Berlin

When we boarded the train for Berlin, I was a little anxious, knowing we would be crossing into East Germany on the way. The train stopped at Helmstedt, the border town, before continuing on its way. The East German guards flocked onto the train to check our passports, money, etc. Eventually, the train slowly lumbered along its 180 km to its destination. At the Berlin border, guards came aboard the train again to check everything. I noticed there were soldiers with submachine guns standing on the platform. That made me nervous! It had been a long day, but we finally arrived in West Berlin. Walking around, I admired the well-lit streets and the energy shown by the people. The Kurfürstendamm was especially alluring.

As we approached Checkpoint Charlie to cross into East Berlin, I noticed a woman on the western side of the wall waving a red handkerchief to someone on the other side. These two individuals were communicating as much as possible, and their situation saddened me. Then, we approached the American military structure that would allow us to proceed through no man's land into East Berlin. We did and entered the East German border building. We had to show our passports for inspection. When that was finalized, we were told we had to buy five E. German marks each. That meant we had to spend $2.50 to obtain permission to enter the eastern portion of this city.

Walking around, we were struck by the damage to so many of the buildings. This had been caused during the war, but 20 years after its end, much of the damage remained unrepaired. Viewing this told us a lot about the kind of government that rules this part of the country. We took a fairly long walk and noticed there were very few people on the streets, very few cars, and a totally depressing ambience. We viewed the Brandenburg Gate from the eastern side. I extended my hand to an East German soldier—he hesitated, but eventually we shook hands. We viewed a mound to our left and were later informed that that was where the Hitler bunker had been.

Taking a tour of the city was fascinating, but also debilitating. On the one hand, one sees people going about their lives, day to day. However, when you know that what is happening on the other side of that infamous wall is totally different, you begin to feel the silliness of humanity. War is so destructive and an unnecessary expense - financially, politically and loss of lives - for our society. At one point, I saw the eternal flame, lit soon after the wall was built, meant to continue burning until Berlin became one city again. I remember looking at this flame and wondering if it ever would be extinguished.

Viewing the Goddess of Victory statue was interesting. A year later, we learned there were 2 other such statues—one in Lima and one in Santiago.

We eventually stopped at a little bistro with very few customers, ordered 2 cups of coffee and a slice of cake, and sat down. That cost us 2.5 marks, and I wondered where all the activity was. This was such a stark contrast to what we had seen on the western side. After a few hours, it was time to go back to Checkpoint Charlie. As we approached the East German border building, we noticed the guards wheeling large mirrors beneath each vehicle. They were making sure that nobody was sneaking out while attached to the underside of the vehicles. Wow! What an oppressive feeling we had. After entering the East German building, we had to submit our passports and were then asked whether we had any East German money. We indicated we had 7.5 marks, and were told we had to hand them in. In other words, whatever we had not spent, we needed to return to the authorities.

It was then that I witnessed an incredible scene. Kathy was not about to give up any money to the East Germans since we had not been told that unspent funds had to be returned to the authorities. There was a very large East German guard with a submachine gun standing in front of us, and Kathy, in German, yelled that we were not going to be robbed of 7.5 marks, since we had not been told we had to give back any unspent money. Here was a 5-foot-tall young woman, yelling at a huge male with a submachine gun, and she demanded that our passports be returned so that we could go back to East Berlin to spend the money that we still had. The incredulity of the scene is that this armed, very large border guard actually took a couple of steps backwards as this small, vibrant woman was verbally pummelling him. Hmmmm, once more, I was learning something about my fiancée!

To make a long story short, the passports were given to us, and we went back to East Berlin to spend the money. I kept saying to myself, "Why don't we simply give them the 7 1/2 marks and get back to the western side - that's so little money". But Kathy was not about to let the Communists claim any victory, and upon receiving our passports, we set about deciding how to spend the money. Eventually, Kathy bought a few small pieces of fabric and kept the receipt for our purchase. We went back to the East German border station, handed in our passports again, and showed the receipt for the money we had spent. That having been finalized, we headed back to Checkpoint Charlie, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when we were out of East Berlin. Looking down Kurfürstendamm in West Berlin, I felt free for the first time that day! What an incredible day!