It was the summer of 1990. Backpacks and youth hostels and Eurail passes. I’d just graduated college at the age of 24 (I know, I know, what took me so long — that’s another story). Anyway, my friend Drew and I found out about college kids who did Europe this way and decided to flop over to the other side of the pond ourselves.
At some point during July we found ourselves in Berlin, Germany, where one wall was coming down and another was going up. The one coming down was being marketed in pieces on the street for something that must have seemed outrageous at the time relative to our twenty-five dollar-per-day travel budget.
That's my friend, Drew, on the left. He's kind of tall.
We stumbled onto a different wall going up that day. This turned out to be part of the stage set up for a Pink Floyd concert, you know, as in Pink Floyd’s The Wall? Did anyone NOT own that album?
The Wall at the Pink Floyd concert in Berlin, 1990
I didn’t think to take a picture at the time because I didn’t realize what it was, so I lifted this from A Fleeting Glimpse
I’m no walking scruple, but as we walked the streets of Berlin, something struck me as wrong that they were selling pieces of the wall. I think I figured it was such a fundamentally huge event, you know, freedom from oppression and whatnot, that I sort of felt I was witnessing history and was awed by it.
Wait, I’m not that principled. More likely, it was because it didn’t feel meaningful to buy what could have been some random hunk of cement from someone who should not have been benefiting from it. Also, because I’m skeptical as all get out, how did I know that these pieces of cement actually came from the wall? I mean, you could pretty much hack at any sidewalk that year, toss the crumbs on a blanket in a Platz and sell your concrete snake oil: Steppen zee right up, meine Freunde!
So we walked until we found the real wall: The Berlin Wall. You know, Checkpoint Charlie and all that.
The Berlin Wall in 1990
As I saw a few people chiseling away, I wished I could participate in what they were doing. Just then, a boy of about seven or eight came up to me with a hammer and chisel held out toward me.
“Ein Mark”, he said.
One lousy Mark. What was that, 20 cents to me? And it pretty much guaranteed that I would be getting an actual piece of the Berlin Wall, since I was standing right in front of it and all.
Perhaps the kid was just another huckster, but I decided he was a child who needed to provide for his newly freed East German family who would starve otherwise. He was a boy, and he wasn’t so greedy, asking for a fraction of a dollar, so I preferred to get a piece of the wall this way. It was akin to a neighborhood kid and a huge wall that once divided his country and his people now served as his personal lemonade stand. Also? It seemed a heck of a lot more poignant if I helped bring down the Berlin Wall myself. I wouldn’t just be witnessing history, I’d be a part of it.
I think that’s the little boy in the lower right. Doesn’t he look tiny and oppressed?
- The Berlin Wall? Yeah, I tapped that.
Drew takes a crack at it.
P.S. I mention this story because I recently walked past a magazine stand where the cover of The Economist says, “Twenty years after the Wall”.
I can't take my eyes off your tiny and oppressed boy.
Hey!! WTH happened to your old blog style??? Are you trying to CONFUSE THE GOATS????!
That is so stinkin' cool – I would have LOVED to have done something like that… YOU are a part of history! I have a piece of the wall from someone who did something like what you did and I really treasure it, but to have done it yourself, girlie, YOU ARE A ROCKSTAR!!!
What a great experience. The adventure of travel and stumbling onto the unexpected is what we look forward to when we travel. I really enjoyed reading your tale. Happy Sits Saturday Sharefest…
So cool you got to help bring down the wall.
I've never heard The Wall. Pink Floyd did you say?
LOVE your banana clip!
Everybody needs a little piece of that wall!
How cool. What a wonderful memory. Wonder what that German kid is doing now? He's probably running a multi-million Euro company!
Holy freakin' cow! That is an amazing story! I have a piece of it simply because my sister was friends with all the foreign exchange students in her school, and two were from Germany. They sent her three pieces of the wall, and they sort of became forgotten by my family. Luckily I held onto it and that makes my history buff of a husband very happy. But you! Tearing it down with all the oppressed! Amazing story! And now I doubt the authenticity of my peice of the wall. It has red spray paint on it. Yours had white. Oh cripes, I have hung onto a piece of sidewalk for how long? 🙂
That banana clip is h-o-t.
Very cool, I'm jealous. I'd have tapped that for shiz.
was reading an article in Newsweek just yesterday about the 20th… wow for you! ?
