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Introduction Stories... |
August 18, 1986, on Hotel InterContinental Berlin Stationery Dear Don & Sally,
Before I common on Germany let me refrain...the four days in Grunau were just great. Jack and I agreed that it was overall the best 4 days of eating we had ever had. The sun came out and the walking was superb. It was not the drama of the Alps but it was rolling hills, pastures, fields, and farmers (many by hand) working in the field. Now for Berlin. We arrived yesterday after flying from Munich. West Berlin is as expected...busy, modern, and urban. Yesterday (Sunday) we walked down to the The Wall from our hotel (as you can see we didn’t take the 3 flights up without elevator...the Intercontinental had a special price because there are so few Americans this summer and we took it) and watched the West Germans viewing The Wall. Quite a sad scene. Then today we took a 3-hour tour of East Berlin with our guide George. I am so glad we did it even though it cost us about $150. It was worth it...we went through Checkpoint Charlie after getting a 1-day visa and getting $37 in East German money which we had to get and had to spend in East Germany. So what stands out in a 3-hour visit? To Jack it was how much building had gone on since 1968 when he was last here. There are still a lot of buildings in ruins and many of buildings have the riveting of machine gun holes from WWII. There were more cars than I thought there would be (those little bitty cars from Russia, Hungary, etc that are really shoddy). The people do have a sullen look and it is basically drab and lacking in color. The East Germans cannot go to Western countries and our car was searched as we left. George told us the morning headline in West Berlin papers was that 2 East German guards had escaped to the West the night before. “But, of course they do not know that here,” he assured us. We went to a beautiful museum in East Germany which had friezes of ancient times. We spent the afternoon shopping in West Berlin. We went to the major department store KaDeWe...like Harrods in London. I can’t remember if you’ve been to Harrods. If so have, I know you member the Food Hall. KaDeWe has a Food Hall that puts Harrod’s to shame. What a sight! The time in Berlin has been sobering to me. What a stark symbol of modern tragedy...it has been chilling. Love, Theresa Tomorrow on to England... |
