Form a unit

Today is in Germany the 'Tag der Deutschen Einheit', which means 'Day of the German Unity', the national holiday. It's a big and important day, because the two parts of Germany came back together after so many years. When in 1989 the Berlin Wall opened, many people from the East came to the West and vice versa. It was a touching moment, and though I was only one year old when that happened, I saw so often the scenes afterwards on TV.

I also saw when the Wall was built, and the politician Walter Ulbricht said, that no one had the intention to build a wall. But it was built. It was like you opened a window and saw your neighbors and one day later you could only see bricks. Maybe your mother lived across the street, but you couldn't visit her because of the wall that covered the entire road. I mean it wasn't easy back then, and I am happy that I live now.

The future's in the air, I can feel it everywhere, 

Blowing with the wind of change

from the song 'Wind of Change' by the Scorpions 

Some parts of the Wall still stand in Berlin as a memory, and in some souvenir shops there you can buy parts of the wall. It's interesting because you can still feel all the history that is in this city. You can still visit Checkpoint Charlie, some things didn't change. It has all the charm from the past, the future and the here and now. So if you want to visit Germany, make sure you won't miss Berlin.

Forming a unit, being back together. That's what the Germans celebrate today. Being separated led to many differences, as the Eastern part couldn't do that much, and hadn't got as much as the Western part like food or possibilities to choose where to go on vacation. So the differences grew bigger, and it was like two different countries. But in their hearts they were still together. Maybe no one would have admitted that, but you noticed that it was true when the Wall opened.

So when someone tries to be more special it will mostly lead into nowhere. Everyone is special, but we all belong together, also in the world. War is never the right solution. We all want to live, we all want to interact with other human beings in a kind way. We all want to be respected for who and how we are. No one is better, no one is worse. Let's stop the war, and form a unit. That's what I hope for the whole world. That one day people will stop fighting, and appreciate the special gift of life.

Here is the song, which is the song of the German Unity, 'Wind of Change' by the Scorpions.

Not only a fence to share

Some neighbors only share their fence, but we shared everything. -Susan Delfino on the serie's finale of Desperate Housewives

How fast can eight years pass? The answer: incredibly fast. Even though none of the guys will ever read this, I really wanna thank Marc Cherry for creating such a wonderful show. I honestly will miss Bree, Gaby, Susan and Lynette. How great was the time with these ladies on Wisteria Lane? Since that show, I know that we are all actors in this life. We do our best to hide our darkest secrets, we pretend to be perfect, even if we are not. There are only a very few in our life, we let know everything about us - but really everything? Certainly not.

Not our closest friends really know everything. We all have our role in this life. No matter if we are the perfect housewife with her best behavior, her well-educated kids, and her wonderful husband. Or the manager who has everything under control: the job, the husband, the kids. The one who is simply beautiful, has nothing to do but her husband earns lots of money that she can have such an easy-going life. Or the one showing her feelings, who can't lie and might cares the less of what others think about her. Or she just ignores that, or at least tries to do that. We now know, that these four are not just like that.

Four very different girls who lived on the same street. Neigbors came, neighbors went. And they all had secrets. In the last ep, when we saw who moved into Susan's house, also this girl has a secret - one we might never find out. She pondered that it could be boring in the suburbs but Susan replied that it's anything else than that. Okay the stories were a bit far-fetched, we all have to admit that so much never happens on one single street. But what makes us sure of that? How much do we really know about our neighbors?

Do you talk to them? Are they your friends or are neighbors just neighbors? What do they know about us? What do we tell them? What do we want them to know, to believe? Are they supposed to know everything? Yes, some neighbors only share their fence, most of them. I have learned a lot from Desperate Housewives. About life, about family, about friends. I love the way Mary Alice told us about her friends after she passed away. It's sad that they all drifted apart in the end - maybe not Lynette and Susan as they have the same grandchild - but it's true. I also lost good friends, when they moved away. Some did not move but changed a lot.

This is the first Sunday without an new episode of Desperate Housewives. One of many to come. The path we walked together is over. It was a great time, I will miss it in some way, but I am also happy that this show was part of my life. Open your eyes to your neighbors, you don't want them to be your enemies. Life is right around the corner, only a fence away. A neighborhood, no matter where it is, is, when you look closely, anything else than boring.