I graduated at 27 because I did the backpack thing first…and I'm stupid.
That little kid looks sharply teutonic. I hope you kept your eyes on him.
That is great! Very cool to have helped bring down the wall. The new blog layout is rather nice, too.
Striking a blow for both democracy and capitalism in a single tap of a hammer. Well done!
spiffy new layout….
Times have changed for us all.
You were so incredibly CUTE. Who knew you'd grow up to be a goat!
OK, Jane… I'm just replying to you here as I sit next to you at The Urban Hive to see if you get this message.
Your title grabbed me. I think that is totally cool that you tapped the wall. I love “where were you?” moments.
But I can't get past the size of your friend (and his cool fanny pack) but most of all your FAB banana clip. I wore 'em, I loved 'em.
I remember going through check point Charley back before the Wall came down and nearly crying because I was sure we'd all be arrested and thrown into commie jail because my brother was doing his wiggly ears things at the border guards (my brother can wiggle his ears while keeping the rest of his face perfectly still and relaxed looking, it's really freaky)
Heh, it's too bad you didn't know me then, you could have totally come and visited me at school!
Nice perm, Slim.
Berlin. . . . is that where you met my sister?
Your sister and I met in Salzburg, Austria, a few weeks before Berlin. Yeah, I still get a kick out of telling people that your sis and I slept together the first night we met. 🙂
Wow!
I'm really impressed. It always amazes me when people pull out posts like these. If I had an experience like this, I'd probably make it into my entire blog.
You look so young! And cute!
I'd happily take a hammer and chisel to that wall. I think it'd be cool. Much cooler than a brick from the old Cubs stadium.
that little fellers just a darn good capitalist
Wow! What an amazing life you have led… and while wearing a banana clip, no less. I think I am jealous, Nanny. Good stuff, as always! 🙂
It was late when we arrived in Berlin in 1997. It was dark and I was lost. We drove around and around in circles. I didn't realize th wall might be gone but the guards weren't. They scared me silly. Oh wait I was already pretty silly
The only thing that's changed on you in 20 years is your hair. Love the photos and what a great story!
I'm still figuring out how to Whrrl properly. This Disqus system seems fine.
That's a really cool story. And I love the photos of you two doing the deed (I mean, tapping the wall, of course.)
Came here from Theresa's place, by the way.
I had (still have) two copies of Pink Floyd's, The Wall, but unlike you never had the chance to “tap that”. Loved the old photos – brought back memories of my trip across the pond…especially those trips to Amsterdam….*giggle*
Yeah, when I think about Amsterdam, I giggle too. That was included in our trip, and I don't know if I should blog about it or not. It's kind of X-Rated.
🙂
Oh do it! Especially the part about the banana… 🙂
There's no way I'm leaving out the banana. That was one of the best parts!
Wow, what a treasure at any cost to own a piece of the wall. You have a pic to go with it, priceless. Oh, the stories you can share with your grandchildren someday!!!
That had to have felt great! We still have walls here in this country and I feel that they are being “tapped” each and every day.
Kelly
Oh Em Gee!!! My BFF from HS was there too-and even went to the PF concert. She brought me back a piece of the wall. It has blue graffiti paint on it. I think I'll blog that!
You should totally blog that. It's amazing what we can blog about when we think we've run out of things to say. Plus the wall thing is so timely right now.
Oh, and to address Sparky – Ronald Reagan wasn't the architect of the demise of the Soviet Union and it's grip on the Eastern Bloc – the people of those countries were. The Lech Walensa's that all of those countries had. The people's reaction to the disaster communism had created as the financial system buckled and the walls literally came tumbling down upon them.
Peace Prize – no – Reagan just made nice speeches.
Wow, Very cool! I remember them selling pieces of cement here, I never bought one for the same reason you stated, could have been any piece of cement. Same back in 1980 with the little jars of dust from Mount St. Helens. Although I did have a jar of Mount St. Helens, I just took it off my car. Had it for a long time but I do not know what happened to it.
Oh, that's right! The little jars of ash from the volcano.
See? This is why I would never make a successful entrepreneur. I probably didn't even spell it right.
In addition to “tapping” the wall, I was also fortunate enough to get my own bottle of Mt. St. Helen ash. The summer after the eruption, I traveled to Washington State University for a week long basketball camp (NGIP told you I was tall) with a group of 3 others and our high school basketball coach. That's right, 4 basketball players, 1 coach, and everyone's luggage for a week all in a Toyota Celica for around 1000 miles. Maybe I should blog about that?
