European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 1, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fil in i i pm 1 1 afternoon bin i dime it Shower and Nap i could t keep my eyes open another minute  feeling of being squeaky climb i Flor 2 1 hours of  ,. Kill. Kiin Lin Rel urnet Lite. I act in time to act ready for dinner. Shu had inf Urmi d us earlier we would to dining in ,1  ,,int  was known for Guild f kid when we Gol Len in  Nevin is the restaurant a is .1 Ichrist i Iven though Juilu .1 few locals were  there. The i Iii was my composed Al several.  dining limits he w.1s decorated heavily will Wood nid Trysull Kiodt Liers. A Friendly Sirvint  sealed us Al iwo Long tables ii gave us hirer 1 Linker of entree pork goulash or Liu i f. I Likic the Park incl , which was t bad i he dessert in of. I Lul i could n i i Ell you Whyl i . By in tvs evening. Everyone was exhausted. I popped own in thi1 hotel bar with Terslin for in drink before turning in and a is surprised la find the place crowded with Rowdy germans no czechs other than lit staff seemed to he present lending credence in die uni Imp that some hotel i re i i wone lie policemen fall a  i  ,1 by Eline for the first maj air  store Lull crossed Nur Pill. Doug and Izzy were on the prowl for Somel Hini in Piir Sicular Down. T run Forler which ire Viry Jjo Pukar with americans ii nil very Inex i mivi1 in f a Jiff. They re also the clip in.  Berlin Thuy said but Are Hirid to find there. Doub loll me of in american who went to Eris Berlin in search of comforters. When he reached the to Quad of he line to buy diem lie scoop cd up the eight or so runic Mininn on the shelf in one sweep of his Arm. Behind him an Easl German woman began to cry. Seems i Here Aren t enough comforters logo around. With americans buying them up. When we got in Llic flour with the bedding it was t even Madu our Way rothut Shier. No thur  in our group rushed up and asked us where we Gul the comforters. I Don t. I Hank she bought the Las l one 1 found my wet silently wishing czech we browsed around i lie .41 Ore Afler Ihal but nol for Long. The press of cts loners was lint hard to Wade. Thru git. At Tamly 0 n.m., Doii Izy Zintl i were fight ing just to gel from the Boi Lorii m the  to the by. Glass doors Iii feel away we went  inti the Loc a  store Lio Pink to find those wonderful wooden dolls that it one right into the Oiler bul there was none. The toy Section was  Lowah people is was the Section where Lutey sold thu decorative boxes. I was limping to find a Lenher Ackel bul the ones. ,. Liked in. The store windows Ware not available inside of lilt1 stores weren t open. 1 did pick up a pair of beautifully stitched.  her gloves for about tin and a 30-minute wait in line with Izzy who did t find what she wanted. I also bought two Beer glasses in a shop near the Lown Square my second Choice after the red Crystal shifters i wanted so badly again on display but not in Stock the three of us took a taxi  to the Loicl to meet i he others for lunch and a we rounded1 a Corner in the Driver s Little while Skoda it sputtered and died. Ironically the a Lver iad Lola us in Menfi before in hailing German i hat Gas stations were spaced 30 Kilometres apart around the City and weren t always open. When he jumped out of the car and run around to Llic front i was afraid he  pulling Oul a gun to Rob us. Instead be pulled out a Large can of Gas emptied its contents into the car jumped Back in and look off. It turned Oul we were five blocks from the hotel when we got there Doug  the Driver a Dollar Bill. The Man s face lit up like a Christmas Iree. After lunch we visited the landmarks of Prague. We saw the City s most famous places Traci sch Castle which sits   River St. Vitus Cathedral the St. Nicholas Church and the Charles Bridge. Unfortunately we spent Loo much time in the first three and were literally forced into chasing Nadia across the Charles Bridge she Hustles even Wilh a Limp. When we go to i lie meeting place Alfred was t there. While we waited the two guides argued turned out the plans to Alk it both the opera and the Salerna Majica cabaret show that evening were still hanging in was 4 30  the women had managed to get eight seats for the cabaret show at s . And three at i . Volunteers weren t  to recruit. As for the opera Well we would ust have logo to the Box office and see whal we could gel. The eight going to Salerna magic left immediately while the Resl of us returned to the hotel. We would be scattered that evening everybody going whichever Way. Terslin and t were planning to go to see the opera along Wilh two couples Terslin packed Nadia and me off in a taxi. We got there around 6 30, and about 30 minutes later he Box office which did t  posted hours opened. 1 Kerstin met us As we went inside and the others appeared shortly thereafter. We discovered the original program had been changed. The new program was Verdi s Kis Leilo 11 did t matter to me since ills was my first opera. Patroni not inner cited in the new show were Selling their tickets in the lobby and that s How t got my scat i was Lucky for 30 crowns about $1.50i got a Box  the second level right Over the orchestra pit. Nadia Welfl a after we got our  others were up in the nosebleed Section. Unlike me they weren t if uce de next to two rather Large czech women who had t bathed recently. Still i enjoyed the performance., " it was Lalo when we got out. And we headed to the  hotel for dinner. There serenaded by a Superb violinist we ale Duck Trout roast beef and a. Variety of other foods ii was the Best meal i had had so far and the Exchange rate made in reasonable there was very Lille lobster in my lobster cocktail but his was czechoslov.iki.1, nol Maine we left Prague sunday morning Doug and by said o russian Champagne in town for 75 crowns. I acquired a second one after the meal when Kerstin could t change 500 crowns Back into Marks for me and i had to have the Holczl change it Al the s-Lo-1 rate. She talked the waiter into throwing in a bottle of the Champagne in to ease my loss Don t buy in unless you like Sweet wine. After our meal a Choice of a poultry or meat dish we walked out into the rain and across the parking lot to the place we would meet the bus Alfred was t there and we stood around freezing in the rain for a Good 15 i nulls until he showed up. We reached the Border it Pompei at around 3 . Because there were several buses ahead of us at the customs station we were forced to wait. We backed up a bit to let the cars pass. All of the Drivers were German and the guard would give a passport a Brief glance before checking thu trunk. Prague the Gold no to a Frye t hours _ opt fools evening,1 Iuen enl Crl Ham iu.? Var a 12 Itri pts Magazine. Ducr Mettr i 1988