My Biography-Part Two-In a Foreign land!!
On January 1985, I landed in East-Germany's capital East-Berlin via Moscow! I can not remember the date on which I landed,because it happened nearly two decades ago!From Moscow it was only an hour flight by an air-bus! The air-hostesses were seemed to be Polish girls with yellow hairs & white skin! They were very pretty and smiling at me on board since I was from an Asian origin with a black hair! They were very courteous and gave me beverages & snacks during the journey.It must be around midnight when we boarded the air-bus from Moscow.I did not change the local time in my wrist watch because I was either sleeping or thrilled by the first ever air-travel to an out side destination from Srilanka !!The pilots were announcing the local weather and time through the microphone,They also explained over which continent we were flying! It was a red lettered day in my life!I took three flights to reach my destination,East-Berlin!
My agent told me earlier that crossing - over to West-Berlin via East-Berlin was not so difficult and complicated to foreigners, but it is a death knell to German people from the East -Germany!! It was a freezing cold and I did not bring any winter clothes with me! Neither I brought a pair of hand gloves and winter shoes to protect myself! I, myself was ignorant about the temperature in Berlin at that time! It was minus 25 degree Celsius!! The tarmac of the air-port and the run ways were covered with heavy snow! My nose was running! I could not feel my limbs! I did not know whether I carried my suit case in my hand or not!! It was very very terrible endurance for a poor Asian man who never experienced the winter of the west!! It was very chilling indeed!!
The customs officials at the East -Berlin airport laughed at me because I wore a rubber kitchen gloves on my hands to get protection from cold !! I was feeling very shy and withdrawing! They were helpful and told me to find a jacket immediately!
WE SPOKE IN SIGN- LANGUAGE!!
When I came-out from the air-port it was very dark with heavy snow fall! I could not see where the road was or where to go to find the East-Berlin border!!! Because it was midnight, few were at the air terminal. Some Russian women were waitng in a lounge outside speaking to each other.I approached and
asked them how to go to the boarder!
One German man approached me and showed the direction ,which was nearly a mile away from where I stood! He showed me a building,said to be a railway station blinking with florescent lights.far away.I started to walk towards my destination in the middle of the snow which was around my knee height!! I could not walk.My rubber shoes were not helping me to walk.It was very slippery. Further I was feeling that I was left -out in the middle of the ice -ocean!! There was noone except me in the darkness.My hands ,nose and the legs are frozen and I was nostalgic and remembered my parents and relatives who lived in Srilanka!! I thought I was going to die!!
Somehow I managed to go to the Railway station the German gentleman showed to me from the East-Berlin airport.There was none at the Railway station except me and another German man who seemed to be a traveller with a muffler around his neck.I asked him how to go to Stuttgart where my relative lived as a hotel boy . He laughed at me and said it was very far away & I should catch a flight!! I was shocked to hear the news because I had limited amount of money (Travellers cheques drawn in US dollars).I told my plight to him and after seeing my inability he said that I could also travel by train if I wished! I was little bit elated .One train approahed to the platform and he requested me to board the train with him.Accoding to him he would get-down from the train before me and requested me to alight from the train after it reached the final destination which is closer to the borderpost! He told the name of the station which I could not understand.However I found a map located in the train compartment and checked each and every station! Remember I was still in East-German territory, where soldiers show no mercy for the violaters of their border.I heard stories about how they killed East -Germans who tried to cross -over the border by illegal means to reach the West-Germany!!
The train pulled-up at the final station and I came out! It was semi dark in the platform and I remember that I asked someone as to how to exit,because all were written in german language. I came out from the station and walked a little bit to find the doorway which led me to down stairs ! There I found grinning male customs officers sitting in their desks franking the passports!
No formal talk! No courtesy ! They allowed me to enter the Western side of the famous BERLIN WALL BORDER CROSSING!!
The time was aroud midnight in West-Berlin, no cars or buses were plying on the wide carpetted roads.Everything was very quiet! I didnot know how to proceed further. Fortunately I remembered a telephone number of my relative who lived in a "Fluchtling hause" in West-Berlin.I went inside a telephone booth and tried the number! A voice from the other side greeted me "Guten abend" What can I do for you?"I told my name and asked my neighbour who lived next to my house in my village in Srilanka! After some murmuring the friend spoke to me and said to me to "Beware of the German-Police"! I told him where I stood and he said not to worry but to hide in a telephone booth pretending to be telephoning! I did as he said ! After sometime two figures under the hefty jacket approached me and held my hand!One was my relative in the village and the other seemed to be his friend .
We walked a little bit under darkness and came to a square which was dimmly lit! Beyond the square stood a three storeyed building which was supporsed to be the 'Fluhcting hause" My relative took me to his room which was very small with an accomodation for four persons all of whom were Srilankans! They were drinking Beer & were in sombre mood!! They told me to drink the Beer which I politely refused!Later they gave me a coca-cola to drink! My friend went to a canteen down stairs at that wee hour and ate some apples and noodles! I paid "Two Deutsch Marks"for the said meal! I frankly told my relative that I have got travellers cheque for three -hundred Deutsche marks and I needed a bank to encash it! He told me to sleep in his bed for some hours and the bank business could be sorted -out in the following morning! I slept in the freezing cold without much protection except a bedsheet which wrapped my entire body!The following morning we went to the"Deutsche Bank "and encashed my travellers cheque!
