Originally Posted by dd74 (Post 5420876)

Two questions:

Rick: all those photos were taken from the Eastern side of Berlin, right?

Originally Posted by Rot 911 (Post 5418928)

I was in the Army in Germany in the late 70's. You had to get flag orders (so called because they had a U.S. Flag, in color, at the top of the orders) to go visit East Berlin. We would take a train through East Germany to Berlin. You could not get off the train anywhere along the way in East Berlin. Would cross over into East Berlin at Checkpoint Charlie. Was fun to trade Playboy and Penthouse magazines with the East German guards for military belt buckle or hat.

Originally Posted by Jim727 (Post 5418747)

Amazing times - I was living in Berlin then and even though I knew history was in the making it took a while for the magnitude to sink in. Was at the Brandenburg Gate for both the first New Year (Silvester) and October Wiedervereinigung. Even today it seems surreal.

Right after the wall fell I went to Bauhaus to get a good chisel. Behind the Reichstag I was working doing my bit to dismantle the thing and locals would come up and ask for pieces. I finally got to where I would give them the hammer and chisel along with "selbst bedienung" (self-service). They would grin, take a few whacks of revenge and then get their pictures taken with the hammer and wall.

So many memories...

Originally Posted by dd74 (Post 5418748)

I wonder if anyone here had been to E. Germany before the wall fell. I'd be fascinated to see the differences in technology and advancement between East and West Berlin.

I've heard E. Berlin was anything from idyllic to an all-out slum.

Originally Posted by Joeaksa (Post 5421302)

Lived in Berlin from 1986 to 1994. Flew the medivac bird off of Tempelhof Air Base, where the Berlin Air Lift was started. Was flying a mission the night the wall came down.

Was a large change in so many ways. East Germany had not had any advances in anything since the 1930's so the telephone, roads, trains and so on were still pre-war. Now they have been upgraded and are very good in most cases.

I still have friends and family living there, so try to visit every year or two. It will always be Berlin and really miss it...

Originally Posted by Dottore (Post 5421346)

So Joe, when we finally have that smack-down in Phoenix, we'll have lots to talk about!

Originally Posted by Dottore (Post 5421346)

So Joe, when we finally have that smack-down in Phoenix, we'll have lots to talk about!

Originally Posted by Dottore (Post 5421342)

BTW I can endorse Rick's earlier film recommendations if you are interested in a glimpse of life in the former east Germany. Particularly The Lives of Others. (More dramtic and accessible for foreigners than Goodbye Lenin IMO)

It even won an Oscar a few years ago.

Originally Posted by Dottore (Post 5421087)

Correction.

There was no east/west german border during the war. The border came about after the war as a consequence of the way Germany was partitioned by the allies (including Russia). Everything east of the border was the soviet sector after the war.

Originally Posted by scottmandue (Post 5421636)

Question, did they tear all of the wall down? Is there any part of it still up?