clegg looks a bit silly claim your link to school in africa the world or link to exceptional stories and discussions. is a visit and while website in-depth look i'm smart alecs join us on facebook doubling for guy. it was one of the greatest celebrations of the past year the 30th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall on november the 9th 1909 the division of germany was finally over we want to celebrate this event once again with a check in special. because

tigger rides his bike along the berlin wall trail. he called for danger follows the former course of the inner german border between the region and has it and we go to leipsic were peaceful demonstrations in autumn $989.00 sparked the collapse of the g.d.r. and the end of the division of germany. look at status still it has to it's with a lin at the moment park this is the border between east and west and once ran. in 989 it was transformed into a local a creation and. today i write a long before more border between east and west berlin on this bike following the line of the berlin wall i would like to see what remains of the history of the division of the europe germany and berlin so i'm starting here in moa park going

through the brandenburg gate and then all the way to the east side gallery let's go . my 1st stop on the berlin wall trail is the memorial site on bet and i watched a massive. it's the 1st stop for anybody wanting to learn more about the city's division rust colored poles and sections of the wall mark the location of the former border. here a section of the wall has been reconstructed as it was during the division. the viewing platform provides the best view of the border fortifications true dimensions this is a cell that you peered up to 989 the main inner walls with the death strip in between

. last year over a 1000000 people visited the berlin wall memorial on ben i watched the last of it includes this documentation center. historian hung up i got showed me around the permanent exhibition. display historical objects here that are important because they're now for an immediate experience especially for visitors who don't know much about it they don't know the details about the berlin wall. on the taken here we see pieces of homemade diving equipment that who bed hollow by and used for his escape in 963. to the north but. why did the berlin wall even exist why did they put up a wall through the city every 30 and a complex that's a very complicated question but if you want the short answer and have to say that

it became clear after the founding of east and west germany in 1949 that 2 different political systems would become established and then they'd have a situation of mass exodus. and there were many people who wanted to escape east germany in the 950 s. and it culminated in the building of the war. it was a consequence of this exodus. as a mob of identify a good leader. how did the war stand for so long. how holes because it was a manifestation of an entire system. of east germany was integrated into the system of eastern bloc states and so it was dependent on developments there. as not until the 1980 s. was the development such that a little bit of opening was possible. on. a hope and then of course it was the east german citizens who took the decisive steps towards

toppling the wall here. how do you teach such a complex subject to someone who has no connection with berlin who perhaps comes from south america or asia and then learns about the wall here. yeah the model a full one we do it through the historical site we talk very specifically about what happened on bound so it's very clear that the berlin wall split the street into 2 parts. so one side of the street belonged to ease. and the other side to weston and. you had everything that made up the cold war in general was condensed here. thank you so much my pleasure and thank you. i press on toward the city center following the reversibility here the i'd what's

now the government quarter the river marked the border between east and west until 1989. but it was guarded just as closely as elsewhere as these white crosses on the banks testified many escape attempts here and the death. of. the brandenburg gate stands as a symbol of germany's reunification until the fall of the wall it symbolized the very opposite it was a part of the death strip right by the berlin wall. do you know what this gate represents i know not really. do you know where the berlin wall was almost here that's what it's my guess that it was here around here

7 do you know where the wall ran. back there behind the case there is a line on the ground. thing that be so i've been then i get so from this where are we now in east or west berlin. i mean here. in the west. in the east is the there with you know what the brandenburg gate stands for no i just got here it was my 1st time here actually did not know. it's a symbol of germany's reunification because thoroughly. exactly oh very good. one of the obligatory sights in berlin connected with its division and the fall of the wall is obviously checkpoint charlie it can hardly be missed with all the

tourists and probably around. these large format photos summarize the most important points about the former border crossing where east and west faced off told under high tension. i continue on our quest for traces of germany's division along the berlin wall its fall in 1909 was the 1st big step toward reunification. an impressive relic is the longest section of the berlin wall still standing the east side gallery. if you weeks after the fall of the wall $118.00 artists from $21.00 countries gathered to paint this section but pictures are expressions of a new era dawning and hint at the emotions fears and hopes it inspired.

but was left many visible traces in berlin and not just in the central tourist spots. there are less unknown places that have come back into their own. one such a ways this is quite specs. until november 1909. it was part of the diff strip. the water was gone the basin filled in with rubble and topped with border fortifications. after the fall of the wall the urban green space around the inhabitants was restored it's a good place to end my journey along the berlin wall true. now we're off to enshrine in his'n you called furniture his home town.

