Berlin Trip, 1990 Report
Fly/Drive Berlin Trip, July 1990
(G E Ostkamp and R Payne)
The Iron Curtain is Down
The recent major changes in the political system of the GDR (East Germany), and the quick process towards unification of Germany have made the AA information on Transit Routes, Frontier crossings and delays, Customs and Signposts in the computerised route network completely out of date.
The purpose of this short tour of inspection (26/29 July 1990) was to gather first hand information, and to see how much the changes have affected the rules and regulations for the 'foreign' visitor'.
Our route was mainly on motorway transit routes and took us from Hannover Airport via Berlin, Dresden, Gera and Leipzig to Hamburg Airport. We passed through six of the 'Frontier crossing points', all still very evident locations but completely unmanned and looking deserted.
Anyone not needing a visa for West Germany can now continue into the DDR, and is free to use any road that is open to vehicular traffic. For the time being there are a number of crossing points suitable only for pedestrians.
Should you require a visa to enter West Germany then that would be checked at the first entry point, say at Aachen, and then you are free to do as you like until you reach the eastern frontier at Frankfurt/Oder.
Day 1 Thursday, Hannover Airport - West Berlin: 182 miles
A fast run along the very busy Autobahn A2, also signposted with the
no. E30 of the European international network, brought us to the Helmstedt
Border Control Point. On the western side the traffic just roared through
the unmanned, former checkpoint.
To the right were 'Military' signs leading to the Allied Checkpoint Alpha,
still manned and obligatory for military personnel.
Road no.1 passes under the motorway at this point, and we noticed new
signs pointing to a recently opened crossing point for non-motorway traffic
towards Magdeburg.
The adjacent border with the DDR was marked by a sign showing Speed limits
within the DDR and a '0%' sign indicating 'no drinking and driving'.
A short distance away was the huge DDR checkpoint with its many traffic lanes now completely deserted. The approach was by a specially built-in, winding section - chicane type - attempting to slow the traffic. We pulled off the motorway into one of the many open spaces and tried to find someone to talk to. With no frontier guards in sight, we eventually managed to find some maintenance workers who in turn found someone else, willing to talk.
Bemused but helpful he explained that since June 1990 there was no more stopping, checking, or searching of any car, whatever nationality. Our new friend pointed out a little shed in the middle of a traffic island, saying: 'that is the visa office, where you could buy a visa to enter Poland'. We declined the offer, as the only approach was across 6 lanes of fast moving traffic.
The motorway from Helmstedt towards Berlin - signed E30 - continued to be very busy but progress was reasonable despite the 100 Km limit (disregarded by most foreign cars, and quite a few of the locals). The motorway is a standard two lane dual carriageway, but a cheaper edition. No crash barriers, except for a short section near Magdeburg. No hard shoulders, except short laybys at the emergency phones. Generally in reasonable condition but considerably less smooth than other motorways in the West.
Nearing Berlin, the old signs stating 'Berlin capital of the DDR' have
now disappeared. The advance sign for the Control Point was still the
old 'Grenzübergang Drewitz'. At the border the buildings, sheds and
towers of the former checkpoint are still very prominent but unmanned
and deserted.
This time we were fortunate to find a Border-Policeman, in uniform. He
confirmed our findings that since June the checkpoint was out of use.
Nearby and to the right were signs 'All Military Sponsored Travellers Report' leading to the Allied Checkpoint Bravo.
Day 2 Friday, Berlin - By Foot, U-Bahn, S-Bahn and Bus
Another very hot and sunny day. Our first contact point was the ADAC regional office, right next to the hotel. The Touring Advice Section was very helpful, and gave us ADAC maps of Berlin and the full DDR Information folder. To keep the information up-to-date some leaflets were just photocopies, as the information is changing so rapidly.
Nearly all of the road links from West Berlin to East Berlin and the DDR, until recently blocked by the 'wall', are again open for free use by all visitors, without any controls or restrictions whatsoever.
On 1 July the list of 'crossing points' in the Berlin area numbered 102. At the present time some are of a very temporary nature, others open only for cyclists and pedestrians, the situation changes weekly. In the central area cars can drive across Potsdamer Platz into the East, but Brandenburg Gate, at present covered in scaffolding, is for pedestrians only.
Our second contact point was the Central Advice Bureau for West-East-West Traffic, the 'Zentrale Melde- und Beratungsstelle für den West-Ost Verkehr'. This was a bit more official, with the staff being careful with their answers. We had three civil servants in the office, all very helpful with the available information but nothing in writing to take away.
We were told that when travelling between the BRD (West) and the GDR (East) there are no longer any actual checks being made. But, the two states are still in existence and the 'rules' could be enforced, though in practice nobody bothers with any checks.
We asked about signposting between the two parts, there was no answer, it is just one other problem to be looked at, later in the year. In the West the roads leading to the centre are marked 'Zentrum', in the East they use 'Mitte'. Navigation in West Berlin is by district names the following appear quite frequently: Tiergarten, Wedding, Spandau, Reinickendorf, Charlottenburg, Kreuzberg, Wilmersdorf, Steglitz, Zehlendorf and Wannsee.
Any variations between the two states regarding traffic rules, regulations and any compulsory equipment, that may have to be carried by the visiting motorists, will be sorted out after unification. It is far too early to state anything on an official basis, changes take place week by week.
Nearby, at the far side of the square, the Fehrbelliner Platz, was the Gesamtdeutsche Institut, another possible source of information. It was now close to lunchtime, and we had only a short interview, and the same reply: no borders, no visas, no check-ups, no charges. He also mentioned that one has difficulty in finding anybody from the frontier authorities at any of the former DDR frontier crossing points.
