Thirty years ago and a dazzling mistake!!!

Last summer I visited Berlin, as you may well remember this post: BERLIN. a sad story with a happy ending (we do hope) , and it a was a city that really impressed me because of their historical meaning. I learned yesterday on the news that today is 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall fall. What a great day for Germany and for Europe, in general!!!

Scorpions - Wind Of Change (Official Music Video)

This is the song that is often associated to the fall of the Berlin Wall  (version with lyrics)

Reagan’s ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall’ was almost left unsaid (extended speech)

And what happened to USSR President? Gorbachev: Treachery killed USSR - BBC News

30th Anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution - Fall of the Berlin Wall   

(Kultur Projekte Berlin) 

 

Here are some articles and videos dealing the topic:

• Whatever happened to the Berlin Wall? (The Guardian)

• 30 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, children of a united Germany remain divided (The Washington Post)

• The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago. But an invisible barrier still divides Germany (CNN)

• The Berlin Wall - life 30 years after the fall  (DW Documentary)

• 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall: What happened to the euphoria? | To The Point (DW)

• 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall (CBS)

• The mistake that toppled the Berlin Wall   

Listening exercise to do: Why do people like sad music? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)

News Review:Can running help you live longer? (BBC Learning English)

Football:  Football’s Greatest Players - Andrés Iniesta   

Spanish brilliance outshines Netherlands in Final

LINGOHACK  >>>

• Episode 191106 / 11 November 2019    >>>  Oysters: An eco-friendly delicacy?:   Language related to 'lakes and oceans'.  Need-to-know language: loch, mudflats, reefs, incoming tide & estuary.

BERLIN. a sad story with a happy ending (we do hope)

What an amazing city Berlin is! So full of history, of miserable and elated stories (look up EXTREME ADJECTIVES in English), of nice-looking gardens and palaces, of museums, of sad memories... but an example of how man can destruct something so beautiful and reconstruct it from its ashes.

 

 

A city where the past (How to use the PAST PERFECT, English in a Minute, BBC Learning English) meets the present!! 

 

  

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche is just an example.

However, let's begin with some information about Germany and how it was formed.

Some other interesting videos to watch:

• The animated history of Germany: Part One & Two 

• German Unification | 3 Minute History

• Ten Minute History -  German Unification and Empire  (Short documentary)

• How did Prussia Unify Germany? German Unification  - explained in 10 minutes

 

 

 

| and further information about Germany:

• Geography Now! Germany 

• Top 10 Facts About Germany    

 

 

 

 

However, our main issue was the city of Berlin as an example of what happened to Germany in the recent past. Here some other related videos to watch:

• The City of Berlin  

• The History of Berlin | Euromaxx  

• Berlin 1900 in colour!!!!  and part two   and then Berlin in July, 1945  

• Cities At War - Berlin: The Doomed City (WW2 Documentary)

• Warlords: Hitler vs Stalin (WW2 Leaders Documentary) | Timeline

• The Reconstruction of the Berlin City Palace | Euromaxx

• German reunification - a short history | DW Documentary

 

History Channel - Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall

 

 

 

German reunification 25 years on: how different are east and west really (The Guardian)

 

 

Berlin Now & Then - Reichstag, Olympic Stadium ... 

 

National Anthem: Germany - Deutschlandlied [NEW VERSION] and another version!!  

 

 

 

Even US President JF Kennedy said this once... (but is it edible? Ich bin ein Berliner! or: How edible was JFK?)

 

 

 

And now from the touristic point of view:

• Berlin   

• Potsdam And Berlin - Germany Best City - Travel & Discover

• Berlin: Constantly changing city | Discover Germany

 

 

Two nearby German cities you can also visit: Dresden and Leipzig   

Can you speak any Geman? (Kennst du Deutsch?) It is not an easy language, so my piece of advice is that you should first have a good basis learning English, then French and a bit of Latin. You can look up some sites I have come across and that I have compiled here in this blog in:  Ich bin in Köln geboren!!

After all this about Germany and the city Berlin, here are some exercises on English to do:

• Learn a phrase about meeting someone unexpectedly: It's a small world (The English We Speak)

• What is the difference between these two verbs: STEAL vs ROB? (English in a Minute)

Visiting Berlin with Rick Steves   >>>   BERLIN   

"All work and no play makes Jack/Jill a dull boy/girl"

Mr Bean does - 'Blind Date' | Comic Relief  

The fall of the Berlin Wall

Not long ago, actually 25 years ago, there were two Germanies and there was a wall between them.

Some articles to read about the issue:

• Berlin Wall

• As Germany marks fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev warns of new cold war  

• The 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall  

Are there any examples in the world?

Are people still building this kind of walls nowadays?

And now listen to this song by Pink Floyd:  Another Brick in the Wall