It was the most significant experience of my entire life—I'll be turning 80 this December. In September 1989, I ordered tickets for the ZDF New Year's Eve Ball with Erwin Lehn and his orchestra in Berlin. It was a live broadcast on ZDF.
What no one suspected was the fall of the Wall on November 9th! We drove to Berlin on the morning of December 31st. We wanted to go to East Berlin at lunchtime. We stood in line at the Brandenburg Gate for a visa. (As of January 1st, 1990, one was no longer required.) Many so-called "Wall Woodpeckers" worked directly on the wall of the Brandenburg Gate. One of them then sold me this piece for 5 DM; I still own it today. It comes from the third archway from the right, as seen from the west.
There was great joy in the city. A large number of people came cheering from the eastern part. The ball began in the evening, featuring David Hasselhoff, among others. We waited for his song, "Looking for Freedom." He didn't sing it in the hall, but, as I later saw on the TV recording, he performed it live, atop the Brandenburg Gate, wearing a leather jacket with many small, glowing bulbs. Afterwards, the crowd climbed the Brandenburg Gate in their excitement and dismantled the Quadriga.
