Travel Chronicles Part II: the fall of the dominos

Sunday night Tom and I headed out in search of food and an ATM, and to wander around a little bit. We thought we wouldn't get very far, our hostel was in the center but a little north-east of the very center of town. But we were surprised how much closer everything was than it looked on the map, and ended up walking all the way down to the Brandenburg Gate and the row of dominos. I was glad we did, because it was all lit up and the spotlights were shining and they were setting up all of the big video screens for the ceremony the next day. It was a gorgeous night, and though we were a little chilly by the time we walked all the back to the hostel we warmed up with DÖNER at a little stand real close to the hostel – more on that lovely place later. The next morning we got up pretty early and headed back down towards the center. This time we walked around the 'government quarter' of the city, with its modern architecture and even more domino stones. The dominos were even set up on a flight of stairs – only the Germans. We walked all the way down to the other end of the domino stones on the Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square) and got a late morning breakfast/coffee in a café that had once been split by the Berlin Wall. Currrywurst for lunch was Tom's first experience with the lovely food, and he liked it almost as much as he had liked the Döner. We found a lot of interesting sights around the Potsdamer Platz and enjoyed the fact that it wasn't raining – yet. Grabbed some snacks for later in a grocery store in a mall on Potsdamer and headed out to see if the craziness had begun. From about 5 PM – 11 PM we stood in pretty much the same spot, in front of the Brandenburg gate behind the dominos. We were technically on the Western side of the wall, and the ceremony started on the Eastern side and then moved to the west for the political speeches and things. It was incredible listening to the snippets of stories I could hear around me being told in quick East-German accents, with their 'sh' instead of 'ch' sounds and the emotion in their voices. There were lots of young international people there too, a couple of girls from Canada weren't far away and we could hear plenty of Americans and Europeans talking and laughing to distract themselves from the fact that it had now started to rain incredibly hard. By the time the orchestra started to play and the politicians had taken their seats – Hillary next to Medvedev, or at least close to him from what I remember – it was a regular downpour. Luckily our Russian umbrella held its own, and when the surprise came and the orchestra started playing 'Berliner Luft' everyone who knew the words (I only know the chorus) sang right along and drowned out somewhat the pounding of the raindrops.

The cheers when Chancellor Angela Merkel led the charge through the Brandenburg Gate were incredible. The group of VIPs walked from the east to the west (umbrellas in hand) on the same path that many had taken 20 years before, under such different circumstances. The mayor of Berlin began the speeches, thanking everyone who had made the incredible night of November 9, 1989 possible – especially the resistance members in Germany, Hungary, and the Czech Republic who were present for the anniversary. Merkel followed, and reminded the audience that there are two anniversaries that take place on the 9th of November. There is the happy holiday of November 9, 1989, the happiest day in the history of modern Germany according to a blog post of the chancellor herself. However, the date November 9, 1938 must also be marked. On that night Hitler ordered the Kristallnacht, and nearly all synagogues and many Jewish business were attacked and burned. I thought it was yet another interesting reflection on just how much the country has changed in this century. One part of me realized that it was politically necessary that she mention the somber 71st anniversary of the Kristallnacht, another found it interesting that it would be so prominently discussed (though, granted, she was the only one who really discussed it) on such a principally happy occasion. Coexistence in Germany, however, is a part of life, even when they must share one of their happiest days with one of the most painful and challenging anniversaries in their history. It made me pause in my translating to Tom – who doesn't speak German – and think about it for a second before I realized that she must have known she couldn't have let the occasion pass without discussing it. Merkel spoke very well, I always enjoy listening to her speeches and was incredibly excited that I could kind of see her head over the crowds of people, though I watched the speeches mostly on the big-screens since it was right in my line of sight and I didn't have to strain.

