I've worked in restaurants for about 8 years now and for the most part, I've never had a Fourth of July off. From my understanding, however, it is mostly barbecue, beer, and fireworks. And a lot of the same was used to celebrate German Reunification, just on a much larger scale. Brandenburger Tor and the Tiergarten were packed with people everywhere, eating sausages and drinking and rocking out to the random music on one of 2 stages. It went on for a long and wasn't particularly German themed--I got Paella (delicious too) and a couple large glasses of sangria, before I indulged in my bratwurst. In the United States I can understand how a celebration of our independence from England can be so lacking in celebrating independence--we've had 234 years to celebrate. The US has been a world power for almost everyone's lifetime and imagining ourselves as less than that, much less as a colony of another country, seems far off and far fetched. We take independence for granted.
Germany is in a much different place, historically. Most of its citizens can remember, some more vividly than others, a time in which there were two Germanys. Those who can't remember that I'm sure at least have parents, teachers, neighbors, someone who does and probably has opinions about it. And while the scene at the Brandenburger Tor was one of a huge party, the few hours in front of the Reichstag were not quite as carefree. A number of videos showed footage from 1989-1990 and Helmut Kohl received a standing ovation from the crowd when he was introduced. Skydivers with German Flag parachutes jumped down behind us, a German choir sang--in both English and German--and the night closed with the crowd singing the national anthem with the German Flag waving on the Reichstag and fireworks. Even though I didn't understand most of what was going on, it was a pleasant evening, and one I was glad to be able to witness while here.
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