Berlin, 1st Site: Brandenburger Tor

Brandenburger Tor, New Year's Eve.

Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

30 years ago when MC and I lived here, Berlin was in a way an island in the Eastern European sea. Visiting Berlin was not easy to do, and I'm not even sure that there was all that much reason to do so. For me that makes what happens here at New Year's Eve all the more amazing.

On Sylvester (Dec. 31), the world comes to Berlin. New Year's Eve at the Brandenburger Gate is said to be Europe’s biggest party. If you can believe reports, over 1 million people cram into the boulevard that stretches between the Victory Column (Siegesäule) and the Brandenburger Gate to ring in the New Year.

I believe the reports.  MC and I were two of those million people. Given our experience, I don't think the crowd estimate was inflated. It was jam packed. We were jammed and packed. In retrospect we may not have chosen the best way in. We came in from the side near the stage but at that place people were compressed, literally front to back and side to side. We decided to look for a place with more space.

For 20 min. we edged our way through the crowd. Edged. We kind of went sideways because there was no way to go straight through. You had to knife and squeeze your way forward. I have never been in such a crowd. Remarkably, everyone was good-natured. I say remarkably, because I suspect some of my ‘neighbors’ were pretty drunk. I suspect it because of the scene we witnessed on the way to the gate. When we got on the U-Bahn, at least half the people in the train had an open bottle of beer which they were enjoying. Christopher gave me a hard time because I had hassled him about bringing a bottle on the train. We knew it was allowed because we had actually seen a sign on a train asking patrons not to toss their empties out of the windows (duh) and the ‘house rules’ only forbid ‘excessive’ enjoyment of alcohol. Still, the only people I have ever seen drinking on a train were drunks - until I got on this train. All kinds had their ‘roadies’ that night – young, old, men, women - everyone but Christopher.

The Day After

Eventually, we broke through the wall to wall people, about a quarter mile from the stage and could walk up and down the street past the vendors  and discos and Ferris wheel, killing time until the big moment. We had about two hours to go. We had gotten there early (about 9 PM) because our Berlin friends told us that some years they have to shut down the entrance once too many people get inside. We did not want to miss our only chance but now we had some time to kill.

Our options were not all that spectacular. Walking was difficult even where there was no crowd because the street was either covered with piles of snow or 2 inches of slush. I'm still puzzled why Berlin makes no effort to clear the streets or sidewalks of snow. Even in a place where they know 1 million will be gathering – no clean up. So it just sits there and because it was 1°C it was slush puddles and people standing in the dry spots. By 10 pm my feet were soaked.  By 11 we decided to take our spot. It was near a big TV screen but there was so much noise that you could not hear the audio.

You could hear the people around you but you cannot understand them. I couldn't anyway. It was like being at the United Nations. There were Asians (Japan, China, Korea) Latin Americans, (the Columbians especially boisterous), there were Russians, Europeans of all stripes, with Spain and Italy exceptionally well represented. There was a lot of English to be heard and occasionally the odd phrase in German. It is truly amazing how Brandenburger Gate, what was once the ultimate symbol of European and even global division, is now the magnet for a unifying celebration. For years this was an explicit goal of West German foreign policy. New Year's Eve at Brandenburg gate seems to be a physical manifestation of the success of their vision.

And as physical manifestations go, it is pretty impressive in its own right. At midnight they let loose about 15 min. of official fireworks (accompanied by David Hasselhoff himself singing something that the poor audio spared me from hearing). It does not end after those 15 min.  For the next two hours and more private merry makers will light up the skies (and your ear drums) with explosions that make the Fourth of July seen tame.  All told it is a great party. They really know how blast their way into the New Year.

For those of you who made it to the end of a rather long post, and still playing Who is That #7, a clue.  This girl could peek out her windows (but only at night) and see a passing boat.