| Author | Message | ||
     Lars1974 |
hi all, i know its not really bike related, but as a proud Uly rider i thought i share it with you. Today is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and I would like to share a little anecdote with you all… On that day I was 15 years old and living in small town called Borna about 25km south of Leipzig deep in the heart of Eastern Germany. In the summer of 89 I had passed my first motorcycle license as we were allowed to ride motorcycle up to 50cc at the age of 15. I had a Simson S51 - great little 2-stroke 4 gear bike…the afternoon of the 9th of November I rode a friends bike MZ-ETZ150 which I was not supposed to ride on…and at a junction I pulled out without proper looking and a Skoda 105L who had the right of way hit me on my left….breaking my leg and throwing me more than 10metres through the air….as I came round I did not feel any pain, but knew something wasn’t right with my leg… an empty Ambulance came just passed and stopped and the driver asked if he could help…no nurse or paramedic onboard! I told him that I think I have broken my leg and he advise me to “walk” to the ambulance car - which I did sort of skipping on 1 leg! As I arrived in hospital I was just being prepared for an operation to sort my leg again when my dad came in…he was glad that I was ok apart from the leg of course, but that could be repaired. He than told me that he had just heard that in Berlin the Wall had been opened…I replied: “I know you are trying to cheer me up but I am not in the mood for jokes right now…” of course he was right. I spent until a day before in hospital my leg hanging half way up the bed - not very comfy. All my friend and schoolmates went to t he west and came back and told me how great it was… it took me over 6months to be fit enough for my first trip behind the “iron curtain”…. If this Wall would have not come down I would not be writing this today or live in the UK married to an English lady etc…nor would I ride a BMW & Buell….so my thoughts are today with all my fellow Germans and everyone else who ensure that our revolution was a peaceful one… Thank you! Lars | ||
| Black51 |
Well put Lars! It was a historic day that I will not forget either!!! | ||
| Odie |
It was a great day for Freedom for sure!! When stationed in Germany we flew a flight of 4 Blackhawks from Ansbach (near Nurnberg) to Tempelhof in Berlin. It was amazing going across the border. Guard shacks still standing and you could still tell a difference between the two former countries. Berlin was a huge town! | ||
| Treefrog |
20 years. Has it been that long? I was there. I was stationed in Mannheim at the time. It was a sight to see. I'm glad you made it OK Lars. | ||
| Mnrider |
I remember watching the news and tearing up,I was so happy for everyone.  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Lars- thanks for sharing that with us. It helps us appreciate what we have had for so long a little more. | ||
| Hooper |
I was going to make a joke about "socialized medicine", but I won't.  I got to spend a week in Berlin and the old East Berlin in 1992, and it was still coming around. The scars from the war and the wall were still visible, but cranes and construction sites were everywhere. | ||
| Harleywern |
Reading this, I get goosebumps. It was really a great day for all Germans. A couple weeks before, I was in Hungary and saw a lot of East- Germans escape from Hungary to Austria. For me having very good friends in East- Germany it was a moment I will never forget and one of the happiest days in my life. It is great to hear this story from a German living in the UK. Let us not forget what made Germany split into two separate countries. Let us not forget the day of reunification and all people involved to make this happen. Ride safe Werner | ||
| Eulysses |
America has left her mark on this world for liberty and freedom...she has nothing to be ashamed of as no combination of nations has contributed at her own expense of blood and dollars to see people free. May we stay the course of "doing in nobleness" as our song's prayer asks. | ||
| Lars1974 |
guys, thanks for all your warm comments. one more thing that happend to me...as i stated i lived just about 25km south of Leipzig and during September & October when i was riding towards Leipzig in the evenings on my bike with a mate we were stopped twice by the police and Stasi(secret state police) and asked where we were heading etc... scary stuff to a couple of fifteen year old I tell. i spoke with my parents earlier who still live there...and we were talking a bit about these times... I am 100% glad the wall went and would never want to go back to this system.... thx Lars | ||
| Galloper |
Some call it al wall, some call it a border. I was glad when the wall went down but now I think we better kept those east european borders closed. just my 2 eurocent. | ||
| Wheelybueller |
20 years WOW! | ||
| Fast_eddie_1956 |