In the afternoon we moved into East Belin, we were passed on from one office to another, but we were unable to get any further information. Last call was at the Head Office of the Reisebüro at the Alexanderplatz.
During the early part of our walk-about in East Berlin we were in quiet side streets among government buildings, when suddenly we came across crowds of people - we had without realizing it crossed back from East to West. We were at the back of the Reichstagsgebäude and there was not a sign of the 'Wall'. That is, apart from the bits and pieces being sold by street traders. Nearby, along the River Spree, and also eastwards from the Brandenburg Gate are still lengthy sections of the wall, being attacked wih hammer and chisel by many tourists, and the local people.
Day 3 Saturday, Excursion from Berlin: 410 miles
Another extremely hot, sunny day. This was the extra day, fortunately forced on us by airline regulations.
The intention was to have a look at the countryside around Berlin, and to make a wide sweep to the south to check on motorway conditions generally and the changed signs for Karl-Marx-Stadt/Chemnitz.
We made an early start, breakfast at 07.30hrs, and drove to the central Tiergarten district, to the Grosser Stern, the huge roundabout with the Siegessäule (Victory Column). We were looking for an easy route to get by car from west to east, the present signposting is of little help. We initially headed for the Brandenburg Gate (presently closed to cars) then made a loop southwards via the Potsdamer Platz into Leipziger Strasse, then left into Otto Grotewohl Strasse to the far side of the Brandenburg Gate, a right turn brought us into Unter den Linden and on to Alexanderplatz, a main traffic intersection.
We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the main throughroutes, very wide dual carriageways with several traffic lanes. The main signs noticed on our way through East Berlin were prefixed by the motorway symbol, for Rostock, Prenzlau, Süd, Frankfurt/O.
We followed signposts Frankfurt/O along Karl-Marx-Allee and Frankfurter Allee, a fast easy straightforward exit heading east out of Berlin with many three and two lane dual carriageway sections. Fairly busy with many cars heading for Poland. On reaching the Berlin motorway ring, at the Lichtenberg Junction, we headed south following signs Frankfurt/O and Dresden. Northbound the signs were Rostock and Prenzlau.
We left the fairly busy Berliner Ring at Schönefelder Kreuz, then went via Dresden to the Hermsdorfer Kreuz and back via Leipzig to Berlin. The motorways are clearly signed with the full range of blue motorway signs and the green E-numbers of the European international network. The two exceptions, motorways without numbers, are from Dresden to Halle and the branch to Schwerin.
The additional 'yellow' transit signs, once so very important to the Transit motorist, are still much in evidence and also useful in pointing to the more distant destinations, but are now slowly being painted over.
Nearing Dresden we noticed several signs still pointing to that famous place 'Karl-Marx-Stadt', but soon afterwards it was 'Chemnitz' all the way, with freshly painted signs. Local gossip has it that as the official change-over was due to take place, the old sign had gone missing, taken by souvenir hunters. A hurried search through the road signs stores produced an old sign, just in time for the change-over ceremony.
The three motorways, used on this day trip (E55, E40 and E51), were all standard 2 lane dual carriageways, without crash barriers, and mainly without hard shoulders, except the occasional narrow shoulder usually rough and overgrown with grass. Overall, conditions were not too bad, but generally considerably less smooth than motorways in the West. Many sections are badly corrugated, and the expansion joints between the concrete slabs gave us a bumpy ride. Rough stretches were usually marked with Speedlimit signs of 60 and 40kmph. Several bridges were single lane only, the second carriageway is waiting for repair since the end of the Second World War.
However, many improvements are in hand and the situation will change rapidly.
Day 4 Sunday, Berlin - Hamburg Airport: 220 miles
Another hot, sticky day, less sunny and later some rain.
Our last day, we had to be in Hamburg by 3.30 pm to return the car, and
another early start was called for.
We followed road no.1 through the southwestern suburbs of Berlin towards
Lake Wannsee, a popular recreational centre for the Berliners at weekends.
We passed through some very pleasant residential areas.
The signs to 'Potsdam' still point left towards the former crossing point at Drewitz, but we went straight ahead via the Glienicker Bridge direct to Potsdam. Regrettably we had no time to visit the Palace of Sanssouci, the summer residence of Frederick the Great, nor Schloss Cecilienhof, where Truman, Attlee and Stalin met in 1945 to sign the Potsdam Agreement.
Leaving Potsdam we passed through a garrison area with barracks to the left and to the right and lots of soldiers about - but nobody seemed to take any notice of our nice shiny car with West German number plates.
We continued to look for newly opened crossing points in this border area between West Berlin and the DDR, formerly also closed off by a wall, long sections are still standing, even a few watchtowers. We passed through a forest and suddenly came to a wide opening - and a short stretch of fresh tarmac - another crossing point. The old no-go area between the two fences (one wire-mesh, one concrete) is now overgrown with weeds, but the guards walkway under the arclight towers is now well used by weekend cyclists.
After a short stop at Tegel Airport we headed north out of Berlin on Autobahn 11. The motorway to the old checkpoint at Stolpe is now continuous, without a break except for a short stretch without motorway regulations where the road narrows to a 2 lane dual carriageway.
Onwards to Hamburg motorway E26 was the best of the ones used by us, a great improvement on all the others. The section after Wittstock, when we left the Rostock bound motorway, was better still being the most recently constructed section. A standard 2 lane dual carriageway with a wide hard shoulder, but mainly without crash barriers. The construction is concrete slabs with expansion joints, and as the others less smooth than those in the West.
Once past the last of the chicanes, at the old Zarrentin checkpoint, our progress became very smooth indeed and we reached our destination at the signposted 'car rental' area at Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel Airport on time at 15.30 hrs.
Total distance 1308 km = 812 miles.
G E Ostkamp,
Overseas Routes.