Lost at Sea: Balloons over Berlin

Sometimes, you just luck out and find yourself in the right place at the right time. Megan and I found ourselves in Berlin on the night of the anniversary of the falling of the Berlin Wall. The town was crowded with Berliners celebrating this exceptionally historic event. The atmosphere was charged with electricity, abetted by large screen video displays of historic footage of life in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the events that led to the fall of the wall.

Marco and Megan boarding the S-Bahn

Stephanie in front of the Lichtgrenze, the wall of balloons.

Another view of the Lichtgrenze.

We were visiting our great sailing friends, Petra and Marco, who you've met in the blog before. They live near Potsdam, just outside of Berlin. We travelled into Berlin by train for the celebrations, arriving in Potsdammerplatz, just near Check Point Charlie. The first sign of the celebrations was the Lichtgrenze, a wall of white balloon, eight thousand of them that indicated the course of the Berlin Wall. These helium filled balloons would all be released at 7.00 pm that night, as a symbol of the falling wall.

A piece of the wall.

Slabs of the wall with commentary

The balloons traced the actual path of the wall.

We also saw sections of the wall, along with some great documentary films that described the historic events leading up to the fall of the wall.

Great street documentary of the fall of the wall

Russian tanks in East Germany, Lichtgrenze behind.

A Balloon, longing to be set free.

Check point charlie.

The actual checkpoint

Beware, all yea who enter here.

There was an open-air concert later in the evening, featuring Peter Gabriel singing 'We can be Heroes' by David Bowie about the first people crossing the wall. Unfortunately, the area was full and police closed off access to the Brandenberg Tor Plaza. We had to watch it later on YouTube. However, it was really enough just to be on the streets, sharing an incredible atmosphere that recreated the tremendous feeling of change, of freedom and of a shifting world order that occurred here 25 years before.

The GDR-made Trabant, affectionately called a Trabi.

An intact section of the wall

Germanic statuary

A Berliner beer bike, doesn't matter which way you face!

Of course, we had to travel to Germany from our winter home in Lefkas. We took the boat up to Preveza, where she is on the hard at Aktio boatyard. We travelled by bus to Athens and spent a day looking around the Plaka. We stayed in a hotel that Megan had visited thirty three years before. It was still recognisable (Acropolis House). We had found Athens to be 'difficult' in the full heat of summer last year, but in the cool of winter this year, the city was much more enjoyable.

Athenian alleyway

Interesting feet

Greek sweet shop

Musicians in Monastraki, notice the accordian boy begging

The old church in Monastraki

We flew into Berlin airport, and were met by Petra and Marco, two lovely friends of ours that we met cruising in Turkey and Greece last year. They drove us to stay at their house in Leetz, near Potsdam. Leetz is on the river Havel, which flows through Berlin. It was interesting to see all the marina's and possibilities for cruising the river systems of Europe.

Petra and Yusha welcome us to their home

Village street in Leetz

The local Stork's bird nest.

Village house

Old stables and barn

Setting sun on the river Havel.

The local church

Petra, Marco and Yusha have been wonderful hosts, showing us the local sites. We have been to the beautiful and historic city of Potsdam, where the Potsdam conference of Truman, Churchill and Atlee, and Stalin decided how to divide post-war Germany. We visited several Baroque churches in Brandenburg, as well as the local city gate.

Megan, Petra and Marco in Potsdam.

Baroque Church in Brandenburg

Church courtyard

Baroque Protestant church in Brandenburg

Baroque decoration

The terrible trio

The Roland, a mythical German figure outside the Brandenburg city hall

Central square in Brandenburg

Potsdam street

Another Protestant church

Famous unicorn tapestry

Baroque roof detail

Church organ, playing Bach Dm concerto

We also had some great walks around the local features, particularly the river Havel.

A local marina on the river Havel

View over the river

Fishing lodges near the river

The admiral, captain and Rembrandt

Impression of the river

This area of Potsdam was in the GDR. Petra told us that Stasi members were rewarded by the State with homes, often with this roof design. Of course, it signalled to all the locals that that person was a member of the feared secret police.