Berliner Mauer

Spending a few weeks in Berlin you can't help but at some point see the historical reminents of the Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer). Hard to believe that up until 1989 the German Democratic Republic, the communist portion of Germany, maintained this boarder to keep its people from fleeing the dismal command economy of the communists to seek a better life in the West.

I was in college at the time and vividly remember the whole collapse very well. What is fascinating today is that I'm working with a couple of people who grew up in the GDR (East Germany) and were on the other side of the Wall when it fell. They talk about the shock and disbelief that they had at the opening of the boarder and the amazement at seeing West Berlin for the first time in their lives.