remembering '89

on 9 november, 1989, not long before midnight, thousands of east berliners walked across the bridge at bornholmer strasse into the western districts of the city. something impossible had happened. the berlin wall had begun to crack, and was coming down faster than anyone could blink.

today, twenty days later, i went over to bornholmer strasse to walk across the bridge. there were people everywhere. young couples pushing prams, teenagers, old people, all lined up on the bridge, some of them climbing on the metal framework, on the few remnants of the wall, on billboards. it turned out that angela merkel, the german chancellor was expected to turn up, together with michail gorbachev and lech walesa, to cross the bridge and give a speech. when they passed, all i could see was a few grey umbrellas (it was raining non-stop). but what struck me more than anything was the atmosphere. it wasn't loud at all. it was quiet. and i think what people were feeling was something like pride. the insistence of the people had finally won - freedom had been gained. and a new chapter had been opened.