After Fall of the Berlin Wall, Zimmerling moved west, joining Hannover 96 during the 1989-90 season. However, he failed to establish himself in the first team, and returned to Leipzig, briefly rejoining FC Chemie (now renamed FC Sachsen). He played out the 1990s with a succession of clubs in the former DDR, playing for FC Berlin, Union Berlin (two spells), Energie Cottbus (two spells), Carl Zeiss Jena, Sachsen Leipzig for a third time, and VfL Halle 96. While at Cottbus he played in the 1997 DFB-Pokal Final. Later in his career he moved to Austria, playing for Austria Klagenfurt followed by spells at a number of smaller local clubs.