This One Time in Berlin...

Did you know that November 9th marked the 22nd anniversary of the day that the Berlin Wall came down?  No?  I didn't know either.  I was reading the news online and this little tidbit of info caught my attention and sent me on a little trip down memory lane to the time that I embarrassed myself in Berlin....

In 2003 my friend Eryn and I backpacked through Europe. I'll admit that I am not much of a history-buff, but give me some irrelevant celebrity trivia, like the name of J. Lo's first husband, and I'll knock your socks off.  Ask me something that I should have learned in a history class, like Who was Marie Antoinette? and I'll give you a blank stare.  Needless to say, traveling through Europe was like a history class on steroids.   

Berlin was the second to the last stop before we returned home.  Eryn and I joined a walking tour of the city on our first day there, and it was a pretty good sized group of young people, like us.  As we walked, the guide would tell detailed, animated accounts of the significance of each site, each beginning with Right here, where you are standing,...  or In this building that stands before us...  and I was fascinated.  

Our group seemed to ask several questions, linking what they had already known to what they were experiencing in the city.  Eryn and I didn't ask any questions.  I can't speak for Eryn, but I didn't have any questions to ask because it was all new information to me- I was simply soaking it all in.

You are now standing before the Brandenburg Gate.  It is one of the most well-known landmarks in Berlin and Germany...    It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered...  When the Nazis ascended to power they used the Gate as a party symbol...  From this gate, on June 12, 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan spoke to the West Berlin populace, addressing Mikhail Gorbachev, "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

(Yes, I used wikipedia to collect all that info.)

(And this pic is from wikipedia too)

And just beyond the gate, on the right, is the famous Adlon Hotel.  The Adlon was one of the most famous hotels in Europe between the two World Wars...  More recently, just last year, Michael Jackson infamously dangled his son "Blanket" out one of the hotel's fourth floor windows...

And then it happened.  I couldn't stop myself.  I let out an audible dramatic gasp along with a shocked No way!  Then entire group turned to look at me, including Eryn, and after a few moments of awkward silence the tour guide sarcastically said, "Oh, hello!  Welcome to the tour!  I'm glad that I could provide you with something that you find interesting."

I felt like Such. A. Dummy.

"It's just that the Michael Jackson thing was a pretty big deal back at home, in the U.S.  You know, it was, like, on the cover of People magazine and stuff...  (fade out to mumbling)"

(Gosh, you can find everything online...)

"Well, then, would you like to take a photo of the hotel?"

"Yes please."

(photo also taken from Wikipedia, but my photo looks nearly the same)

And there you have it.  A very embarrassing moment.  I was silent for the rest of the tour. 

Berlin was easily one of my favorite cities to visit in Europe, and I hope that I can go back someday and not do something embarrassing.