European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 20, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                 the stories by Colin Bessonette Cox news service first what should it be called even the germans Don t know. Some say Quot Eastern Quot Berlin. Others say Quot the former East  and some continue to say Quot East Berlin Quot which makes the most sense once it Sheds its dreaded connotations. Before you come you re Likely to have a mental picture of dark drab buildings Many in ruins unhappy looking people in out of style worn clothing shops with Western style window displays but Little or nothing in the Way of merchandise and of course the Berlin Wall whose grim memory Complete with watchtowers and a no Man s land known As the Quot death strip Quot just won t go away after 58 years a 13 under nazi Rule 45 under the communists a what else. Could you expect now that Berlin s first full year As a reunited City has come to an end a visitor will discover shades of truth in that troubled image. But. The picture in t entirely. Accurate. A a a. A Quot a a a a a yes a strip of land where the Wall once existed remains a strange otherworldly Barrier now inhabited by rabbits curious tourists and workers using tractors to Clear the rubble. The Brandenburg Cate the symbolic meeting place of East and West is awash in entrepreneurs Selling souvenirs of the former East German  a helmets Winter Coats badges jackets belts hats  about 60-70 Marks about $42-$50depending on your bargaining ability you can buy a like new knee length heavy gabardine overcoat with military braid on the shoulders and smart buttons front and Back. For a few Marks More a Scarlet enamel pin with a Hammer and sickle is the perfect decorative  and Day Brandenburg and its pedestrian Only Square Are crowded the electrifying atmosphere heightened As night Falls and spotlights etch the towering Gate in a Lemony White against a Blue Black sky. Wurst grilled Over open flames 4 Marks or less than $3 and cups of steaming Clu Wein a hot Clove and cinnamon Flavoured wine Are especially satisfying As the temperature plummets to frosty  Only thing missing is the familiar statuary atop Brandenburg the goddess of Victory and her horse drawn Chariot which Are being restored for the Gale s 200th anniversary next  away from the Gate a to the East of course a is Unter Den Linden under the Linden tree the Broad Boulevard that is to East Berlin what fifth Avenue is to new York or peach tree Street is to Atlanta. A. A. Near the Gate the buildings along Unter Den Linden and on Cross streets fit the preconceived image a faceless nondescript and seemingly empty and yes on the Side streets away from the Bright lights Are unreconstructed buildings and broken Side Valks As if they had t been touched in More than 40 years. But then near the River spree and East to the massive Alexande Platz and its focal Point to Tower the Boulevard becomes a place of impressive Beauty. The neoclassical 18th-Century Deutsche Staat Soper German state opera House with pillars across its face topped by a sculpted triangular frieze has been i the to Tower is the focal Point of Alexande Platz Center of culture and shopping in Eastern Berlin restored to its original splendor and is the site of. Broadway musicals including West Side Story and a chorus line across the Street a sign advertises Mem Kamfat the Maxim Corgi theater. Along the River and reflected in its Waters when viewed from the West is the Berliner Dorn the Berlin Cathedral towering Over its surroundings like Sacre Coeur in Paris Montmartre. Imposing As it is the Dom seems even bigger with its image reflected in the mirrored Glass of the Palace of the Republic a modern office building across the Street. / a behind the Cathedral also along the River is East Berlin s Best known attraction the museum Sinsel museum Island even before the Wall came tumbling a Down visitors on Day Tours from West Berlin were Able to see it it s a Crown jewel. Housing the Pergamo altar a the Entrance to a Temple from Asia minor dating to 159 . A the Pergamo museum is museum Island s Centrepiece. A. Museum next door damaged in world War ii and wrapped in scaffolding remains an unused relic. An old fashioned fair in a nearby Square is an attraction of a different sort filled with families who appear to be of modest Means. You imagine they come from the hinterlands of Eastern Germany Poland and Czechoslovakia maybe the soviet Union. Complete with thrill rides games and dazzling lights it offers better food than you d find at a fair in the United states a Champignon in Dill sauce pommes of rites with dark thick Mayonnaise and strips of beef and pork sauteed in paprika with onions and red and Green peppers. It s packed with people Day and night. An oomph band plays a barely recognizable version of on the Road again to noisy but appreciative Beer drinking crowds. A a Westerner can t help wondering if this Square would have been so Bright so festive so vivacious two. Or three years ago. \ but the Best thing about a visit to East Berlin these Days in t its museums its monuments or its Street life. Now that restrictions on outsiders Hase been eliminated you can stay Here too and in Comfort. A the grand hotel three blocks from the a Brandenburg Gate on Unter Den. Linden is the. Preferred shelter for big Bucks travellers$250 and up per night but so heavily booked that you Aren t Likely to Geta room. Marble floors polished Wood gleaming mirrors and thick carpeting in its sky lit atrium lobby exude luxury. T. A a few blocks away the modern hotel Metropole is almost its equal but charges considerably less about $160 a night. With a pianist in a lobby restaurant a curved staircase lined with tiny lights and the pleasant hubbub of any Busy big City hotel it seems More like new York or los Angeles than East Berlin but then you notice the Little things a clock above the Entrance showing the time in Moscow a sign pointing to a bar restaurant la Habana As in Havana. If you stay on the Eastern Side you la experience. Berlin at its Best. A late night walk for example rewards you with an unforgettable taste of Germany s. Ever changing history. You might stroll Down Unter Den Linden to. The Brandenburg Gate around the Reich Stag to the River spree and past the remains of the Wall then Cross into the Western Side to explore the ,.a Park on a grand scale. When you re ready to go Back you walk around the mighty Gate and Back Dow n u enter Den Linden with no papers to show no Border guards no checkpoints no suspicious looks. Even at 2 a.m., you might find a souvenir you simply must buy a a medal from an  that no longer a exists. A a a a a. A a a a a. Or you can walk in another direction Down Friedric Strasse to the South to the Shell of once fabled Quot checkpoint Charlie it was Here for the duration of the Wall s existence that Western visitors confronted gun toting guards to Cross into the East. It was Here that the guards used mirrors to Check under cars and busses to. Make sure no one tried to escape. \ a a now Little is left. A sign no longer relevant warns that you re leaving the american sector. Broken Glass and piles of wire and Concrete Are reminders of what used to be guard towers and buildings. A snack stand Sells Curr Wurst and drinks to tourists who Survey tables covered with souvenirs like those at Brandenburg Gate mementos of the vanished East German regime. Across the top of the checkpoint a Banner promotes. The i y s latest entertainment Haslom swing. Only in Berlin a the Eastern half. 10 stripes Magazine Dix Ember 20, 1990