My agent told me earlier that crossing - over to West-Berlin via East-Berlin was not so difficult and complicated to foreigners, but it is a death knell to German people from the East -Germany!! It was a freezing cold and I did not bring any winter clothes with me! Neither I brought a pair of hand gloves and winter shoes to protect myself! I, myself was ignorant about the temperature in Berlin at that time! It was minus 25 degree Celsius!! The tarmac of the air-port and the run ways were covered with heavy snow! My nose was running! I could not feel my limbs! I did not know whether I carried my suit case in my hand or not!! It was very very terrible endurance for a poor Asian man who never experienced the winter of the west!! It was very chilling indeed!!
The customs officials at the East -Berlin airport laughed at me because I wore a rubber kitchen gloves on my hands to get protection from cold !! I was feeling very shy and withdrawing! They were helpful and told me to find a jacket immediately!
WE SPOKE IN SIGN- LANGUAGE!!
When I came-out from the air-port it was very dark with heavy snow fall! I could not see where the road was or where to go to find the East-Berlin border!!! Because it was midnight, few were at the air terminal. Some Russian women were waitng in a lounge outside speaking to each other.I approached and
asked them how to go to the boarder!
One German man approached me and showed the direction ,which was nearly a mile away from where I stood! He showed me a building,said to be a railway station blinking with florescent lights.far away.I started to walk towards my destination in the middle of the snow which was around my knee height!! I could not walk.My rubber shoes were not helping me to walk.It was very slippery. Further I was feeling that I was left -out in the middle of the ice -ocean!! There was noone except me in the darkness.My hands ,nose and the legs are frozen and I was nostalgic and remembered my parents and relatives who lived in Srilanka!! I thought I was going to die!!
Somehow I managed to go to the Railway station the German gentleman showed to me from the East-Berlin airport.There was none at the Railway station except me and another German man who seemed to be a traveller with a muffler around his neck.I asked him how to go to Stuttgart where my relative lived as a hotel boy . He laughed at me and said it was very far away & I should catch a flight!! I was shocked to hear the news because I had limited amount of money (Travellers cheques drawn in US dollars).I told my plight to him and after seeing my inability he said that I could also travel by train if I wished! I was little bit elated .One train approahed to the platform and he requested me to board the train with him.Accoding to him he would get-down from the train before me and requested me to alight from the train after it reached the final destination which is closer to the borderpost! He told the name of the station which I could not understand.However I found a map located in the train compartment and checked each and every station! Remember I was still in East-German territory, where soldiers show no mercy for the violaters of their border.I heard stories about how they killed East -Germans who tried to cross -over the border by illegal means to reach the West-Germany!!
The train pulled-up at the final station and I came out! It was semi dark in the platform and I remember that I asked someone as to how to exit,because all were written in german language. I came out from the station and walked a little bit to find the doorway which led me to down stairs ! There I found grinning male customs officers sitting in their desks franking the passports!
No formal talk! No courtesy ! They allowed me to enter the Western side of the famous BERLIN WALL BORDER CROSSING!!
The time was aroud midnight in West-Berlin, no cars or buses were plying on the wide carpetted roads.Everything was very quiet! I didnot know how to proceed further. Fortunately I remembered a telephone number of my relative who lived in a "Fluchtling hause" in West-Berlin.I went inside a telephone booth and tried the number! A voice from the other side greeted me "Guten abend" What can I do for you?"I told my name and asked my neighbour who lived next to my house in my village in Srilanka! After some murmuring the friend spoke to me and said to me to "Beware of the German-Police"! I told him where I stood and he said not to worry but to hide in a telephone booth pretending to be telephoning! I did as he said ! After sometime two figures under the hefty jacket approached me and held my hand!One was my relative in the village and the other seemed to be his friend .
We walked a little bit under darkness and came to a square which was dimmly lit! Beyond the square stood a three storeyed building which was supporsed to be the 'Fluhcting hause" My relative took me to his room which was very small with an accomodation for four persons all of whom were Srilankans! They were drinking Beer & were in sombre mood!! They told me to drink the Beer which I politely refused!Later they gave me a coca-cola to drink! My friend went to a canteen down stairs at that wee hour and ate some apples and noodles! I paid "Two Deutsch Marks"for the said meal! I frankly told my relative that I have got travellers cheque for three -hundred Deutsche marks and I needed a bank to encash it! He told me to sleep in his bed for some hours and the bank business could be sorted -out in the following morning! I slept in the freezing cold without much protection except a bedsheet which wrapped my entire body!The following morning we went to the"Deutsche Bank "and encashed my travellers cheque!
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