What a difference a few decades make… The last time I was in Berlin, was before reunification. Back then it was unimaginable that the Wall would ever crumble, let alone disappear.

Now, at Potsdamer Platz marveling at the incredible architectural marriage of old and new, my friends (aka Berlin insiders) and I discover Panorama Café. The “fastest elevator in Europe” whisks you up, up, up to enjoy amazing views over today’s Berlin.

Up here, you can also touch a small piece of the wall on display, and see photos of numerous ingenious contraptions used to escape oppressive East Berlin. This make-shift zip-line really caught my eye.

Standing here, I remember walking along the wall in West Berlin and crossing a check-point into what was an oppressively dark East Berlin back then, only illuminated by the kindness and hospitality of the people living there.

Kindness and hospitality have endured, as evidenced by my friends.