My Granddaughter was given a trip to Berlin for her birthday and I wrote her a little story about my first trip to Berlin. It is intended to be rough, like a big postcard written on the run.

1. INTRODUCTION
Thanks,
Peter
When I was 19, I found myself at a
crossroads.After two years of pre- med it was
clear to me that I did not want to be a doctor.
There was a family tradition of taking a year off
between sophmore and junior years to travel and
work. My dad had worked his way around South
America on a freighter. I got a job in a GM
factory fabricating cars. I figured that I could
save enough money to get me to Europe and into the
Alps to Ski.I discovered that GM owned Opel’s car
factory near Frankfurt.They needed workers and
would be happy to employ me in the spring. Burr Craycroft Panama 1934
Greetings Aza,
Off I went flying out of San Francisco into the brand new
TWA terminal and after a wild stay in the city, on to London and
beyond.In the months to come, well planned travel with its frequent
surprises and random encounters would vastly open my horizons
and broaden my understanding. It has been wonderful to look back,
study, remember, reflect on and share my experiences in Berlin
with you.

2. B e r l i n
1964
THE WALL
Dear Aza,
On the advent of your trip to Berlin (now,
hopefully not long delayed), I want to
share with you my trip to Berlin in 1964.
It was a gateway to a long journey that
taught me, amazed me continually and
changed my life in many wonderful ways.
It all began in Prague. Here the border was
welcoming, the country a delight. That’s
where the plan was born. Berlin had always
facinated me, great art,political
sophistication and real politic,wild
nightlife, drama everywhere. Starting in
Berlin I would travel to Warsaw then on to
Prague,Vienna, Budapest, Sophia, Istambul
and on. I had been working at an automobile
factory near Frankfurt. For $150.00, I
bought a 1953 VW Bus from a Boy Scout
Troupe who had traveled to Algeria. They
had painted a Caravan of Camels on its
side. It would be a 7 hour ride through the
corridor to the center of the city. May 3,
1964, I traveled northward into East
Germany at the Marienborn border crossing.

3. On the rampart, I had a
stark but edifying
encounter with Mayor
Daley of Chicago.
JPresident Kennedy June 4, 1963Eleanor Sis Daley Guilfoyle
We were chatting with a camera crew on the rampart as a large black
Cadillac Limousine pulled up to its steps. The car was rocking as the
Mayor and his wife Eleanor argued and jostled about. The door
opened a crack and the arguement became clear. The
Mayor wanted Eleanor to be part of the
interview.Eleanor declined. The
door slamed and The Mayor
ascended the
platform.
Berlin was full of life
and beckoning.I went to
Check Point Charlie.
Traveling along the corridor
I entered West Berlin at the
Dreilinden Border
Crossing.Although the
border crossings took on a
more serious nature under
German supervision, the
atmosphere maintained a
surreal and often comic
nature.
All THE
BORDERS!
Sansoucci

4. ,
“I hope to God this never
happens in Chicago!”
C H E C K P O I N T
CHARLIE
Stark truths have a way of crashing in. In six
months Martin Luther King would speak here,
shining a bright light on the similarities of these
divisions. In six years the streets of Chicago
would see the riots of the Democratic
Convention.
“ich bin
ein
Berliner!
JFK
We met briefly. The interview began. After answering many inane and boring questions the Major was asked one
question that riveted my attention: “ Mayor Daley, what would you do if this were to happen in Chicago ?”
As the Mayor glowered at the camera and paned slowly across the wall then ever so slowly and dramatically back at the camera,
I remembered a Political Science Coarse where we dissected the Mayors brutal power politics in the Nations Most Divided City,
Chicago, then he said:

5. and what a wonderful production toonsomehow carrying
Capitalist greed gone mad in the creation and the destruction of a City
and those who dwell within it, performed racously, beautifully and with
glorius art and passion!
see!
My transet visa for Poland were taking longer than planned, offering more time to
explore. A summer school literature class had gotten me interested in Bertholt Brecht and I saw
that there was a production of The Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny at the Staatsoper Unter den
Linden. I headed back through Check Point Clarlie. The Lindenoper, as it is commonly know, risen
like a phoenix many times, was

