I made the trip to Berlin in a troop train across East Germany. We were ordered not to speak to anyone outside the train, or even attempt any communication of any kind. We crossed into East Germany at night, and the differences between West and East were immediately apparent. There were far fewer lights in the towns, and as we passed through various depots on the way, there were very few people around. Among those few people were East German and Russian guards. They didn't look like they were having much fun, but as we looked out the window of the train, we could see that some of them acknowledged us with slight nods and little smiles. Of course, we nodded and smiled back, regardless of our orders.
Berlin was the most fascinating place I had ever seen. Here was a vibrant city, a western oasis in the middle of the East German state, surrounded, of course, by the wall. There were checkpoints around the city, through which you pass from one sector to the other. I stopped by Checkpoint Charlie because it seemed like the thing to do, but I spent most of my time in the American sector.
Walking around the city, it was still obvious that a war had been fought there 30 years earlier. There were a lot of very modern buildings, but there were still signs of destruction. And that wall...no matter which direction you walked, you ultimately ran into the wall. And you could only imagine what it was like on the other side.
I ended up in third place at the tournament. John Myers won it, and a German guy finished second. I still have the bronze medal I was awarded that day, which happened to be my birthday.
The image below is of my travel document. I needed this to travel on the train and enter East Germany. What caught my eye then, and still puzzles me, is that the document is in three languages, none of which is German.
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