European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine. Eastern Europe s Appeal As a travel destination has risen dramatically Here tourists View the ornate Palace of Catherine the great in Pushkin near Leningrad. East bloc tourism americans face barriers despite open Borders Byno Mzeigler travel outdoor writer despite newly open Borders and a wave  throughout the countries ote astern Europe state department an military officials say Little has changed yet Lor americans heading East regulations imposed by East bloc countries and additional still rules Laid Down by the . Armed forces for military personnel and other id card holders Slih vary widely Lor travel throughout what was until Only recently a firmly communist Region Radical reforms have vastly liberalized the political climate and Are acting As a catalyst in stimulating increased tourism to those countries at one end of the travel spectrum is Yugoslavia which routinely issues tourist visas at Border Crossings and airports As Well As at embassies and consulates abroad at the other extreme is Albania which does not have diplomatic relations with the United states. Visa applications must be made at an albanian embassy in a country with which Albania maintains relations a state department pamphlet advises that visas Lor Albania Are Only issued to business representatives and groups of at least 10  an official at the . Embassy in Bonn would not comment on the possibility of relaxation of  requirements for americans by Eastern european countries repeated attempts by the stars and stripes to Telephone embassies of East bloc countries in Bonn were unsuccessful the . Official said waiting time for an East bloc visa varies widely getting a polish visa for example normally takes about 10 Days for Czechoslovakia however you never know How Long it takes she said it can be seven Days to five weeks " service members and Dod civilians travelling to the each must consider military regulations in addition to the rules of the destination country. The regulations vary according to Branch of service but in general military personnel travelling on leave to communist controlled countries Are required to gel approval As we1 As to submit to a Security briefing and debriefing european countries classified by the  military to communist controlled include Albania Bulgaria. Czechoslovakia. East Germany. Hungary Poland Romania the soviet Union and Yugoslavia this classification remains in effect even though some of to countries in question Poland Czechoslovakia Hungary and Romania no longer have communist government1 an army travel official said that changes in the East bloc have not affected the service s travel policies for army members in Europe the local commander is the approving authority Lor most East bloc travel but soldiers and army civilian employees planning a trip to East Germany or Overland through the one Kilometre zone bordering East Germany and Czechoslovakia Mist get approval from Usa eur Headquarters until late 1988 All East bloc travel requests had to be approved at Usa eur level. But beginning sept 15. 1988. The army eased its policy establishing what one official at the time called a decentralization of travel clearance Down to the leave approving authority " Many army members still mistakenly submit requests for travel clearance to Usa eur instead of to their local commanders another official said. A spokeswoman for Usa eur said. There is no change anticipated at this time " the air Force policy is similar to the army s according to a spokeswoman at Safe Headquarters at rams Lem a. West Germany air Force members and civilian employees Are required to submit Safe form 13?. Request Lor approval of non duty travel to communist controlled  approval is at the discretion of the individual s commander travel through the one Kilometre Border zone is sub act to the same restrictions the army applies. The spokeswoman said air Force personnel going to the East bloc should chock at their base orderly room for travel clearance. She said the air Force is not planning any big changes at this time " a spokesman at  Neucom tical quarters in Stuttgart West Germany said Navy personnel must submit a request of 61 form to the chief of naval personnel in Triplicate with a copy to the chief of naval operations requests must be submitted in time to allow a minimum of three weeks processing Lime and reply by letter the Only instance who e this does not apply is  the official said Navy people travelling to Berlin May request authorization from commander in chief Nav eur among the More difficult countries Lor americans to visit is the German democratic Republic East Germany despite the fact that the inner German continued on pages 14 and 15 wednesday. January 17, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 13