The Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall
November 09, 2009


It seems like a life time ago and I suppose that it was indeed since I visited Berlin in the fall of 1980.

I had won the battalion soldier of the quarter award and for the accomplishment was sent to visit Berlin for five days courtesy of the US Army.

Our accommodations were at the Lake Wansee Recreation Center. Its a gorgeous place and I traveled daily to downtown Berlin to what locals called the kur-fu-dam.

Berlin is a large and fascinating city with several great museums. Its more than 100 miles in circumference according to wikipedia.com.

In those days know one was allowed to visit East Berlin but as soldiers we were allowed to visit as part of an exception. We had to remove our name tags and surrender our ID cards to the officer in charge. We were all dressed in our class A uniforms.

I'd heard that a green US Army ID card back in that day was worth ten thousand dollars. The US Army soldiers never needed a passport to enter a foreign country.

The one thing that I'll always remember is how cheap everything cost.

At the time we received twelve German East Marks per German Deutsche Mark (West Marks) and twenty East Marks per dollar. When all was said and done a beer cost about five cents. I even shopped one afternoon away for something in the neighborhood of ten bucks.

East Berlin was a very quite, clean and orderly place. Quite the opposite of West Berlin indeed. We also got to visit some military cemeteries as well.

Being a soldier in former West Germany from February 1979 until that same month in 1981 had allowed me the opportunity to see both sides.

I had ridden the US Army duty train from Frankfort, German through East Germany and it ran only at night. They had much to hide in those days and namely the lack of economic progress.

I had also spent my two years living near the East and West German border. This area is known as the Fulda Gap and I lived within 10 kilometers of the border in Eiterfeld, Germany.

I often visited friends within the 1K zone. Road signs strictly forbid military personal from visiting the 1k zone without special orders but I never checked to see if they offered any waivers.

These folks were very kind and generous people and since I grew up in rural West Virginia I felt right at home.

I'll never forget the family of Adam Rudolph who has since dearly departed. Not only did we enjoy some great times and meals together but this family also shared their home.

That's normal for a German though.


Sources;

Youtube Video: Berlin East Side Gallery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEs-MGQ9UZk&feature=youtube_gdata

German President Visits Berlin: 'The joy of freedom'
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/11/09/berlin-wall-celebrations.html?ref=rss

Wikipedia: The Berlin Wall
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Wall


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