Travel – Page 43 – A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity

“Travels to a Different Time” : August 26, 1971: Frankfurt: Put on the Wrong Plane! Just Get Me Home!

When you have your mind set on coming home you are like a bird dog on a scent. After showing our tickets for our trip to Oakland we were directed to get on a bus on the tarmac to take us to the airplane at 1 a.m. We see our Overseas National Airways airplane. ButContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : August 26, 1971: Frankfurt: Put on the Wrong Plane! Just Get Me Home!”

We travelled from Basel, Switzerland to West Berlin. Just before we entered East Germany soldiers came aboard to process visas. Then a few miles later another group of soldiers looked at our visas and passports. Clearly one group does not trust the other. I was asked to remove my glasses so they could get aContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : 13 August1971: Margaret Mary Stephen Letter to Mother-in-Law Ida Francis Stephen: Thoughts on East Germany and Berlin: Freedom is the Most Precious Thing We Have”

Summing up today it was a bit of excitement and disappointment. Heidi, Mom and I had an early breakfast then Heidi’s boyfriend called and for some reason Heidi broke out in sobs. Such a nice person must endure tears and sadness. What did Michael do wrong? With dry eyes we were out the door andContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” :August 25, 1971: East and West Germany: Heidi Has a Sobbing Fest: My Escape From East Germany”

Up at 10 to make breakfast which was a disaster and even poor Heidi groaned. Michael came over at 1:30 and we were setting off to The British Officer’s Club for a swim. Mom said she couldn’t find her passport. Have you ever lost your passport in a foreign country? Mass panic. We turned ourContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” :August 22, 1971: West Berlin: Breakfast Disaster and The Passport Goes For A Trip!”

A late breakfast of hamburger and off to East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie. We arrive at the checkpoint and yes Mom forgot the passport so back we went to pick them up. We had to register and check out with the staff at Checkpoint Charlie and then we walked into East Berlin and into aContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time ” : August 16, 1971: West Berlin, East Berlin; East Berlin Glum and Drab”

We woke up today for our first day in West Berlin very refreshed. We went for a short walk to explore the neighbourhood and went to a supermarket to buy some meat, pickles and milk. I had a feast of 6 hamburgers and a litre of milk. I find it taking some time to getContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : August 13, 1971: West Berlin: The Ravenous Hamburger Attack by a Starving Teenager”

We woke up today in our hunting lodge in the Black Forest and Fritz was in bad shape with a runny ear and a bad headache. We have been disease free in Yugoslavia for two months and we come to Germany and Fritz and Mom are sick! Have we imported a Yugoslavian plague? We wentContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : August 12, 1971: My 15th Birthday in Three Countries and The Communists Throw My Passport In My Face: “Kennedy” is Not Appreciated in the DDR! A Birthday Present of Memories!”

At last we are in a civilized country. We arrived in Munich from Bled after a 9-hour train trip and both Robert and I are exhausted. We both had showers and I washed our clothes. The water was black. The train had started in Athens. No food and the toilets were sickening. Our friend tookContinue reading “August 10, 1971: Munich: Letter from Margaret Mary Stephen to Her Mother-in-Law“

Bedraggled we got off the train in Munich at 2:30 in the afternoon. We made it to the Excelsior Hotel in Munich. In comparison to the barren accommodations of Yugoslavia this hotel was LUXURY but at $29 a night we could spend that on rooms in Yugoslavia for two weeks. We both had our firstContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : August 9, 1971: Finally in Munich: Hello Fritz: Drinking Beer and Eating Sausages in the Shadow of Hitler: Hunting Wild Pigs in the Moonlight: 230 Kilometres an Hour in an Alfa Romeo Spider on the Autobahn”

Time is getting closer for our German trip. We go by train on August 9th and it is an 8-hour trip. We leave at 5:30 a.m. and I can’t imagine what shape we will be in when we arrive. Fritz has made reservations for us at a hotel in Munich. I guess I am nutsContinue reading ““Travels to a Different Time” : August 3, 1971: Bled, Yugoslavia: Letter from Margaret Mary Stephen to Daughter Barbara and Son Andrew: Woman Obsessed with Upcoming Trip to Munich”