6. Scene 2
The news of Mahagonny spreads quickly, and
sharks from all over flock to the bait,
including the whore Jenny Smith, who is
seen, with six other girls, singing the
"Alabama Song", in which she waves goodbye
to her home and sets out in pursuit of
whiskey, dollars and pretty boys
Scene 1: A desolate no-man's land
A truck breaks down. Three fugitives from
justice get out and find themselves in the
city of Mahagonny: Fatty the
Bookkeeper, Trinity Moses, and Leocadia
Begbick. Because the federal agents pursuing
them will not search this far
north, and they are in a good location to
attract ships coming south from the Alaskan
gold fields, Begbick decides that they can
profit by staying where they are and founding
a pleasure city, where men can have fun,
because there is nothing else in the world to
rely on.
Sample synopsis to give the flavor of this
wonderful musical production:

7. By this time exploring the borders between
the East and the West had become a daily
routine. I was finally able to pick up the
Polish Visa and had a thought, visas to
East Germany were almost impossible to
obtain. Transet visas to Poland might be
used to get into East Germany. I was
fascinated by the possibility of visiting
Potsdam and Sansoucci.On Mar 7th. I drove
through Check Point Charlie and headed for
the East Berlin/East German border at
Waldersdorfer Chausee. I was hoping that
the guard would look at the Transet visas
and let me pass. I was gradually
discovering that if one boldly assumed
authoriy officials would become confused
and give way. The check point was like a
railroad crossing on a back country road.
A lone officer with a rifle
operated a hand
cranked barrier.
I pulled to a stop 20ft from the barrier and motioned upward,
demandingthat the barrier be lifted and acted as if I were in a hurry. The guard
looked confused and came towards the car. I looked displeased and showed the guard
my transet visa. He was satisfied, went back to his station and raised the
barrier.I sped off toward Potsdam. Sansoucci, San Soucci - Without Worries was
built as a garden retreat, Unlike Berlin it was not damaged by war but had
languished during the War and occupation giving its immense beauty, a wildnees,
darkness and a sense of impassioned danger.My growing sense of forboading was
heightened by a check point that I had seen on the other side of the median strip
when passing over the corridor as we neared Potsdam. I would need to get by past
it on my return. The hours that I spent exploring the Palaces and grounds never
cease to amaze and inspire me.
Eventhough I pretended not to see them as I sped by,
they came for me with lights flashing and sirens
screaming. I was arrested,told I would be going to
jail and escorted onto the Heimstedt- Berlin Autobahn
and ordered to proceed to the Dreilinden Check Point.
After a quarter mile I was met by another set of
guards

8. I returned to my hotel in the center of
Berlin exhausted but very happy,
pleased by the adventure. Sansoucci has
many magical qualities unique and
singular amongst the many fine palaces
of its time and for that
matter,architecture through time, in
general.
with sirens blaring. These more menacing guards stopped me, rifled
through my belongings, confiscated books, accused me of various
spurious violations and demanded $250.00 in cash/fines. I complied
immediatly. They then escorted me to the check point at Drewitz, made
me sit in a cold dark room for two hours and then released me.

9. Purchased at Sansoucci in
1964 and carried all over
Europe and back to the USA>
Sansoucci’s combination,
integration and intimate
relationship between building
and grounds is unique on this
scale.The physical isolation
and the inforced removal from
daily routine to create a
place of peace, of carefree
contemplation and
pleasure, workes. One could
see it even now, perhaps even
more so now in this
stressful, perilous time, on
the faces of the families and
the few travelers that had
gathered there on that sunny
afternoon to discover and to
wander, to washing their cares
away.

10. Bon Voyage, much love &
kind regards,
Peter
Warsaw or Bust!
I slept well that night and in the
morning I departed for Warsaw. I was
sad to leave Berlin but, yea!, there
was another border to cross, new
adventures to be had, people to meet and
stories to tell! Berlin had taught me
that all people yearn for peace and
self determination, to listen
carefully,watch very carefully and
respond with kindeness. It taught me to
be confident and to be bold. Nothing
ventured, nothing gained.If ones
intentions are pure, all will go well.
Writing to you about these experiences
makes me realize how much I am still
learning as I work hard to study and
remember and to write. So that is it
for now. I will write again soon. I am
so very happy that you will be going to
Berlin and cannot wait to hear your
experiences and adventures.

11. A brilliant view of the comedy in this often very tragic & deadly standoff.

12. S o m e p a g e s o f
n o t e s f r o m m y
ongoing studies
May 4, Monday
IN BERLIN
“Charlie”
“Charlie”
“Ich bin ein Berliner!”

13. A f e w o f t h e V i s a s / St a mp s
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