Now that the Angels over Berlin were done, and I had met up with my fellow photography group, we decided to head over to check out the dominoes after dark – and we got caught in a huge mass of people. I certainly was glad that I managed to pick out a great spot beforehand – especially as it started to rain. J, A, C, and I all paused for a nice hot gluwein (mulled hot wine) at one of the vendors, when I saw the TV screens were showing:
Festival of Freedom
Which made me happy, because it really was as much a festival to freedom, as it was about the effect that event had on all of our lives – even mine as a middle school aged American child at the time. You see, in the last few days, I had really been thinking about how my life has changed since 1989. You see, without the events of 1989, Russia’s government wouldn’t have changed. The cold war wouldn’t have ended. And me? Well, I wouldn’t have wound up in Russia as an Exchange Student. And, because I was an Exchange Student in Russia, that gave me the edge when I was offered the job with a move to Berlin, Germany, which naturally I took. And that job, well, 3.5 years on, is still here in Berlin. So, in effect, much like a set of dominoes, my life too wouldn’t have been nearly the same – if the Berlin Wall had stayed up.
Anyhow, the longer we were waiting, the colder and more rainy it got. I had chosen to stand up on the balcony – at the congressional library building across from the Reichstag. Being that I’d taken many evening photographs in the clear weather, I stayed up there waiting – while the others wandered. Around 7PM, John showed up, and then took off to go back to the Main Train station to go get McDonalds (Thanks John for that!) and also to get an umbrella. Meanwhile, with my coat held in my jacket (so as to keep it as dry as possible) I watched the tourist ships pass up and down the river,
and the crowds gather on both sides of the giant dominoes in the now persistent rain.
As Julie, Andie and Paul returned (Caroline left to go stand in the people wall, and John was still getting food), I snapped a couple photos for posterity (thank goodness for a tripod and 2 second timer)
and went back to waiting in between hearing reports of security getting tighter. Then, began the symphony, and Bon Jovi made a guest appearance singing too. Next were the speeches (I watched them later on Television because the TVs were facing the other direction from where we were) given by Hillary Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev, Angela Merkel, Nicholai Sarkosy, and Lech Walesa. Finally (an hour late, I might add), Lech Walesa stepped over in front of the Brandenburg gate and knocked over the first of the dominoes, to the applause and cheers of the crowd, and the popping of champaigne bottles around us.
From where we were standing, the dominoes went much too quickly – less than a minute from the Brandenburg gate to the corner of the Reichstag, down the river, around, over the bridge – and then in front and below where we were. Effectively, we went from This:
To this:
To this:
And it was done. The wall was done, gone, and the crowds roared. Now all that was to happen was the fireworks, but for me, I was finished. Soaked clean through, freezing cold, and very tired (I’d been out since 9am), I left and headed home – only stopping for a hot chocolate on the way. What a weekend!
* This is the last post in a series on the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – and my attempt to document the events of the weekend, where 20 years before, a peaceful revolution brought about a big change which helped to end the cold war, and bring about a new Europe. Many more of the events are in the full flickr set here. *
