So, back when the “Wall” was up, it was easy to get into East Berlin through Checkpoint Charlie. You would just give them 25 D-Marks, and they would then give you 25 E-Marks.
So, when I was in Berlin for an International Cyclotron Conference, Dag, my Swedish friend (and it is pronounced DOG, which I could never say with a strait face, so I always called him DAG) and I spent a whole day over there and we couldn’t spend all those E-Marks — and we ate and drank lots of beer and had a lot of fun and got to listen to some live music.
So, I “went over the wall” again and spent the day walking around, taking pictures, eating and drinking lots of beer, and then it was getting late, and my feet were tired, and it was getting cold and dark, and I just wanted to get back to my nice hotel in W Berlin.
So, I found my way back to Checkpoint Charlie and I was the only one there (no lines or cattle-chutes), and so was thus blessed with the full attention of the bored Official. The Official asked me if I had any E-Marks. So I reached into my pocket and pulled out what I have left after a day of eating and drinking. And the Official says, “You can’t leave with that”.
So I handed it all to him, and he said “No, you can’t give it to me”.
So, I see a trash can and go over to throw it into the trash can. And the Official said, “you can’t do that”.
And like, my feet really hurt (I have flat feet, and might not have been wearing my Ecco Hiking Boots), and I just wanted to get back to my nice hotel and maybe take a hot bath. So, in desperation, I ask him, “So how (the fuck) can I get rid of these things? He said you could go spend it (I had already had as many beers as I could drink, which was quite a few) or put it into a bank. So, I asked him where the nearest bank was, and it turned out, fortunately, there was one just down the street, like almost right next door, and it was open. Talk about Banker’s Hours! So, I went into the bank, gave them my passport and my E-Marks, and opened up a bank account.
So, I’m not some sort of spy or double agent, even though I had a bank account in East Berlin, behind the Wall.
And the Real Thing Is …
… that this “Wall” was Like So Totally Really Actually, even Existentially, kind of unnatural. There’s millions of humans, on either side of this “Wall”. And this “Wall” was a totally-permeable membrane if you had a certain piece of paper in your pocket (e.g., U.S. Passport), but a totally-impermeable membrane if you didn’t have a certain piece of paper in your pocket. So, one thing I knew, for sure, was that this was Totally Unnatural. Unnatural things don’t survive in nature, so I sure wasn’t very surprised when the “Wall” came down, after almost four decades. I was only surprised that it lasted so long.
Today it seems we are doing another such ridiculous (i.e., unnatural) thing. You will be able to do certain things, and not other things, and travel to certain places, depending upon a whether there is a certain piece of paper in your pocket (or digital ID, getting updated). It will be called your Vaccine Passport.
I’m not getting that piece of paper. I’m pretty happy right here in the forest with my geriatric wolf, so I just won’t travel to places that require such a piece of paper; their loss. And, this wall may stand for a little while, or for many decades. But it will fall (maybe tomorrow, or maybe after I’m dead [I’m not good at predictions]).
And, a couple of other things I saw
were that in W Berlin, there were brothels everywhere, and prostitutes in most of the bars. But none in E Berlin. And the beer was a shitload less expensive in E Berlin, and it was pretty damn good beer with a high IBU! I liked the Czechoslovakian beer.
Don't think I'll ever again "Go Over the Wall" and visit NYC again:
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/nyc-orders-restaurants-and-gyms-demand-proof-vaccination-all-customers
I'm SO upset about this! NOT!