This day in 1989 and 2016

I have a memory of me sitting in front of the television in my pyjamas looking at footage on the evening news of the largest street party I had ever seen. There were fireworks; I remember a lot of red lights dancing down across a dark sky, and a massive number of elated people in front of this odd gate-like structure. I was too young to understand the significance of this event on the 9^th of November 1989, but I do remember a weird mixture of excitement and anxiety radiating off my parents. I guess the anxiety stemmed from not knowing what was behind that wall coming down and how it might affect life in the Netherlands. But in general, a feeling of hope floated up.