Germany: Tug of Wall

The East Side Gallery is the largest remaining section of the Berlin Wall. Photo / Supplied

Life, they say, is all about timing. It's just a shame that my timing is so rubbish.

On November 9, 1989, the world watched agape as grinning East Germans clambered over that symbol of communism made concrete - the Berlin Wall. But in a classic case of bad timing, I missed the historical event by a few months, turning up when much of the imposing structure had been consigned to the souvenir pile of history.

Fast-forward two decades and I still can't get it right, arriving in Berlin a month too early for the 20th anniversary celebrations to mark the end of the world's only border fortification built to keep people from leaving, rather than to protect them.

But no matter when you visit this city, the Wall's history tugs at you. These days, Berlin looks to the future as much as to the past, but there are few places on Earth where the two are so inextricably linked.

Briton Nick Gay, who runs Berlin Walking Tours, says that for a long time the city fathers showed little interest in preserving what was left of the Wall.

"For almost 30 years, Berlin suffered under one of the greatest geographic and political anomalies of all time - a city split in two by a concrete wall which tore apart families, friends and lovers, and resulted in the death of at least 136 people who tried to cross the divide.

Because so many stories connected to the Wall involved horrific suffering, there was an initial rush to obliterate this symbol of political oppression."

But as the pain has receded, the city has acted to remind both locals and visitors of the defunct border.

Berliners have reclaimed 18 sections of the Wall, along with rusting guard towers and other chunks of Cold War debris. You can, for example, follow a trail of cobblestones through the city that plots the course of the so-called Hinterland Wall, a precursor to the Wall itself, which is linked by a 14km cycle trail.

Sadly, the fact that it's too cold - and I'm a wuss - means I forego biking for the much warmer Berlin Wall Video Bus Tour. The tour splices original film and TV footage with old black-and-white photos to bring history to life as you criss-cross the vibrant capital's streets. One of the most poignant moments comes when we stop at the official wall memorial, Gedenkstatte Berliner Mauer, which traces the exploits of 57 East Berliners who overcame enormous odds to tunnel to the West and much-longed-for freedom in 1964.

Yet it's a humble pensioner who provides the most poignant taste of what so many East Germans were literally dying to get away from.