I noticed the thread about being at Altamont last week and found it interesting. I wish I could have gone but was too young. The other world event I wish I was at was the fall of the Berlin Wall and ALMOST did get on a plane. In the end I couldn't go due to business obligations which I always regret.

If any of you were there can you say a bit about it and how great it looked to be there from the TV coverage, Thanks, MB

Yeah, I was there.
I came out of evening class at 10 and drove with 2 friends in my car from Wedding to Kreuzberg.
We passed Checkpoint Charly at Friedrich Strasse and noticed a huge raving crowd.
normaly its a well lit kinda dead end street with patroling guards, but this wasn't normal.
wtf is going on? It was kinda frightening first 'cause we didn't know if something bad had happend so I turned the casette off & switched to radio.
and there it was - on every station - the east german people may travel without visas.
now we were getting very excited, my mates decided to watch it on tv, so I dropped them off and I went home and watched it on telly for about 10 minutes.
then I grabbed my bike and went to Prinzen Strasse which was about 2 min by foot.
I went about 10 meters into enemy territory - lol and everyone was cheering and shaking hands, offering beers and banging on the cars with their hands. (sounded like cardboard boxes, hehe).
Then I decided to have a look and whats going on at Oberbaum bridge.
same thing there, except you had a bridge to cross and that was kinda scary.
I went over there for the first time but went back after about 1/2 an hour or so.
I still didn't trust the guards and I didn't want to get stuck in east Berlin, so I stayed on the safe west side and talked & greeted the east german folks pouring in.
I had tons of beer that night gave away quite a few.
won't forget that night, I tell ya.

here's an old map with the border (pink/red) on it.

WOW, great story open-g !! I SO wish I would have gone. These type of events are so rare in History were something so important and REAL happens. I never though the wall would come down EVER so it was shocking. I was in West Berlin numerous times before and spent a lot of time AT the Wall. The place where the crosses were for the people shot for trying to swim across in the river - it was ALL so crazy and then to just have it disappear - what a great moment of world history to be in the middle of - you were very lucky. I stll wish I'd flown over - screw the business stuff, this was GIGANTIC HISTORY !!! - Thanks, Great Story !! MB

I remember when the wall came down in November 1989. I wasn't there but one of my sisters was. She saved some crumbled pieces of the concrete wall and gave them to me. I've still got them.

Lukester, Was she in the middle of all the celebrating? That would have been the best...man, I should have went for it - sh*t! (too late now) Yeah, I was there the summer of 90 - actually stood in the parking lot and LISTENED to the Stones Berlin concert at the Stadium - I think some is in the IMAX film) and they still had the Wall kinda up to some degree here and there and I could have knocked off a chunk, but didn't (smart move). Now it's - the Wall - probably TOTALLY gone and the pieces are worth something (Brain ain't the brain 100% of the time - mixed with jet lag and some A-1 German Beer....)

She was there on vacation and just happened to be there when the wall came down. It was a coincidence. Yeah, she joined in on the celebration. She was overwhelmed by the happiness of the event.

a friend of mine was touring Germany with a band at that time.......he got me a souvenir piece of the "Wall" for me

...I was overwhelmed and I was getting it all throught the TV...it was SO spontanious and full of pure joy, totally organic, very rare...Sis was lucky...

I was a member of "Vierzig Jahre politische Bildung in der Demokratie. Kongress im Berliner Reichstag vom 10. - 12. November 1989" and was in Berlin some days before this kongress.

November 9th I visited the eastern part of Berlin, a very sunny day. And there was a very new and happy feeling in the air. I got some tickets to the cabaret "The Distel", Friedrichstraße.

When I left the theatre there were some TV-companys, filming some people at the "Tränenpalast". Suddenly there was a mic and the question: "What do you think about the Press Conferenc in DDR-TV?" I didn't know anything, but I had a very strange feeling: Will the wall be down this evening?

After I've crossed the checkpoint I realized some young people from East Berlin, who have had a little discussion with some DDR policemen, but they had won and they were in "West Berlin" now.

So I realized: This is the end of that Berlin Wall!


And so it was. And a very very very long night on the "Kuhdamm" with some hundreds of thousends happy people followed

Next day I climbed on top of the wall at Brandenburger Tor near Reichstag. It was a great feeling. And the "Kongress" didn't really happen, because "too much" real live democratie on the streets.