Representatives of the victorious Allied nations, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, Hillary Clinton, and Dimitry Medvedev all spoke after Merkel – who made sure to thank them as well in her speech for the Berlin airlift and all that they did to help reunite the city and the nation. Brown was rather boring, to be honest, I thought he got a little too political talking about the current crisis and some things that were rather UK-specific. Sarkozy was entertaining as always, and echoed quite a few of earlier statements about other resistance movements and cooperation etc. Medvedev talked very carefully around the fact that it was due to the forerunner to his nation that the city had been divided by concrete and barbed wire, and did a fairly good job of it I thought. I didn't really think he looked comfortable at all, he was speaking in Russian and they were translating over it (an interesting experience for me), whereas Putin would have spoken in the nearly flawless German he possesses thanks to his time in East Germany with the KGB. All kinds of interesting dynamics always come into play when you're talking about this country in which I am living. He talked about cooperation for the future and recognized those present who had dedicated their lives to the cause of freedom for Berlin and Germany. Hillary Clinton spoke a little on her own and then introduced a message from Obama – which was drowned out for about the first 5 seconds by loud cheers from Americans and others alike. She provided an interesting perspective, as a non-European and also without the yoke of the former Soviet Union on her shoulders, and praised Europe's progress in the last half-century and spoke specifically about the continuing work to overcome all walls. Many of the leaders, as well as some of the later speakers, spoke poignantly about the walls that still exist in the world – whether they be of poverty, the walls still faced by women, or the concrete walls in Palestine or Korea. President Obama apologized for not being able to make it to Berlin and praised again all those who personally played a role in the fall of the wall and what it began, as well as all those presently working to overcome walls in their own lives or the lives of others.

The dominos were to fall in stages, and at some point in the process of the speeches and the fall of the dominos it had stopped raining. Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachov largely about the importance of freedom and the power that people have when they know something with a certainty that allows them to fight for it against incredible odds. (My civilization teacher here in Petersburg thought it was odd that Gorbachov didn't push one of the first dominos, whereas I was glad it was resistance leaders and not really political powers that pushed the first down.) While the dominos fell on the big screens, people who had been involved in the resistance in Berlin spoke about their memories and their emotions on the night of the 20th anniversary. It was clear that they were proud to have been a part of something so important, but also that they were just a few of many who deserved the credit for the changes that took place following the fall of the wall.

One of the most interesting moments of the night was when they told us that this would be the push of the dominos that would bring the falling row past the Brandenburg Gate and have the two ends meet. We all counted down, cheered, and turned our cameras on as we watched the falling dominos on the big screen approach where we were standing. However, the dominos appeared to misfire a block or so from the Gate, and there were plenty of boos to be heard. (I have a three minute video of nothing as a result, which I don't begrudge except it really killed my battery.) What quickly became apparent, however, was that it was an intentional stoppage rather than a mistake. The falling dominos (which I think were made of some type of foam or like material) had hit a domino that was clearly made of stone or concrete. That domino didn't fall with the weight of the others on it. This domino was to stand for all the walls that still exist, and how they prevent freedom and joy from being truly global and universal. There were two men from Korea there who spoke about the need to continue to work to tear down walls, and then a video piece showed people painting some of the dominos in places where there were or continue to be significant divisions in society – whatever the kind. Dominos came from South Africa, recently freed from its apartheid regime, from Korea, from Palestine, and from other places all over the world where freedom is not complete and populations often feel trapped. What appeared to be a mistake turned out to be one of the most poignant moments of the evening, despite the fact that it had started to rain again and we could no longer feel our feet. When the dominos finally came crashing down in front of us, it was an incredible feeling which unfortunately no words can describe. A fireworks display began on the gate at the same time, and everyone was smiling and hugging and jumping up and down, even as we headed out of the mud for some warmth in the U-Bahn station to head home to the hostel. It had been an incredible evening, one I will never forget. Unfortunately it is impossible to capture how it felt to be standing there, especially as a foreigner who feels so much at home among the Germans but, when it comes down to it, is an American. I feel incredibly blessed to have experienced such a momentous moment in the history of a country that I have come to love, and went to bed somehow feeling more experienced, older than I had started the day.

 

To be continued…