are allowed in. No exceptions for American teenagers. It was hard to believe that the wall had fallen. I didn’t think it was ever possible.
I remember riding the train into Berlin and looking over the fence at people who lived in East Germany as the train chugged alongside. Concrete block buildings abounded. The food in East Berlin was horrible, especially after the bureaucratic wait. In our broken German, we asked the guard why we couldn’t go into the cafe, there were seats available. That’s just how it was done and so we waited.
After eating chocolate that was made by German and Swiss angels for several weeks, we were appalled at how craptastic it was in the East. We had to exchange 25 Marks when we crossed and we were expected to spend it all while in East Berlin. I don’t think anyone in our group could. We ended up giving our leftover coins to some kids who were thrilled and chased after us for more; their mothers silent. I kept one coin. A 2 Mark piece that is so incredibly light. Like the government couldn’t even take pride in its money.
I remember my friends and I sat around in the sun, that peaked out of the clouds, at a public park after seeing a few sites, buying a few things. We waited until it was time to meet up with the rest of our group to cross back into Berlin. It was a sobering trip. It’s appropriate that it was mostly overcast that day.
I wrote on the wall and chipped a piece off (on the West side, of course). It looks just like a piece of concrete from anywhere. I still have that piece wrapped in plastic lingering in a drawer.
