The Berlin Wall

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If there was one thing that I could remember from our trip to Berlin, it has to be the many murals and works of art on the historical Berlin wall. Having read up on WWII and all the stories that come along with it, my interest was definitely heightened prior to visiting it. My memories would have faded by now but what remains clearly to me was how the wall stretched like forever as we walked alongside it. Apparently it is now, just a mere shadow of its former self. I have taken some pictures from the wall which I thought hid many untold stories. I guess one could evoke emotions just by staring at these murals and attempt to comprehend the meaning behind them.

Besides walking around the city centre, we also went on a guided bike tour, stopping and passing past numerous important historical monuments, including the Brandenburg gate. What intrigued me was how we seemed to be crossing from East Berlin to West Berlin and vice versa every time we crossed the demarcations of the former wall. And in my mind, I was always trying to visualise just how it would be during the Cold War days. Definitely not that easy, then, to just cross the 'border' from East to West.

It was also in this city where I had my first "currywurst" and fell in love with the dish. Simple, just sausage with some sauce and curry powder on top, but it left a very lasting impression on me. Having just got out from the bahn, we stopped by the street side food stall and got a plate to share. Bam! Maybe my hunger contributed to its 'tasty points' but it started and defined my short trip to Berlin. By the time I left, I ate it for at least 5 more times!

And lastly, before we left, we did a very 'touristy' thing, which was to get our passports decorated with all the stamps that they used for border crossing at the Brandenburg gate. Real or not, it was proof that we were here, and we had to licence to enter West Berlin from the East!

Thankfully, none of these were needed anymore for the people, and whatever that happened is now consigned to history...

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