I am so glad borders and walls are out of fashion in Europe. The continent鈥檚 many proud nations don鈥檛 always get along, but they have learned to respect each other, making it possible for peace to flourish.
Europe has a rich past when it comes to wall building. At one point or another, most of Europe鈥檚 great cities 鈥� Paris, London, Rome, Florence, Milan, Barcelona, Vienna and many more 鈥� were all contained within walls, constructed during ancient and medieval times to defend against invaders. Most of these walls were torn down long ago to allow cities to expand beyond their historic centres. But some remain intact and well-preserved. In places such as Dubrovnik (Croatia), Rothenburg (Germany) and Carcassonne (France), visitors can stroll atop these city walls.
One of my favourite ancient wall experiences is Hadrian鈥檚 Wall, the remains of the fortification built by the Romans who occupied Britain nearly 2,000 years ago. This great stone wall stretched about 120 kilometres from coast to coast, across the narrowest part of northern England, where Britannia stopped and the barbarian land that would someday be Scotland began.
More than just a simple barrier, Hadrian鈥檚 Wall was a cleverly designed military rampart manned by 20,000 troops. At every mile, there was a small fort guarding a gate. In recent decades, two of these forts have been turned into museums, where visitors can see the ruins up close, view ancient artifacts and get a sense of life in this distant corner of Europe.
Pondering these desolate ruins, you can imagine the bleakness of being a Roman soldier stationed here centuries ago.
Hadrian鈥檚 Wall is also much loved by hikers, who enjoy following the wall as it meanders up and down the natural contours of the land. For years, I never ventured beyond the museums and car-park viewpoints. But on a recent visit, I finally had time on a sunny late afternoon to hike the wall. Scrambling along Roman ruins, all alone with the sound of the wind, I took a moment to just absorb the setting 鈥� surveying vast expanses from rocky crags that seemed to rip across the island like a snapshot freezing some horrific geological violence in mid-action.
While a visit to Hadrian鈥檚 Wall is intriguing, for me, the most poignant and memorable wall experiences are those from Europe鈥檚 recent past. These walls 鈥� once produced out of fear and intolerance, now symbolize peace and progress.
For example, during the Troubles 鈥� the 30-year conflict that wracked Northern Ireland 鈥� so-called 鈥減eace walls鈥� went up all over Belfast to separate the two sectarian communities 鈥� Catholic Nationalists and Protestant Unionists. But now, instead of helping to keep the peace by segregating the two groups, these walls offer a place for visitors to leave messages of hope.
Like the peace walls in Belfast, the Lennon Wall in Prague is slathered in graffiti and ideas about peace, love, and freedom. In Cold War times, when the Czech people were like birds locked in a cage, John Lennon and the Beatles鈥� song lyrics gave them hope and vision. When Lennon was killed in 1980, this large wall near the Charles Bridge was spontaneously covered with memorial graffiti. Night after night, the police would paint over the All You Need Is Love and Imagine graffiti. And day after day, it would reappear. Today the wall remains a colourful and nostalgic place to visit.
Of course, the most famous wall from Cold War times is the 155-km barrier that was built in 1961, encircling West Berlin and making it an island of freedom in communist East Germany. While most of the Wall was torn down decades ago, remnants remain, including at the Berlin Wall Memorial, where a long stretch has been preserved as a memorial to the victims of the Cold War.
The memorial features two museums and a long, narrow park that runs for nearly a mile alongside the most complete surviving stretch of the wall. The park is dotted with memorials and information displays, and occupies what was once the notorious 鈥渄eath strip鈥� 鈥� the no-man鈥檚-land between East and West where an obstacle course of barbed wire, tire-spike strips, and other devices was designed to stop would-be escapees.
The memorial ends at the Mauerpark (Mauer is German for 鈥渨all鈥�). Standing on a ridge next to a fragment of the wall on a recent sunny Sunday, I surveyed the scene. The death strip hosts the world鈥檚 biggest karaoke party, kids run around the playground 鈥� and the Wall is now a canvas for spray-painters.
I鈥檝e seen a lot of walls in my travels, and they鈥檙e always a thought-provoking experience. They鈥檙e also a hopeful reminder that, while struggles remain, Europe has tackled differences 鈥� by tearing down walls and instead building bridges between its diverse citizens.
Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on U.S. public television and public radio. Email him at [email protected].
