A Walk Down the Berlin Wall

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One of Berlin’s most famous icons and powerful symbols from the Cold War is a section of the Berlin Wall called the East Side Gallery. It is the longest open air gallery in the world, stretching 1,316 meters along the River Spree. It is free to visitors and was easily accessible for Martine and I to visit being around the corner from our hostel. 

This section of the wall remains standing to portray paintings by 118 artists from 21 different countries. These paintings were applied directly to the Wall in celebration of its fall in 1989 after 28 years of separating East and West Berlin~eliminating connection between Western “fascists” from entering East Germany. The paintings are symbols of hope and peace which attract visitors from all over the world.

The East Side Gallery is getting a post of its own because I took too many photos to add to my other post. The artists’ works were colorful, hopeful, and thought provoking. Here is a selection from my visit:

“Many small people who in many small places do many small things can alter the world.”

This painting of two men kissing is commonly known as “The Kiss.” The two men are Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev, and East Germany President, Enrich Honecker. I thought the painting was making fun of some politicians until I looked it up. The artist, Dmitri Vrubel, painted this image which was actually a real photograph taken in 1979 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic. Kisses between socialist leaders were not unusual. The caption underneath says, “God help me to survive this deadly love affair.”