Cold War Memories

Guten Tag,
I'm back early because I have a Big Day tomorrow and also because I got tired and hungry.  I took a trip down an historical memory lane.  When I began teaching so many years ago, it felt So Weird to get to the part of history I actually lived through and remembered.  I grew up with Germany and the city of Berlin itself divided, and the Soviet Union looming over Eastern Europe and seeming to threaten the West.
I did not live through all the history I saw today, but the events certainly shaped my consciousness even as a child.  I was a daughter of the military, and we always lived in "prime target" areas.  Looking back on the the civil defense drills we did against the bomb were ridiculous.
I began with a trip to the cash machine at my bank's German partner.  The machine spit out an hundred euro note.  Useless in most cases.  Shops and museums are reluctant even to change a fifty.  I moved on the next machine and got a few more usable notes.  Then I set off to the U bahn.
I popped out at the Kochstrasse stop, which is happy to tell you that Checkpoint Charlie is nearby.  The wall, except for a few stretches, is gone, but this site of the well known crossing from Free Berlin to the Soviet Sector has been preserved.  It was the third crossing--so designated by the third letter of the alphabet, and in American military usage C was clarified as Charlie.  The Soviet masters of East Berlin did not at all like the easy crossing, and at one point sent tanks to intimidate the Americans. The checkpoint was also a favored escape route for East Berliners.  The check point hut, American flag and sandbags are there and make a great photo opportunity.  I saw an American soldier in uniform posing with the flag.  If you want to be a trapped tourist, there are a lot of opportunities for you to spend money.
I went on to another noted Cold War site--the Templehof Airport.  The airfields and buildings are still there, and the buildings can be visited on a tour, but they weren't running when I was there.  The buildings also house refugees on a temporary basis.
Admission to the airfield is free, and a lot of joggers, bikers, and skaters take advantage of it.  A fair number of us tourists also showed up.  Templehof was Berlin's main airport until 1975 and continued to operate for years after.  Berliners vehemently resisted any attempts to develop the site so it was left largely as it was.
In German the Berlin Airlift of 1947-48 (even before my time!) is known as the Luftbrucke--the air bridge.  Stalin found the existence of West Berlin personally offensive and determined to starve it out, so he blocked all land routes to the city.  The other Allies were just as determined to save West Berlin not just for the sake of the population but as a symbol of freedom against totalitarianism.  The United States called the lift "Operation Vittles." Planes took off or landed every thirty seconds from Templehof field.  The planes carried mostly food, but also medical supplies and fuel.  West Berliners went short of nearly everything, but they endured.  East Berliners continued to go short of nearly everything, but that was hardly their fault.
The city is truly reunited and integrated and the proud and prosperous capital of a United Germany once more.
Plum wine is my aperitif.  It's a lovely plum color and is tasty enough.  I like the cherry and other stone fruit kind a little better, but it is important to do research.
For dinner I'm having Kartolffelnudeln or potato "noodles" a sort of German version of gnocchi but much heavier and they get fried.  They are supposed to be fried in butter, but I find olive oil works just fine.  They are a lot like frites or chips--crisp and potatoey.  All they need in my opinion is a sprinkle of salt. Yummsy!