Quick break for a beverage, I'm hanging with the Berlin bear

Checkpoint Charlie

First point of interest on the bus tour was the infamous checkpoint
Charlie. The border crossing in the middle of Berlin between the east
and west (American and Russian territories). In modern day Berlin,
this is a small building in the middle of a busy intersection, major
tourist stop surrounded by postcard stands... Hard to get your head
around the tension at this place such a short time ago (it was only 18
years ago that the wall fell, and east and west Germany were united.

In our travels through eastern Germany in the previous week, we have
spent a significant amount of time observing the remnants of the
communist days, and talking about jana's personal experiences growing
up in the midst of it all. I was in my second year of high school
german class when the wall fell. I remember it distinctly, but also
realize that at that time, I had no idea the significance of the
moment in history. Spending time immersing myself in modern day
Germany, I am still overwhelmed with the enormity of the history of
the past 100 years!