East Berlin 1991.... Difficult to believe it is 17 years, this May, since we were there. What a historical time as we stayed in East Berlin. Most the Wall had been torn down by mobs of West Germans and East Berliners buy hand, by heavy equipment and by sheer will. Unification of East and West Germany had just been completed in October of 1990 with only the beginning of true integration of the two societies. Russian soldiers still patrolled some streets as misguided Marxist protesters longed for the "good old days".
I was scheduled to give a speech at Orthopadie & Rehatechnik Berlin In
ternational, a sort of international Trade Fair for the fields of Orthotics and Prosthetics
ternational, a sort of international Trade Fair for the fields of Orthotics and ProstheticsHousing arrangements were made by the organizers with my request to them that I bring my family and that we have a private bathroom if possible. We had no idea that they would make the decision to set us up with a hotel in East Berlin , some 45 minutes away from the Messe Berlin Trade Fair Center in west Berlin. At first I was inclined to complain to the organizers of Orthopadie but relented when we were told that this was the best hotel in East Berlin and after all, we had a private bathroom. The room was small, spartan and and an olive green. There were two beds, not quite the size of American size doubles, the bathroom was circa 1950 and no TV, no telephone. My daughters were horrified and Susie was about to leave to find a Holiday Inn any place in west Germany. I did manage to convince them that this was historical times. Being here in East Berlin at this time would be a great adventure. Little did I know how much of an adventure.
I had one day before I was to give my talk at the Orthopadie Trade Fair and decided I had better make certain how to get to the Messe Berlin World Congress Center. I had to get directions from the hotel clerk who at first thought I was Russian, since most visitors to East Berlin were Russian, but in my bumbling German I was able to get directions. We took the bus which had a stop not far from the hotel and we had a very "scenic" long drive through
east Berlin to west Berlin. The wall may have been down but there was still a line of divide between east and west. The drabness of the east disappeared as soon as you crossed to the west side of Berlin. Much of east Berlin never transitioned from the1950's. Monumental residential buildings of the Karl Marx socialist era were cold and unimaginative. There was little color until you came to the divide. Some 45 minutes later we were passing the Messe Berlin World Congress Center. We did not get off the bus until the bus came to the end of its line. We disembarked and then waited another 10 minutes for the next bus back to East Berlin. Trying to explain to the bus driver where we wanted to go was a bit frustrating. You would think after being stationed at an Army base in Frankfort for two years I would have learned enough German to get by but more often than not everyone would want to speak English to me.
east Berlin to west Berlin. The wall may have been down but there was still a line of divide between east and west. The drabness of the east disappeared as soon as you crossed to the west side of Berlin. Much of east Berlin never transitioned from the1950's. Monumental residential buildings of the Karl Marx socialist era were cold and unimaginative. There was little color until you came to the divide. Some 45 minutes later we were passing the Messe Berlin World Congress Center. We did not get off the bus until the bus came to the end of its line. We disembarked and then waited another 10 minutes for the next bus back to East Berlin. Trying to explain to the bus driver where we wanted to go was a bit frustrating. You would think after being stationed at an Army base in Frankfort for two years I would have learned enough German to get by but more often than not everyone would want to speak English to me.On the way back we had a better view of Brandenburg Gate, the iconic landmark of Berlin. Larger than I had imagined, it was littered with hucksters selling Tee shirts, replicas of the Brandenburg Gate and pieces of the Wall. Each piece of the Wall was unique in color and design and was displayed according to the location of the section of wall it came from. Before we left Berlin we bought a piece of history and also chipped several small pieces from a section of the wall that was still standing. A sealed box in our den holds it for future generations to see.
The next day I was off to give my speech at the Trade fair. What an experience. It was like talking at the United Nations. Everyone had on head sets as my speech in English was translated into 5 languages. Evidently it translated well into German since I latter received many letters expressing their interest in what I had talked about.
While I was at the Trade Fair, Susie and the girls decided to walk around East Berlin. There was a small plaza to the south side of the hotel with a fountain, Neptunbrunnen Fountain, featuring a mythological scene. As they walked past they notice a park with flowers in bloom. Bright colors stood in contrast to the dullness of the surrounding buildings. There was a crowd of people with festive music. Susie, with the girls in tow, though it must be some type of festival. After a few minutes of listening to music a speaker approached a microphone and Susie did not need to understand German to realize she and the girls were in the middle of a Communist Rally. She quickly grabbed the girls and went back to the hotel room and did not leave again until I returned that afternoon.
The next day we took the obligatory touristy tour of Berlin. A stop at the Brandenburg Gate, passed by" Check Point Charlie", several museums and by the evening we all had enough. So, we decided an adventure into the east may be more interesting. A boat trip down the Oder-Spree Canal into the Spree Forest appeared to be a different type of experience. The bus ride to the boats was revealing with some structures obviously bombed out during WWII still remained un-repaired. The small boats held only eight tourist, four of us and four Germans. The tour guide only spoke in German and made no attempt to translate to English. Though interesting to see, we were once again stunned by the drabness . The water stunk like creosote and was very murky. Many small weekend camps with gardens dotted the Spree Forest. I do mean small camps. My ridding lawnmower would barely fit into most of them. There were several stops we made to see some rather large homes in which the East Germans took enormous pride. Though from an American stand point, we did not know way. Interesting ,yes. Grand structures , no.
One thing for certain, east or west, the Germans know how to make beer. The beer halls are a friendly and fun places to visit. No one is a stranger. However, it was obvious that no one in the Eastern part of Germany was accustomed to tipping, which is as American as apple pie. I would tip, wait staff would look a bit confused. Sorry, we participated in the corruption of the service industry in East Berlin. Hopefully they will not be as presumptuous as American wait staff and ask " Do you need any change?". Gee I hate that.
My fondest memory in Berlin was the Berlin Zoo. A lioness had just given birth to three cubs two weeks before our visit. My two daughters were given the opportunity to hold the "kittens".
I will always remember their excitement and joy.
The integration of the two Berlins has been an enormous undertaking. A young couple from Berlin was on Safari with me last year and stated that the financial cost has grown exponentially and that there was still much to do. I hope once again to visit Germany and to see for myself the progress that has been made in East Berlin.