I was stationed near Ramstein when this happened. My wife and I drove to Eisenhuettenstadt the first weekend that we were allowed to drive into East Germany from Fulda. It was like driving through a time machine back into the '50's. They were just tearing down the towers, barbed wire and check points as we drover by the old border. I'm glad that part of the cold war is now history. | ||
| Odie |
The differences in countries still exist though. When we were deploying to Bosnia in '93 a fellow pilot came over the radio as we flew over the border from Austria to Hungary and said, "Guys, welcome to 1933". How correct he was. It was like going back in time instantly. I will never forget that day.... | ||
| Paul56 |
It was the most significant, historic event in my lifetime. Growing up I learned that we co-existed with the Soviets via the MAD concept (Mutually Assured Destruction for you younguns). It was always in the back of my mind that one day there could be a big flash and that would be it. It could still happen, but is much less likely. Communism will never stand on its own and would have eventually collapsed under its own weight, but personally I am glad Ronnie had the guts and foresight to help it along by spending the bastards into oblivion. Friends of mine who escaped Romania and Cuba agree with me. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Thanks for sharing, Lars, and I'm happy for you pardner. It was an historic time and great triumph. Ride safe! | ||
| Tootal |
In the mid 80's I went to Berlin to visit a friend of mine that was stationed there in the Army. I got to paint on the wall and later left on the US Army duty train. It left after dark and you were given a sleeper car. When we stopped in the East we were told to keep our lights out and stay away from the windows. We had to give up our passports and the East Germans would look at all of them. While waiting they were circling the train with their white patent leather holsters and machine guns. Pretty spooky since as mentioned, all the other rail cars looked like they were from the 30's. The train was limited to 40 MPH if I remember correctly. I went to sleep only to wake the next morning running 75 MPH. We must be in the West! I have since gone back to visit a different friend that lives in the old East Germany. They still have the old hot water lines that went to the community boilers. The government controlled the hot water, what a way to control the populace!! It was amazing to see the differences since the wall fell. As Kennedy said, "Ich bin ein Berliner". (I am a pastry) | ||
| Lars1974 |
@Tootal, those pipes you saw are for central heating in blocks of flats etc. and came out of factory such as coal fired powerstations. We had them too in Borna...very wired and ugly things but at least they used the heat created by the powerstation for some good use. Once again a big Thanks for all your nice comments. i have been watching quiet a bit of material on youtube and yes, Goodby Lenin is a great movie and captures life in the East pretty accurately. Been out on my Uly today here in the Uk... was cold and a bit wet but great fun! Thanks to Erik and the fellow Americans for building this great machine... Lars | ||
| Jim_williams |
So cool to hear, Lars!!! I visited Berlin in 1991. I met a couple of college aged East Germans in a hostel in Denmark on that trip. I will NEVER forget them! One asked me, "did you go to Berlin?" "Yes, I did" He looked at me with a tear in his eye, and, as he looked at me, I could see his mind was somewhere else, and, he said, "Berlin..... THAT is freedom.." He learned to speak english watching pirated MTV videos. I'll never forget that moment for the rest of my life. How lucky we Americans are! | ||
| Mp3 |
I hope nobody minds me jumping in late here. Lars and everyone else, these are cool stories and I hope you don't mind if I add one more. I'm a military brat that grew up around Fort Bragg. Mom's German and was born in Potsdam and grew up between Potsdam and Berlin. Dad brought her to the states right around the time the wall was being constructed. I visited Berlin twice when I was much younger. Mid to late 60's and again in the early 70's. I have not been back since. It must have been on my second trip that my mom and I visited her cousin who owned a bakery very close to the wall. He lived above the bakery and had a balcony that you could look over the wall to a degree. This time frame was around the time my family had gotten a colored TV back in the states. Which brings me to an analogy that I will never forget. When I looked across into East Berlin from that balcony I saw black and white. When I looked to the west I saw color. I certainly do not know what it was like to live on the other side. I am happy the wall is down for those families that were effected by it. I only hope that one day I can go back and ride my Uly across the beautiful countryside. Take care and ride safe... |
