So as I mentioned earlier, yesterday was the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland. For those of you unfamiliar with German history beyond the knowledge that Germany was divided in two for many years, the western half of the country was called the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (BRD) and the eastern half was called the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR). May 23rd marks the anniversary of the formation of the current German constitution, however not necessarily the current German state (the east is still part of the country, or it is now anyway).

For how large the celebration is, it's easy to forget for that about half the country, and even the city of Berlin, it is not the 60th anniversary, and isn't necessarily something they like to celebrate. Walking around it was amazing and rather touching to see as many German flags as I saw. The celebration itself was genuine, and when Otto Waalkes jokingly performed "We are the Champions" in German it was kind of a reminder of how far Germany has come these past 60 years. From being antagonized both without and within to being able to finally talk openly about national pride. No, the celebration isn't necessarily representative of all of Germany's history, but it's still exciting all the same. I was privileged to have been there and I am sure that the events of yesterday will stay with me for a very long time.


I initially arrived at the festival at around 12:30 or so. There wasn't much going on, Brandburger Tor was dressed up and there were people walking around everywhere. There was a giant collage in front of the French Embassy with images of the past 60 years and words like "Demokratie" and "Einheit" displayed everywhere. I noticed on the big screen that there was an interview being conducted somewhere. I made my way to the other side of the Tor and found that both sides of the Tor had stages constructed around them. I watched the interview for a little bit. I took some pictures because I figured they were famous people. I heard the name Alice Schwarzer and my first reaction was, hey I read an interview she conducted just the other day. Then I noticed that the man accompanying her on stage had a very strong Russian accent. I shrugged it off and walked away when it suddenly hit me, that's Wladimir Kaminer isn't it! I ran back and snapped a couple of pictures before he walked off stage with the announcement that it was in fact him. For those of you who don't know, Wladimir Kaminer is a Russian born German writer who wrote one of my favorite books, Russendisko. Suffice it to say it was pretty cool to see him onstage.

I walked up and down Straße des 17. Juni and what I saw was pretty standard fare stuff. Overpriced food and beer (it all looked good but I promised myself I wouldn't spend any money) lined the streets, as well as numerous political booths and games for children. I made it all the way down to the Siegessäule where I watched a few minutes of some bad German pop music. I made my way back up to the tor when I thought, hey something must be happening at the Reichstag. I ran over, leaving behind a pretty standard swing band and a bunch of frustratingly non dancing Berliners, to find a huge crowd of people gathered on the front lawn. They were all staring intently at a giant screen, which was on a closed circuit to the Reichstag chamber. They were all awaiting the results of the Presidential election. After about half an hour or so of mindless gibbering (American and German television are pretty similar) they announced a winner, Horst Köhler. It was pretty exciting to be standing directly in front of the Reichstag while they elected a new president, even though it is only a (mostly) symbollic position. What was most amazing to me was how little security there was at the event, given how many important people were in one place. But oh well.

At this point I went home to make dinner, resolving to come back later. I did, but I'll make that another post to follow momentarily.