Jacob Christensen

The photo was taken in November 2004.

I was, of all places in the world, at Christiansborg Castle, the seat of the Danish parliament, attending a meeting organised by the research initiative “Dansk politik under forandring 1945-1985″ discussing the 1963 economic crisis agreement.

What still surprises me is that I did not hear anything – no rumours, whispers, no-one running around slightly agitated in the corridors of power – about the real event of the evening. I only learnt about the news when I came home and turned on the radio to listen to the midnight news – this was waaaay before the www, I didn’t have cable and the TV set didn’t have teletext.

My parents visited (West) Berlin during Easter 1989. They travelled by train which meant dealing with East German border controls. My mother, in particular, hated every minute of travelling through the GDR, probably because the behaviour of the control guards reminded her of the German troops during the 1940-1945 Occupation. FRG was very different. These days, Berlin is full of Danes.

One story I recall about the fall of the Wall: A Danish radio journalist interviewed an elderly East German who had come to West Berlin and picked up his 100 DM Begrüßungsgeld. What he would do with them? Buy fresh asparagus (Germans are crazy about asparagus, the Brits should call the Germans Spargel insted of Krauts). But, he added, he would only use some of the money. After all, you could never know how things developed.

Taken in 2004. I first visited the place in 1993. Potsdamer Platz was just an open field and the S-Bahn station had been opened for passengers but not renovated. Eleven years later, much had changed.

There will be one last Berlin post, to be published later today.

Taken in November 2004.

Taken in November 2004.