First time I was allowed to enter former Soviet Bloc was a ’95 trip to visit Lenz Austria up from Salzburg for a day. Linz has a modern 1928 Gothic Cathedral Hitler admired near his birthplace. We drove on to the Czech border and I got out and crossed with my passport eyeing the Walther on the Border Policeman’s hip. Till ’91 I’d been arrested or shot on sight. Then I checked he crystal glasses dirt cheap and Dorly came across too but Tom was still active duty and not allowed. Still use the deep cut glasses we have left.
Next was in ’98 coming back again thru Bavaria and I opted for the chance to use old E German autobahn leads N to Berlin and W to the Rhein. Passing Weimar we went in and wandered round Goethe’s church and large reconstruction projects “Here will be built”. I saw a sign to Buchenwal,took Dorly and her mom who’d never even heard of the place 1st concentration camp ever. Then I tried to find a small road due West but there were none allowed by E Germany. Had to go back S to the A Bahn. where they had check points to the border double fencing and kill zone.
Going to Munich and Bavarian Alps we always passed Dachau they’d known but sorta ignored. My brother in law opened Natnl Semiconductor plant there the year we married and they met Dorly in Huntington Beach 1971 and moved to Starnburg below Munich for 2 years. Johnny described placid blond farm girls makin micro chips. Didn’t pan out with enormous fall in price due over supply world wide but made now day cheap stuff possible.