when i was born and sugar was on the edge of the federal republic a few kilometers from the inner german border between tooling and the east and hesson and the west of the border separated germany into the whole of europe and to east and west but in 1909 the berlin wall fell and the inner german border was also opened for the last 30 years as figure has again been in the middle of germany. today i want to take you on a little tour along the border between hassett and well visit places that still bear witness to the cold war division of germany and that's victims and we'll find out what has changed since reunification turning a once heavily fortified that strip and so unattractive tourist destination. my journey takes me south always along the former inner german border to the loon region i go past small towns and villages fields and meadows you don't really

associate the landscape with terms like cold war or iron curtain but you can get an idea of what it used to be like at the point alpha museum at life directly on the former inner german border. dhani show bumi shows me around the. first the different stages of development of the east german border installations from 950 to the old borders stones were replaced by barbed wire as davies were still able to cut through it quite well when there was no patrol nearby but then the exodus to the west became more and more life threatening. there was no it's not and i know we're in the middle of a minefield that dates back to the 1960 s. when they began building the berlin wall on august 13th 1961 the inner german

border was secured through military means and 1.3 to 1400000 land mines were planted. at the inner german border more than 300 people paid for their escape with their lives the east german soldiers used to patrol the border strip past the east border tower only 50 meters away in the west the watch tower of the u.s. army was located at belong to the observation post point alpha in the camp directly at the border 40 u.s. soldiers from the black horse regiment were stationed they had to be ready for action in just 10 minutes. news that course would be meant to fly the black horse regiment it was a very strong you have to always it's only combat helicopters armored infantry and artillery i'm on the phone the assumption was that if war broke out the soviets would advance and this would be one of the 1st sights of a 3rd world war and couldn't exactly what it. takes were only allowed to drive up

to this red line in the camp anything else would have been considered a provocation and possibly triggered the war there in that the museum is visited by school classes veterans from the usa and many others interested in germany's peaceful reunification. my next stop is far one of the oldest towns in tooling and. it was 1st mentioned as early as $814.00. almost as old the bridge over the valley. begins on the other side and has been close enough to touch but in cold war times in accessible. tells me that it was directly in the restricted area the bridge was impassable. dance the bridge was a very important reason it's from the holy roman empire. it was on the via reg from

likes to frankfurt. we liked it very much and we were able to cross it until 952. my aunt lived in the house on the border and then that ended here. there were more and more fences built 1st a wire mesh fence and then a watch tower was built on the bridge and then everything was closed off. there was nothing around this cause it was like a no man's land. i mean months how did people try to escape through the data through yes of course. very often my brother escaped in 1962 that he was a student and try back and he and his friends played jazz and that got them into trouble. so they swam across august 1900 to know.

why and say did they succeed they made it yes and no member of 989 the border opened what was that like your family was reunited so was germany euphoria must have been immense i suppose that's the best of us it's them. best thing to have happened to us at the end of the 20th century. it's a feeling that you don't experience very often common in the us. today the bridge again connects and philip's top it's called the bridge of unity. by the book castle and here i see nothing is a symbol of german unity it too was only a few kilometers away from the inner german border there are hundreds of castles in germany why is the vast books so important to germany. i have an appointment with to find out. how to become of.

that stuff. he's been guiding visitors through the book for many years 500 years ago protestant reformer martin luther translated the bible into german here until then there were countless dialects only in the lute of bible created the basis for a common german language. who tortured her to the language the german speak today was born in this room created by martin luther followers of which will go to stood here 200 years later he said only through did we become one people one nation did we find a common language. another milestone in the history of germany took place in the book. in 817 students and fraternities from the many small states and principalities gathered in this chamber.

they demanded a common german nation with civil democratic basic rights. under law for the year in a fraternity invited people to the vote book festival here and their colors are black red and gold the black here in the middle. the red purple back then the gold modest briefly recognizable as the edge of the flag and as oak leaves in the middle . of the flight becomes the symbol of german democracy a black red gold flag fluttered far book castle for the 1st time. for 30 years the voc book has been the castle of a unified germany and italy still remembers the 1st months after the opening of the border west germans were finally free to visit the east without passports and visas and for many thought book castle was one of the 1st destinations. more than $700000.00 people came in one year they waited in line for hours and.

