It's been almost 23 years since the reunification of East and West Germany. Berlin the old, new capital of Germany was once divided, but the scars of the Berlin wall, the monument of the cold war, are now hard to find. Yet, they are still there. For New Years Eve we went for a nice stroll to get some unusual views from the places where once East met West. Today hundreds of thousands tourists meet at the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate, Silvester, as it is known in Germany. There are spectacular midnight fireworks, plenty of champagne, and live music performances to entertain the masses at Brandenburg Gate. It symbolically marked the separation between East and West, and has been the focal point for New Year celebrations in Berlin since the early 1990s. Five million people welcomed the new millennium in this area of Berlin. Potsdamer Platz is about 3/4 mile south of the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. It was totally laid waste during World War II and then left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location. Today Potsdamer Platz has been completely transformed into a futuristic, urban hot spot. On and off the tourist path there are still signs of the transition to be found. Berlin is a great place to stroll around, review the past year and think what great things the future may bring in 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment