Jens Pfefferkorn - Fair Oaks, CA
On the evening of November 9, I was in my dorm room in Berlin Karlshorst. I usually had the radio on (RIAS - Radio in the American Sector). I was getting ready to go out with some friends to celebrate my birthday from November 5, as Günther Schabowski announced that the travel restriction for the people of East Germany would be removed. We left shortly after that and had our usual dinner, beer and a game of Skat at our favorite pub in Berlin Lichtenberg.
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As the evening was progressing, we listened to the radio in the pub more closely. At around 10 or 11 p.m. it was announced that people were gathering at the various checkpoints. We did not really believe that one would actually be able to go across. Also, growing up in East Germany and especially in East Berlin, one had no business being near the wall if one did not want to get shot. Anyhow, we left the pub around midnight.
We went back to the subway station and were now really curious about what we heard. After we arrived at the dorm I almost went to bed. My friend Ralph knocked on the door and stated: "Dude we gotta go. We can take the last S-Bahn train from Ostkreuz and still get there."
I had no idea where to go, but one of our friends was a border patrol soldier who knew where the closest checkpoint was, Oberbaumbruecke. As we got there masses of people were lined up in a very German orderly fashion and walked right through the checkpoint just flashing their Personalausweis (personal ID card). We were welcomed by West Berliners on the other side of the bridge with champagne. We had no idea were we were. West Berlin was whited out on our maps.
A taxi took us free of charge to the heart of the city, Kurfürstendamm. All pubs were open; it was one huge party. The next morning we went to the nearest branch of the Dresdner Bank and received our 100 DM (about $50) welcome money. We then went to a bakery, bought some breakfast and coffee and then went to WOM music store—everything was just like an amazing dream. We went back to East Berlin around noon on November 10 determined to come back for more.
