New Year's Eve

Been there, done that, never again.

So we had a really scary experience New Year's Eve. We should have gotten an inkling of the craziness that was to come when our friend who lives downtown called and said that she couldn't have us over for dinner because the grocery stores were out of food....

We met for snacks and Balderdash instead, and then around 9 pm we were off to the "Biggest Party in Europe" at the Brandenburg Gate. On the way over, people were setting off fireworks on the side of the road. A little disconcerting, but it didn't dissuade us from reaching our destination: the Brandenburg Gate at Pariser Platz.

The party ran from the Gate to the "Chick on a Stick" monument (pictured in our snow post), along the 17. Juni Strasse through the Tiergarten--a few kilometers packed with people. There was a large stage set up in front of the Gate, and food/beer stands all around. Unfortunately, the bands were not so great--better music would have significantly improved that portion of the evening. Never the less, we braved the cold and the bad music and three hours later it was count down time, complete with fireworks.

So far, so good. We were tired and ready to head home, so after the fireworks ended we proceeded with about a million other people out of the gate and towards the U-Bahn station.

It was then that we realized our mistake. There were equally as many people outside the party as inside, and these people had something that the people inside the party did not--lots and lots of fireworks. We're not talking about firecrackers or sparklers, but huge, high in the air fireworks and bottle rockets. And there was no sense of safety or caution among the Berliners that night. It was pure craziness. People were shooting the rockets off in the middle of throngs of people, at buildings, under cars, across the street... it was really terrifying.

It felt like we were in a war zone with loud booms going off all around us. The last straw was when someone fired a bottle rocket sideways into the crowd instead of up, and barely missed David, skimming over his head. Had he not ducked it would have hit him square in the forehead.

After that we made a run for it, and fortunately we made it out without losing the other two couples we were with (for more than a few minutes anyway).

The celebrating seemed to continue all night, and sleepy little Zehlendorf was no exception. Thankfully, Moe didn't seem to be phased by all the noise and greeted us with a yawn when we finally got home.

We decided that next year New Year's will be spent either at home or on vacation. Fortunately, New Year's Day brought the first snow fall of the year and a nice, relaxing day. Wednesday, it was back to the grind--work and the gym.

after midnight, outside the Pariser Platz area-- those fireworks in the air are not organized, but rather the random ones people were setting off.
David at the New Year's party with the stage in the background
fireworks
The Brandenburg gate
at the New Year's Party



unfortunately, the video in the previous post was the only one we could get to upload--but it gives you a good sense of what the night was like (pre-war zone)