Europe measures big events in centuries. The 800th anniversary of a town. The 500th anniversary of a university, bridge or municipal building. They’re all celebrations we’ve heard about or even taken part in before.
Twenty-five years may seem insignificant by comparison. But not for some events. November 9th marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
It’s a part of history I lived through. As many of you know, I was born and raised in Dresden, in what was then East Germany. The fall of the Wall and reunification of Germany brought me on my life’s path. A position with American Express in Zurich, Switzerland led to the river cruise business. I co-founded AmaWaterways in 2002 and the rest, as they say, is history.
History teaches us not to forget the past. Berlin of today is a vibrant, international showplace of Europe. It’s a cultural, artistic and creative capital as well as the actual capital of Germany. And they’ve put together a number of events, exhibits and commemorations to mark the quarter-century since the Wall came down.
The Anniversary of the Wall will be marked by illuminated light installations and other events. Museums, monuments and memorials in the city center will feature special exhibits as well.
The Berlin Wall Memorial and GDR Museum are especially worth a visit. The former is located along a one-time border strip. It is set to open a new permanent exhibit about the Wall. The latter, named for the official title of the former East Germany, tells the story of life there.
Berlin is a few hours drive or train ride from Nuremberg, and makes for a wonderful pre or post-trip visit on some of our popular Danube cruises. It is not too late to discover Berlin and many of Germany’s wonderful sights as part of your own personal European adventure on board an AmaWaterways river cruise.
Come early and cruise on our Europe’s Rivers & Castles itinerary, sailing October 31 through November 7 aboard the AmaLyra. Or continue your journey after the Wall Anniversary on The Legendary Danube embarking November 10th in Nuremberg aboard the AmaDolce. Another option during this time is to cruise on The Romantic Danube embarking November 15th aboard the AmaBella.
Celebrate this historic year by creating memories of your own as you experience ‘living history’ take place where it all happened.