After all the holiday meals, a little sightseeing was a welcome change. Walking along Berlin’s East Side Gallery, I stopped at the iconic mural of Breschnev and Honecker locked in a fraternal kiss. Titled “My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love” and painted in 1990 by Russian artist Dmitri Vrubel, it immortalizes a 1979 photograph symbolizing the fragile bond between the Soviet Union and East Germany—a relationship that would crumble just a decade later with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Seeing the Wall’s remnants today, combined with a visit to the Tränenpalast (“Palace of Tears”), added a somber weight to the experience. The preserved border crossing, with personal stories and detailed accounts of travel restrictions, is a shocking and deeply moving reminder of a divided past. It’s a vital piece of history—one that’s impossible to forget.