I can't forget these days, so much people on the streets, so much tears in luck, so much talking, so much bananas, so much beer, too.



I like such Street Fighting Men, Dancing In The Street.

I live in West-Berlin and I'll never foget the feeling we all shared on that day. I'll also never forget the concert of the Stones in Berlin 1990 (Olympic Stadium), when thousands of fans from the eastern part of Berlin saw our heroes for the very first time. Everbody had tears in their eyes!

that's poignant...keep 'em coming

Yeah, it's GREAT to hear these stories, once in a life time, Giant momements in history !! That's the show my GF and I stood in the parking lot for -Berlin 1990 - we left after SYMPATHY finished. Wanted to get inside but couldn't find any tickets. That would have been great to SEE....

I was there back in 89, but in February.
Interesting too.
I also worked with kids suffering from The Nuclear Accident of Tjernobyl
in 1991, the days the Soviet Empire fell.
Alas I wasnt there when the bolchevyks stormed the Winter Palace.

Yeah, well, the Bolchevyk thing would make you one of the older Stones fans BB. What was the main medical problem the kids were suffering from? Thyroid cancer? That was just horrible AND disgusting... Also shooting down tha Korean 747 airliner in 1983...not good behavior in those days....Wonder who's gonna take their place?...let me think...

Yeah, thyroid. Most of them probably gone since long.
Day after accident some people were brushin the streets with plain brooms,
no protection clothing whatsoever.
I really hate nuclear power (and the Soviet Union, I might add).
Just for the record, dont want any discussion.

my visit in west-berlin (1981)

i bought the german lp "for collectors only"

and a defluxer,,(to erase magnetic fields on tape recorders)

the east german guards check my luggage,,i was afraid....

I had a great '78 Datsun that I kept in great condition. I was visiting Berlin on business (I sell shower curtain rods). Well, when I had some free time in the city, I parked my car next to this plain old wall, nothing special about it, aside from the razor-wire and guards.

So I went to the Berlin Philharmonic and saw a great rendition of Cat Scratch Fever done by the orchestra.

And wouldn't you know it?

A DAMN WALL HAD DROPPED ON MY DATSUN. And there were people cheering and a girl lifting up her shirt. I thought they were cheering because they had crushed my modern marvel of asian engineering!

I miss that car...

Yeah but were you able to save your STEELY DAN cassettes or did the rat bastards steal of 'em?

Actually the Steely Dan tapes survived.

It was the Three Dog Night tapes that were stolen!

Baboon Bro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Alas I wasnt there when the bolchevyks stormed the
> Winter Palace.

I stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change. By the way pleased to meet you, hope you guess my name...

No, not there, but my father in law was....got two nice chunks...

JR

Jumpin'JackFrash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Actually the Steely Dan tapes survived.
>
> It was the Three Dog Night tapes that were stolen!

SEE, they ALWAYS get the BEST STUFF !!! mama told me not to come..I don't think I go through a day without humming that one....

I was there!
I am an American and had quit my job and my best friend and I traveled to Germany and stayed with his Aunt and Uncle. That was in October 1989. We traveled around Germany playing rock music, and went to Hannover the day before the wall opened. Already things were changing and it was easier for East Germans to cross the border, but no one knew what was coming. We signed up for a ride share to Berlin and the next morning left. Our driver was an Iranian/German going to Berlin to see family. We arrived at 9 at night and were dropped off and the Berlin Zoo train station. The streets were packed with people partying and loudspeakers were blaring some kind of speech. We both thought the Germans has won a soccer match. I was walking with my backpack and suddenly and older German man stopped me and asked if I was an American. I was nervous and said yes, then suddenly, he hugged me and started crying and in German he said the "Der Mauer ist kaput! Danke! Danke!" Whew! This was history. We rushed to the Youth Hostel dropped off our stuff and went down to the Brandenburg Crossing and spent the entire night there drinking beer and taking in the sites. I will never forget the faces of the young scared East German soldiers standing on the wall with their machine guns while West Germans place candles and flowers on the wall. The next morning we went back to the Youth Hostel, showered and headed back out and joined a bus tour. It was led by a grizzled ex American journalist. The bus was filled with Japanese tourists and the guide promptly said "the usual tour is canceled, so if you want some bullshit tour get off the bus, I am going to show you history!" It was incredible. We spent the day riding around to the various "hot spots", Check Point Charlie, Brandenburg, etc...East Germans were flooding into Berlin by that point. At Checkpoint Charlie West Germans were throwing chocolates at the East Germans and there were tears and laughter everywhere. At one section of the wall folks started arriving with pick axes and swinging at the wall. I have a piece of the wall I have kept. I distinctly remember lines of East Germans outside of banks and shoe stores. Every East German was promised 90 Duetsch Marks, and good quality shoes were in short supply in the East. We spent the rest of the weekend in Berlin as it began to burst at the seems with people. We got on a train back to Hannover and all through East Germany whenever the train stopped thousands of people were on the platforms waving, shouting, and trying to board the train. We had to stand the entire journey because the train was so crowded with people. I WILL NEVER FORGET THAT EXPERIENCE.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-25 04:04 by whitem8.

