It was 20 years ago, and the sound was heard throughout the world. It freed millions from the binds of communism and -- important to commerce -- opened up much of eastern Europe to tourism.

It was the crumbling of the Berlin Wall, a network of concrete, fences and obstacles that stretched more than 100 miles through one of the greatest cities in the world, dividing it between freedom in West Berlin and communist dictatorship in East Berlin. The wall held East Berliners captive in their own country for more than 25 years -- from Aug. 13, 1961 until it came down on Nov. 9, 1989.

A part of history

Today, all that's left of the barrier are memories and a few remnants. It's now a part of history and a reminder of the division of people.

Both the west and east sectors of Berlin have changed. The cities are now one and Berlin is the capital of a unified Germany -- an event that occurred a year after the wall came down.

Economically, the city is prospering. A host of modern skyscrapers dot Potsdamer Platz -- a square that once was divided right in the middle by the 12-foot wall.

In effect, the area was a deadly no-man's land. Many East Berliners hoping to leave their confines for the freedom they sought on the other side of the wall were shot down by East German police or were pinned down by police dogs and imprisoned. But nearly 3.5 million East Germans did get to the other side by digging under or going over the barrier, the Associated Press  estimates.

Berlin now is one of the grandest cities in all Europe. The number of new structures that were constructed during the now 20 years of freedom for the city is spectacular. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into converting Berlin's center city and environs into one of the most splendorous regions in the world. During the height of the improvements, it was known as the "Construction Capital of the World." Hundreds of thousands of laborers from the Middle East and other areas of Europe were recruited as construction workers.

Prospering tourist site

With new construction, new attractions, rehabilitated museums and a renewed spirit of friendliness, Berlin's tourism has prospered. A record number of tourists was recorded in 2008 -- 7.9 million of them, with most coming from international locales.

But the main attraction is centered on the Berlin Wall, or what's left of it, or other wall-related sites such as Checkpoint Charlie, the border crossing where American and Soviet tanks faced each other down at the height of the Cold War. Actors dressed as border guards now pose for tourists at the tollbooth-like reconstructed checkpoint.

We've visited Berlin four times -- but the one in the late 1980s before the wall came tumbling down was probably the most memorable. The only way you could drive to Berlin from the friendly confines of West Germany was through heavily-patrolled highways in East Germany. We recall stopping at many East Germany guard posts on that several-hour trip, with passport and car checks at every point.

Passing through Checkpoint Charlie into East Berlin was another experience. Guards checked every passenger on the tour bus and used electronic gadgetry to probe the underside of the bus. And visitors were watched closely by police at every stop on the tour.

A different city

But Berlin is a different city today compared to the drabness of the Wall days. The lights are bright, shopping and hotels are glitzy, swanky sidewalk cafes dot the city and the streets are packed with cyclists and tour buses. A group of Post-Bulletin cruisers experienced the changes some months ago when we took a side trip to Berlin as part of a river cruise through another area of Germany.

Checkpoint Charlie is the city's most popular wall-related visitor site and the Museum of the Wall next door offers visitors a crash course in Berlin's Cold War history.

The Berlin Wall Memorial offers a look at the wall in historical context, and the longest remaining segment of the wall -- which our group toured -- has been turned into an open-air art gallery known as the East Side Gallery. The remaining mile-long section of he wall runs along the Spree River and features more than 100 paintings maintained by a group of artists as a memorial to freedom.

Germans are celebrating all this year as they note the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall. The major celebration, notes the Associated Press , will be a "Freedom Party" on Nov. 9 at Berlin's historic Brandenburg Gate, with all European Union leaders invited to attend. Former President Bill Clinton is expected to represent the United States because President Obama is scheduled to be in Asia for a summit.

Bob Retzlaff is travel editor of the Post-Bulletin. He can be reached by phone at (507) 285-7704. Next week: Massive Las Vegas resort to open.

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