Saturday, June 4, 2011

Saturday Snapshot - Berlin

The Berlin Wall:



The entire course of the former wall has been delineated by this series of concrete blocks snaking throughout the city.


A portion of the original wall has been left standing as a memorial. There is a railing surrounding it to prevent souvenir seekers from chipping off any more pieces.


This is a recreation of the wall designated for mural artists. They've done an amazing job of making something beautiful out of something ugly.


This is a portion of the original wall set up as a monument.

For more Saturday Snapshot contributions visit Alyce @ At Home With Books

20 comments:

Sam (Tiny Library) said...

I visited Berlin a few years back. I really liked the section that had been turned into murals - like the city was reclaiming it's past and making it something better.

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

My photographer son lives in Berlin, and when they were doing the reconstruction, he photographed much of the work, including some of the artists working, as well as their completed paintings.

Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

Helen's Book Blog said...

I haven't been to Berlin in a very long time, since it was 2 ciities! It was amazing to see the wall up close, visit the Checkpoint Charlie museum, etc. I'd love to go back and see it torn down

Irene said...

This is an amazing slice of history, Imagine my children know little about it, if they were asleep in history class, and yet I clearly remember it being a big conversational topic at our home, while growing up. Thanks for your wonderful post.

Alyce said...

I like that it's still marked by those concrete blocks. I'm sure it would give past residents a wonderful sense of freedom to walk back and forth through those with ease.

Sherrie said...

Hi!
Great snapshots! I remember when the wall came down, it was so moving watching that on t.v. I'm glad they left part of it so that we don't forget. Have a great day!

Sherrie
Just Books

Literary Feline said...

What great photos! I still remember first hearing that the wall was coming down. It was such a momentous occasion.

Trish said...

tiny - yes I liked that they did that rather than just making it disappear.

laurel - what a project that must have been for you son to record such a transformation!

helen - I would have liked to see the check-point charlie museum, but alas no time.

irene - I mentioned my visit to some teens and they didn't really know much about the wall or the history at all and I wondered if that was true of other young people. Funny how things like this just fade into the history books. I remember it being a very 'current events' kind of thing in my childhood - and now, not so much.

alyce - yes a wonderful sense of freedom and irony since so much energy was spent keeping the two sides separate.

sherrie & literary feline - it doesn't seem that long ago, does it? But it's been a full twenty+ years. I could hardly believe my ears when I first heard about it on the radio.

Tracy said...

I have yet to visit Germany - but I've always wanted to go to Berlin. Thanks for sharing.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I loved seeing these wall and former wall photos, as it is place I will never visit I'm sure. Very very nice.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad they left pieces of the Wall for memory sake. I think sometimes we all need visible tangible reminders of horrors in order to keep us from repeating them - hopefully.

Marie said...

Great photos. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Leslie (Under My Apple Tree) said...

I like what the artists have done. It seems like that wall just came down yesterday... I have vivid memories of watching the coverage on television.

Trish said...

tracy and diane - I wasn't sure it was a place I'd ever get to either but I had an opportunity this spring so I jumped. One of the first things I wanted to see was what became of the wall i had heard so much about in my youth.

kay - yes and there is also a monument to the people who lost their lives trying to cross it. I wish I had taken a picture of that too.

marie - thanks

leslie - yes me too. I remember seeing it all on tv and thinking, Wow, this is big!

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Thank you for sharing these photos - I'll probably never see them in person although I remember the day the wall came down. Amazing!

Bev Hankins said...

I'll probably never make it to Berlin--so thanks for sharing these photos!

I'm a bit late (it's been a busy weekend so far), but here's mine: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/06/saturday-snapshot-graduation-weekend.html

Tracy said...

Unlike all of the other momentous, world-changing events, my only memories of the fall of the Berlin Wall are all aural, from BBC Radio 4 reports mainly - I didn't own a TV in 1989 (had no TV reception in the valley I lived in, anyway) and this was long before the internet was in routine use, no cheap PCs back then - so it's fascinating seeing the images of the wall as it is at the moment. (By coincidence, the next non-fiction book I'm planning on reading is The Berlin Wall, My Part in it's Downfall by Peter Millar)

bermudaonion said...

Great photos! I just read a book set in divided Berlin, so your pictures were timely for me.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

Hi there--as another Trish I immediately noticed your name and had to come by and say hi. ;)

I didn't see the painted portion of the wall you include here when I was in Berlin a year and a half ago but the parts we did see were very sobering. So amazing to think that this happened just a short time ago!

Trish said...

mary & bev - you're welcome :) I wanted to not only record these here for myself but also share them.

tracy - it was one of those moments in history when I remember where I was and what I was doing. I heard it first on my car radio while I was driving to a friend's house with my six month old son in the back in his car-seat. He's now 22! The only tv we had was a little black and white portable one, and no internet! (gosh that was a long time ago, wasn't it?) That book you have sounds interesting - I'd like to look into that.

bermudaonion - yes, now that I've seen it I'd like to read more about it. Glad I could help out.

trish - nice to meet you! We took a tour bus around town to see the sights so I'm not sure exactly where that portion is. Yes, it was all very sobering.