These are all amazing stories, and boy I was really hit recalling those times by the emotion of it all. Thanks for everyone sharing. As I sit here at my desk iN Singapore going through the usual bullshit paper, I am reminded that there are incredible adventures to be had in life. I guess I need to start rekindling that and try to do more!

Dear whitem8, that is SOME STORY !!! - to be some place where all that positive history is taking place in front of you, the guy hugging you and crying...you can just feel the emotion in it !! No matter what happens, you have that experience for life !! I think one thing I was slightly worried about was if I flew in there would be zero hotel space. I could handle it for a day or 2 but that's it. Should have just gone for it and something would have come up - Hamburg is about a 3 hour train ride so I probably could have found a room there. Man, that is just a GREAT story, THE BEST - thanks for coming on and telling it !! Your last sentence in your second post really hit me cause I too have cut down big time in my traveling the last year or 2 cause of the vibe out there but I really need to forget about that and get on the road again - the clock is ticking and ain't gonna wait...THANKS AGAIN !!! MB

here's hoping i'm there when Kim Jong Il's grotesque dictatorship finally collapses . . .

Yo Bongster, are you back ? (is it Portland?) Kimmy looks a bit youngish in dictator terms (since they all live to 95 or something). That would be good to be there but aren't the people really BRAINWASHED? What if they freak out instead of celebrate? Does he have any sons to take over for him? So how was the trip?

Hey thanks so much for being into it!! I really didn't want to come across as an egomaniac. It really was incredible. We really had know idea what was going on, and I too would have been worried about getting a room. Especially, since we were living off our music earnings and had to stay in the Youth Hostels:-) Really, 1989/90 was an incredible time for me. I was traveling through all of Eastern Europe following history around and playing music. My buddy and I spent two months in Yugoslavia playing in the streets and from all accounts we were one of the first people to do so, and people were amazed and so supportive. We were often asked "why the hell are you here?!" I was so lucky to be in Prague during their first elections and was there when Havel announced his victory, another very tearful moment. I also saw Joan Baez in Brateslava and the last time she had played there was under the communist leadership and they turned the power off during one of her protest songs. So during her concert in 1990 the entire audience stood crying and cheering as she sang that same song! EVERYONE had their keys out and were jingling them. It is a tradition to signal the jig is up! your done! no more bullshit! It was another stunning moment.
Yeah, I hear you about the state of the World today. I was in the Peace Cors in 1991, and have been living overseas now for the past 10 years. Mostly in Singapore, where it is safe and a bit steril. I do travel a lot, but I have not really had that BUZZ of being part of something increbild in a long time. I think the last really big life buzz for me was going to Shanghai to see The Stones!! LOL
But thanks so much for the nice compliment! I actually had tears in my eyes as I was typing it....
Cheers
Matthew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-25 08:58 by whitem8.

Yeah, I was there too. Still got my piece of the wall at home.

Hey Matthew, that's interesting stuff, I thing we see alot of things from the same angle so to speak. I used to spend a lot of time in Eastern Europe during Communism since I had friends and some family there (Poland/Czech). I took up photography seriously (Travel Photography) and started traveling a lot more all over the place. Haven't been to Poland since 1991 but have been to Prague numerous times in the last decade - can't believe the changes. That's so great to have been there during the transformation. The Yugo stuff must have been great. I haven't been yet but I have a good Serbian/Croatian Photographer friend that I stay in touch with weekly. Singapore's a cool place, I love that row of restaurants next to each other on the river - used to eat there everynight - what is it called ? Quay something?. You over there by choice or because of work? Doesn't sound too bad to me, let me know if you're still on right now.....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-08-25 09:25 by MicksBrain.