Berlin's 'border of lights' illuminates former Wall crossing

Swathes of people flocked to the Berlin Wall Memorial at the city's former border crossing of Bernauer Strasse on Sunday (November 9), to celebrate the fall of the barrier that divided the capital, 25 years after its collapse.     

Parts of the original Wall are still visible, and have been integrated into an open-air exhibition explaining the history of a divided city.      

Earlier on Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel hailed the fall of the Berlin Wall as a triumph of the human spirit, as she laid flowers and lit candles on the site, where several people died trying to cross the Cold War border, when it was first enforced in 1961.     

Local resident, Renate Borchert, said although some differences remained after the fall of the Wall, she hoped East and West Berliners would continue to grow together.     

"The fact that the borders are open is still unbelievable and wonderful. We have become one, but sometimes you can still notice some differences (between East and West Berliners) but it is great. There is no other way to describe it. It is a great day, and I hope that East and West will grow together even further, and that the differences between us will get smaller," she said.      

Alexander Schulz from West Berlin though, said he found it difficult to adapt to the post-Wall life of a unified city.         

"I have mixed feelings. I am from West Berlin, I lived with the Wall and lived it with it well. It took me a long time to get used to the fact of the way that it is now (without the Wall)," he said.      

As dusk fell, part of the 7,000-strong helium balloons installation, which dramatically illustrate how the Wall cut through the heart of Berlin, was illuminated.      

The balloons were to  be set free on Sunday evening - symbolically re-enacting the Wall's collapse.                               


REUTERS