Show Berlin Wall Wallis is a Complicated Situation by Rich Campbell The Commies play games so we play games stated an American military border guard stationed at atthe atthe atthe the Berlin Wall in East Germany During the 1984 spring break I had the opportunity to visit East and West Germany A few days were spent in Berlin one of which was in the east sector the communist side The border crossing was more like a scene from a comedy movie We had planned a day of shopping and sightseeing ing in the East but things were soon complicated We had planned on entering on foot then walking or taking taxies At the border station at Check Point Charlie Charlie Char Char- Charlie lie we were told that it wouldn't work vork because one of the people in our group had the wrong type of passport The border guard told us that there was a avay way it was then the fun began All that we needed was a car to be beable beable beable able to cross the border We were directed to a place to rent a VW van but there were still problems The Thevan Thevan Thevan van was parked at the border behind a building so that the commies couldn't see us with their cameras At that point a guard came over with a newspaper newspaper newspaper news news- paper under his arm We were informed that we needed American license plates to be able to pass He took a set of plates from the paper and proceeded to change them with the German ones Obviously this wasn't the first time that this had been done How many people do you know that keep an extra set of license plates on hand While this was going on the guards at the border were constantly looking lookingback lookingback lookingback back and forth at each other with their binoculars The officer in charge said that this kind of thing happens all of the time the guards get geta a kick out of getting the tourists in and out of East Berlin On Saturdays the commies dont don't open the border until am a.m. but the Am Americans ricans open at The Russians Russians Russians Rus Rus- go crazy at nine when they are suddenly swamped with Americans who have been waiting since seven All of this time people had been going back and forth across the border and the whole was the same running joke that we were a part of In the middle of the area is a small shack on the side of the road where you can have a hot dog and a Pepsi while you wait to see what the next guy will be doing to get in through the border They say that all good things must come to an end and when passing through the Berlin Wall they do As soon as you pass by the East German- German Russian the whole mood changes to a more solemn feeling But that's another story for another time Never a dull moment in the big city of Berlin |