East vs. West

I don't know why, but when I crossed today under the Brandenburg gate from the former East Berlin to freedom on the west side, I was moved to tears. It was probably just fatigue from too little sleep; OR it could have to do with knowing Doug's aunt Angela who was split from her family by the erection of the Berlin wall.


The Holocaust memorial is a block from the gate and it was quite interesting. It is huge and something that has to be experienced in person to be appreciated. Just looking at it wasn't enough, I had to walk through it a bit to get the impact. I tried video, but that couldn't capture the sense of the place either.

Okay, time for a nap in preparation for clubbing - night two.