Anyway, during that road trip, I scooped up my own ash from the side of the road, complete with dirt, pine needles, etc. into an empty juice bottle I had.
Unlike NGIP, I did have entrepreneurial ambitions. I intended to clean the ash and place bits in smaller bottles for sale upon my return to California. However I am basically lazy and thus never followed my intention. It's likely this same character trait is what kept me from achieving any basketball success beyond high school.
I lived in Germany when the wall fell. For the second time as an adult. It was an amazing experience. But, the big surprise everyone was hit with (except the tourists chiseling at the wall) is how severely it impacted the West German economy. East Germany's entire infrastructure was in ruin – nothing worked – and they poured over the border, flooding the autobahn with little Russian cars that didn't make the entire trip. And the attitude of the West Germans didn't help – they were not pleased by the East German sense of entitlement (hello communism). Financially, it was a disaster for the West.
One of my colleagues just published a book based on his experience as a journalist over there during that time: http://www.RoamingGhostland.com It's a good read and extremely informative.
I remember hearing about the surprise mess, post-wall fall. I suppose its virtually inevitable when any drastic change like that occurs, no matter how prepared people think they are.
I will check out your colleague's website – it sounds interesting.
Very cool post! If you were to tap anything, I think you made a good choice!
I love this story. And I LOVE the fanny pack and the banana clip.
That fanny pack is a deluxe model. It actually expands into a full fledged day pack when needed. In fact, I still have that today and my wife uses it when we go fishing in the boat.
I guess this is turning into an endorsement for REI. I got the thing 20 years ago and it's still in good shape.
BTW, have you seen the new Clooney flick, Men Who Stare at Goats?
No Stina, I haven't seen Men Who Stare at Goats. I wanted to see it, but I'm hearing it's not so great. So now what do I do? I've got this goat thing of a blog and I don't see the goat movie? Is that wrong? Maybe I'll just wait for it to hit Netflix.
wow. what an incredible adventure. i took german in school for a few semesters. we discussed the wall and watched a video about it. also saw footage of david hasselhoff performing for the germans. not sure why they love him so. thanks for sharing your experience.
It is fun to be a part of something so historic as that. It was all because of President Ronald Reagan who truly deserved a Nobel Peace Prize unlike President Empty Suit.
You can also tell your future readers that you were a part of history now when we who are Patriots are fighting the communism in our own country. We're making history right now with Tea Parties and peaceful rallies that are being ignored by the Lame Stream Media. Take note, keep a diary and take photos. These are also historical times my friend. 🙂
Banana clips, fanny packs, and white tube socks with stripes on them.
Man, 1990 was a MESS.
Wow. This is wonderful. You are a part of history. That isn't an opportunity that comes along every day. I loved the photos.
Very cool…and so were fanny packs, banana clips oh my! 😉
incredible. And you haven't changed a bit.
And I like your new comment stuff going on here. So fancy…
How cool that you were a part of that history! And your friend, Drew, is more than just a little tall!
Girl, you were part of history twice. That banana clip? A relic of late 80's hair art! (I had them in every color)
Well how totally cool is that? Seriously incredible that you got to tap that.
Me again.
This is just me testing out the new comment system.
Testing. Looks good. Do you like Disqus? I've thought about switching…but don't want to lose all my other comments.
Anyway, your post, though. I didn't know what you meant by “tap,” at first, because…well, let's just say this disturbing piece in an Uncle John's Bathroom Reader about a woman who had a “relationship” with the Berlin Wall. So when I read your title, but then read your post, I was like…”Whewwww.”
I'm too new to this thing to say whether or not I like it. I had to redo my whole blog from scratch just to get this Disqus thing in. So my expectations are a little high. Also? I don't know if you're even going to get this msg. Or if everyone else is going to get this msg. So let me know. I hesitate to talk in this thread because I don't know if I'm wasting my breath. I usually respond to a person by email.
Got it….you're not wasting your breath. Am I? 🙂
Nope. Not wasting your breath. But I don't want to say that here, because who else wants to hear me say “Nope”. I'm thinking I should email that to you. Kind of like on Twitter when people are talking to each other back and forth in front of the rest of the world. At some point, they should just DM.
Not wasting your breath. And I like it….I'm going to use it if I can….
IT WORKS.
Congratulations 🙂