Kristen and I were fortunate enough to be able to be in Berlin this summer to witness what has been going on at the East Side Gallery, the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall. 20 years ago this year (today specifically) the wall came down, and the long stretch of interior wall known as the East Side Gallery was decorated with murals of peace, freedom, love, and just art in general.
Over the years, the murals became covered with tags and other assorted graffiti until some were virtually unrecognizable. Then, in the 20th year after the wall fell, the entire gallery was whitewashed, and the original artists were invited back to redo their murals. This is what we were fortunate enough to witness during our visit, as you can see in the video below.
Aside from the unique experience of witnessing the redecoration of the East Side Gallery, traveling to Berlin this year was an absolutely stunning experience. As outsiders, we became witness to a city that -20 years later - is as modern as any Western city, but still bears the physical and cultural scars of the last 100 years of its history. More so than visiting Dachau concentration camp, the Colleseum in Rome, or even Anne Frank House, the remnants of Cold War Berlin were an extraordinarily real experience in person.
Partially, Berlin was so shocking because unlike other sites we visited, the Cold War has an immediate relevance to our generation. We were alive while the wall was up, although I was too young at the time to notice or even care. Furthermore, the wall in particular is a source of shared experience, both for my family and for people in general. Both my father and grandfather had visited Berlin during the Cold War, seen the death strip, Checkpoint Charlie, and glanced from a distance at Brandenburg Gate. They took the same photos, stood in the same places, saw the same things; it is a strangely shared and yet completely unique experience for each of us, and I suspect that we are not alone in this.
Personal experiences aside, visiting Berlin from a tourist's perspective is a touching and often upsetting experience, even today. The city is a living museum of a country's history (and world history), of which the Wall that once divided it plays a major part. Now 20 years later, still relevant to people all over the world. Please take a look at some of the photos we took of the remaining sections of the Berlin Wall, as well as the video above.
In the early versions of the wall, East Berliners would often drive their cars through the wall to the West side. The wall was later reinforced with steel, making this impossible.
A returning Artist
One of the many messages of peace that adorned the East Side Gallery
Returning artist in action
Free Hugs people in what was formerly the Death Strip section of Berlin. Showing some love.
Checkpoint Charlie, what was formerly an intimidating border crossing is now a tourist trap
Memorial of the wall that runs through the city
Couldn't get this picture 20 years ago
Or this one
Brandenburg Gate
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