they were thrilled because the voc book was in super condition because they saw that investments had been made here for decades. in this 2 quarter complex all the golden cross on the tower and knew they were at home here here the host. it's been 30 years since the fall of the iron curtain and the reopening of the inner german border 3 decades that a flurry the lines between east and west and still we mustn't forget about the past which is why it's so important to have places that remind us of how difficult and different things is to be around these parts thanks for joining me that's it for this week i'll see you next time somewhere in germany. a stop in this check in special is life see this is where the peaceful revolution began on plants 30 years ago. the demonstrations lead to the end of the

g.d.r. and to german reunification actually goes took their future into their own hands assuring a new era of investment and construction. 30 years after the peaceful revolution has become a pretty exciting city everything seems possible here so it's just the right time for a trip into the cities past and present. st nicholas church is the symbol of the $989.00 peaceful revolution. a church that has always been closer to the people than to those who were in power it dates back to the 12th century and was donated by like the citizens.

in the 1980 s. this church was the only place where the people of life could speak openly about the conditions in east germany. open for everybody that's the motto of st nicholas church starting in 1902 people were invited to peace prayers and in fall of 1909 thousands gathered here 1st they took part in discussions and then everybody went out into the streets to demonstrate against the east german regime. an exhibition in the church tells the story of the peace prayers east german citizens called for dialogue but the regime refused to listen anger and frustration grew the peace prayers played a major role. in keeping the people calm. the demonstrators carried their peaceful protest out of the church and into the city. this pillar reminds us that.

before the fall of communism life used to be great rundown and many houses were derelict it's hard to imagine today. one man who witnessed and accompanied this transformation in. a concert. before in 1990 especially the inner city area what did they do to people. you can imagine the leipzig of the 1980 s. as a city that had fallen into the depths of despair. after 20 to 30 years of hardly any renovation many of the buildings were in a desolate state and that affected people. all people and had close links to

leipsic for many centuries so it was painful for them to see the city center in particular to case so badly. for a few and then my opinion this per condition of buildings was an important factor in triggering the 1st protests in the autumn of 1990 that eventually led to the peaceful revolution. after the fall of communism renovation began throughout the city. takes me to get to food these are 3 neighboring residential and commercial buildings from the late 19th century. this place is one of the most important ones chronicling the developments of recent years and decades. brought along a little book that illustrates the transformation of this very same corner building . this one year exactly this is part of what we call the tri fugue him which was

heavily damaged during the 2nd world war. here you see the situation of the early ninety's after the war damage and 40 years of east german rule had been stabilized to make it safe then in the 1990 s. the entire complex was restored. i am now on the way to life and mother to the district of clocks. it used to be an industrial area a working class neighborhood. the fall of the wall brought the end of industrial production here but the factory holds remain. the same. there was room for ideas and experiments that attracted artists and creative spirits. the best and most famous example is the company spinning mill within a short time it's taken over as the harvest lights the start see. the. light see

she's a boom town it is the fastest growing city in germany with currently almost $600.00 thousands of habitants. and international and young city most people are between 20 and 30 years old. that's also because of the university the new main building was inaugurated in 2012 . the ensemble includes the polish the university church its reconstruction closes the room to the cityscape because the east german leadership blew up the historic old church in 1968. the university of life is the 2nd oldest university in germany it was founded in forth you know nothing. new and old are combined in a fascinating way to give me versity is now

a tourist attraction. lad . from up there from the cloud one bar you get a sensational view of the plots. and it's true. i cannot imagine a better view. of. the a like it's a city on the move with a lot of positive energy it was really fun to discover it to trace its past a little bit and of course to dive into the present as well it's

a really cool city bias your next time somewhere else injure. me.

it's a wonderful feeling that creates flies on our stomachs. makes us go a bit crazy. and at times it is an iraqi. what is this thing called love and can this primal human emotion be measured accurately. exploring a feeling. the miracle of. 15 minutes.

how does it feel i don't know. where i come from that's all that's good does this go it just like with chinese food doesn't matter where i am this reminds me of home after decades of living in germany china is flotus one of the things i miss the most but that taking a step back i see something that gives a different name now. many of the words 1st as an articulation that exists in other parts of the law which haven't been implemented in china that's because i'm not a chinese people wondering if their foot is safe but if you're probably right to learn that is this is their job just under the law how i see it and that's just why i've left my job because i tried to do it except it is an hour a day by day without it too and i work at it up here. 2 for 50 years of religion is for thieves and people

from many different states for working together toward a common goal the peaceful resolution of religious conflicts. no female members or for religions for peace from the middle east or demanding the larger. this email peacemakers stores generally we shift to double. up to. colbie printers. if he didn't. vote for her out of. a movie and over a long. overdue there because of it there's.

the i'm sorry i'm sorry jenny said. and. this is news and these are our top stories the australian government has called in the army to help fight wildfires burning out of control near sydney authorities are bracing for an extreme heat wave this weekend following a few days of cooler weather and blazes have caused 9 deaths so far. at least 12 people have been killed in a plane crash in kazakstan the becket air passing.