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#189004 - 08/27/09 06:00 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Edelweiss3]
Lola Offline
Member

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3703
Loc: London UK
Nope. Not joking at all. And, yep...but, not in a sinister way. I just did not bother with protocol and was driven through Checkpoint Charlie in a car with D licence. And, guess what? I also have a 2 x 2 piece of the wall from '89.
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#189010 - 08/27/09 07:26 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Edelweiss3]
Dee Offline
Member

Registered: 06/27/05
Posts: 2561
Loc: Alabama
Lola...sorry to hear about your dad...how sad.

Okay...more on the smuggling into East Berlin...tell tell.
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Dee
"They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away....and surely it has not.....she adjusted her sails" - Elizabeth Edwards

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#189011 - 08/27/09 07:29 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Lola]
Edelweiss3 Offline


Registered: 11/19/08
Posts: 1758
Loc: American living in Germany


Did you check out the museum at Check Point Charley? Amazing the ways they smuggled people through. East Berlin is still stricken with poverty. The people there still aren't accustomed to democracy.
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As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.
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#189012 - 08/27/09 07:36 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Dee]
Dee Offline
Member

Registered: 06/27/05
Posts: 2561
Loc: Alabama
Oh...I just read your response on driving in with D license plates...I totaly don't know what that means but I'm guessing it has to do with military/government? I went over with a big group of people in a military sponsored tour bus...military had to wear their uniform and we had to put our passports up to the windows for the East Berlin border guards to see but were told not to look at them...it was so strange.
What did you do while you were there Lola?
I remember going to a Russian shop to buy linen...I have two beuatiful lace tablecloths and I remember the store being a bright yellow.
One store, a record shop, had a way of crowd control. You could not enter the store without a basket...even if you were a couple, each person had to have their own basket. As a person left the shop they put their basket in a box by the door...a person wanting to enter the store picked up a basket and entered...if you didn't have a basket you waited outside until someone left and handed you a basket.
I also remember going to a huge department store on Alexander Platz (I think)...the display windows looked great but once inside it was really bare and there wasn't much to buy. I still have a pinecone wreath I brought from that store...it has pink accents on it.
In Alexander Platz we were sitting cooling off and taking a break from walking around. We noticed a line beside a large building but didn't know why people were lined up there. The line continued to grow. After awhile a small window opened at the front of the line and someone started selling ice cream. After awhile, for no apparent reason, the window closed despite people still standing in line. There were no complaints, no knocking on the window protesting...people just patiently waited for the seller to open up the window again. No one compalined in East Berlin ever that I saw. No one smiled, either. I remember the buildings being gray as was the atmosphere. Except for a few shops, like the Russian store, which was painted a bright yellow.
Gosh, I could go on and on...Lola...tell us about your experiences...should we start an East Berlin Experience Forum?
_________________________
Dee
"They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away....and surely it has not.....she adjusted her sails" - Elizabeth Edwards

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#189023 - 08/27/09 09:44 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Dee]
Lola Offline
Member

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3703
Loc: London UK
Gosh, you were able to roam more than I ever had the chance to, Dee. Very little good served a dip brat in East Berlin. There really is not much to tell. I only popped in for the day to visit my Dad, who was not expecting me until I called him to send a car to pick me up from the Bahnhof. When the car came, the chaffeur said he was just going to zip through and make it look like the trip was just an errand business to the West and back. And, to act casual and not curious. Was your group watched for the duration of your stay?

I also recall queues of people waiting outside shops. One particular one had a long queue just to buy bread. My curiosity however was with the Trabant and wanted to have a spin in it but was not allowed to. Got a Russian watch from Dad though. One with a hammer and sickle. I still have it tucked somewhere in my bedside drawer.

Apart from my Dad's company, I never really had fun in the East because of Dad's restrictions as well as protocol. And I like to explore nooks and crannies on foot when I travel. I only had a day and if it were not for family reasons, the day would have been tooooo long. Switching place cards at Dad's dinners offered more thrill. But then again, East Berlin was not a place to look for fun but offered a study of a people in controlled environment. Was'nt it such an appalling crime?

And you know what's really sad? My Dad always wondered whether the wall would come down in his lifetime. He passed away a month and a day before it happened.
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#189030 - 08/27/09 11:13 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Lola]
Dee Offline
Member

Registered: 06/27/05
Posts: 2561
Loc: Alabama
Was your father in the diplomatic corp? Who/what was he a diplomat for? Very interesting. Did he live in East Berlin or just work there from day-to-day? Sounds like a very interesting story.

We got to walk around but had maps and were told not to wander away from the areas or we could be held against our will. It was kindda scary, really. There were cameras every where so I'm certain we were watched and I'm sure people on the street were watching us although we didn't know who that was. Everyone looked depressed. Yes, it was a crime...so sad. It's one thing to see pictures of it...but, to actually step into a communist held country was something one cannot describe the feeling. I was so grateful when we got back to checkpoint charlie...I think I almost kissed the ground.
You and I would have made good friends...I like to explore as well...I'm not one to take tour busses...I like going on my own and exploring off the main thoroughfare...much more fun that way.
_________________________
Dee
"They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away....and surely it has not.....she adjusted her sails" - Elizabeth Edwards

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#189031 - 08/27/09 11:14 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Dee]
Dee Offline
Member

Registered: 06/27/05
Posts: 2561
Loc: Alabama
Lola...I meant to say I'm so sorry your dad didn't live long enough to see that day...I'm so sorry.
_________________________
Dee
"They will be able to say that she stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away....and surely it has not.....she adjusted her sails" - Elizabeth Edwards

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#189033 - 08/28/09 12:06 AM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Dee]
Lola Offline
Member

Registered: 06/23/06
Posts: 3703
Loc: London UK
Thanks, Dee.

You'll be good company to have on any travel then. It'll be more fun getting lost together as well. LOL!
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#189040 - 08/28/09 03:00 AM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: Lola]
gims Offline
Member

Registered: 01/16/07
Posts: 3404
Loc: USA
Have more?
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this thread...

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#189153 - 08/31/09 06:47 PM Re: Weekend in Berlin [Re: gims]
Dotsie Offline
Founder

Registered: 07/09/08
Posts: 23647
Loc: Maryland
What interesting lives some of you have lived. I love hearing about them.
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www.nabbw.com
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