Just months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, pieces of the wall could be purchased from street sellers. A new Walking the Wall tour from Context Travel marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of the wall © 2011 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
The Berlin Wall was erected 50 years ago and ran 97 miles around the three western sectors of Berlin and 27 miles directly through the city’s center.
In remembrance of the event, Context Travel is inaugurating a new walking seminar that traces the history of this monument while following part of the original route.
The walk, led by a 20th century historian, investigates the post-war context of the Wall’s construction, the physical realities of life in the city that it divided, and the implications of its fall for a reunified Berlin.
“The Berlin wall remains iconic,” says Context Travel co-founder Paul Bennett. “ And yet, so many aspects of it are unclear or not widely known. Our main goal with this walk, will be to understand the Wall for what it was: not merely a concrete barrier but also a controlled series of empty spaces and activities (searches, patrols, observations and checkpoints) that came to signify all the consequences of the division of Berlin and of Europe.”
Walking the Wall is available daily for the price of 65 Euro per person, or 290 per private group. The walk, like all Context Travel walking seminars, will be capped at six participants and led by historians from the Context docent network.
Founded by National Geographic writer Paul Bennett and graphic designer Lani Bevacqua, Context is a network of English-speaking scholars and professionals, including art historians, writers, architects and gastronomes, who organize and lead walking seminars in fifteen world cities, including: Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin, New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., Istanbul, and Athens. Travel + Leisure has named Context one of the top European tour companies for its innovative approach to travel and the depth of its programs.
To learn more about Context, visit its website at: www.contexttravel.com.
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