I have not met a Berliner who speak positively of the current Checkpoint Charlie. The location is filled with tourists photographing guys posing as U.S. soldiers for 2€, with herds of coaches driving by the Checkpoint museum. I know there are things running deeper - the lives lost seeking freedom, or devastated by the Cold War policies - that are not glossy enough for the coaches to stop.
I'm first surprised with a McDonald's in front of the museum which was't there when I last visited, and I think to myself, it might as well.
This clip was made from shots at Griebnitzsee, on the border of Berlin and Brandenburg. The wall is on the former East German side, with West Berlin in the background. The wall used to have graffiti that changed every time I went, and it's now painted white. The riverside path that ran along the former border has since been cut up by houses built on the riverbank.
...and outside the former Permanent Representative [Ständige Vertretung] of West Germany, in former East Berlin. The facility had to be shut down in August 1989 as it couldn't cope with the number of East German citizens seeking visa to exit East Germany.
The first 2 clips are 20 seconds long, and the last 30.
The first 2 clips are 20 seconds long, and the last 30.
