March 30, 2009

EUROPE | GERMANY | BERLIN

Party Like It’s 1989

By Doug Black

A unified Berlin is set to topple the wall all over again.

view map

Chipping away at a 12-foot slab of the Berlin Wall, you might forget it’s been two decades since the Cold-War divider was finally breached. But this November marks the twentieth anniversary of the Mauerfall, and the German capital is celebrating with a bumper year of wall-themed events. The series of artistic and historic-themed events culminates with the Festival of Freedom, November 9, when giant Styrofoam dominoes will be toppled along the Wall’s former route.

To woo the expected influx of revelers, some Berlin hotels are promising their guests a piece of the action — or at least the Wall. Built a century before it tumbled, Rocco Forte’s Hotel de Rome is a living relic of the Cold War itself. During the Soviet occupation, it served as the headquarters of the East German state bank. (Today the pool and spa are in the old jewelry vault, complete with heavily reinforced doors, pictured.) As part of the “Fall of the Wall” package, Hotel de Rome guests get free admission to the Checkpoint Charlie museum, a four-hour guided bike tour tracing the Wall, and their very own piece of it to take home.

But for those who need more assurance of their rock’s origin, there’s the Reagan-inspired “Tear Down the Wall” package at the Westin Grand, Berlin. Unlike the Gipper, you’ll get to do the tearing yourself on a 12-foot, 2.7-ton slab of wall right outside the Westin’s entrance (pictured). Guests are invited to grab a hammer and chisel to hack off their own souvenir before unwinding with complimentary champagne and a taste of Berlin’s most dubious culinary offering — the currywurst. There’s no word on what size chunk you can score from the Wall, but don’t expect the Westin to pick up the baggage fee on that concrete-laden luggage.