European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Elderly woman dozes on the front porch of a farmhouse near Chlum. -"3fc a vat Tau my a a it. 5�w a. A it in. A e��g"5fea it. 1 14 a a czechoslovak Border crossing Between Schirding West Germany and Cheb. Czechoslovakia impressions Xref. A scarves add a touch of fashion Chic to mannequins in a Kunig Gratz shop window. Life m ? # 4�?o a it. I a. I i a text and photos by Vince Crawley and Effie Bathen n urn Berg Bureau the czechoslovak cab Driver had an Quot i love the Pope Quot Button on the dashboard of his Tara. But when we passed a boarded up old Church and asked about it he said a i Don t know Quot and drove by quickly. Freedom it seems is still new to Czechoslovakia. It exists in the minds of the people but it does t extend to boarded up churches and shabby storefronts. Not yet. We paid about 70 cents for our 15-minute tour of downtown Konig Gratz a Bohemian City about a 1 Vav hour drive East of Prague. We were unloaded at a local disco bar but the Man at the door said they did t have a Kuapil in it s local residents sunning on a Park Bench in the Smalt town of Zinovy. Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes wednesday. 4. A i a a it i i4 1a a. Psf a a a n in its a Ltd a a Wii to it a to w#s3 boys pass the time in the open Fields outside Hradec or Lovd Konig Gratz in Germana Northern Czechoslovakia Industrial Center in Bohemia on the Elbe River near where the famous Battle of Sadovi also called die Battle of Kunig Gratz was fought in 1866. Impi to Tat More room. Istead the cab Driver entertained us by showing off rear mounted v-8 engine in the trunk of his Tara �?~200 Kilometres an hour Quot he promised. But he did t i where in Czechoslovakia you can drive that fast i roads Are terrible and the Only significant Highway Jie tween Prague and Bratislava Kloten for its Beer playwrights and heavy Industry Lech Slovakia is a Fertile bowl surrounded by the Jun Tain ranges that define its modern Borders with Stria the Germany Poland and Hungary father arbitrarily condemned to the Eastern bloc Ler world War ii it was once one of the most Stward looking regions in Central Europe and is sickly trying to reclaim its former title and grandeur per four decades of communism that a a tall order. The photos on these pages Are first impressions of a entry beginning its transition. Fast i m to Kix canned goods from the soviet Union in a shop window at right apartment balconies in Prague. S \ Power in the Back 8-Cylinder engine is mounted in the trunk of a czechoslovak made Tara taxi. ©13,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15
