Berlin 1969 - 23rd Hour, 23rd Psalm - continued
by R.W. Rynerson
The
Cold War influenced Berlin nights in some peculiar ways. As our guide
navigates the Taunus through the numerous jogs that bring us to new views
of the harshly-lit Wall and its effects on neighborhoods, we find ourselves
on a dark stretch of landstrasse through farmers' fields.
The glow of city lights is diluted by distance; there is no other traffic
on the road. By daylight on the way out to the Havel (as shown in
the photo on this page), this drive on the narrow, stone-paved road was
fun. By night, our driver points out that the lack of shoulders and
the nearby trees makes a dangerous combination.
And then a little yellow glow appears from the distant smudge of tree
line. It grows larger, and now red barrier lights are flashing ahead.
We stop at the gate that has dropped across the road and our headlights
illuminate the flame red and dirty cream colors of a stunted S-Bahn train
- only two cars long. The electric blue flash of third-rail shoes
lifting off the interrupted trackside power source punctuates its passage.
Pale incandescent lights, wired in series from the 800 volt traction power,
blink on and off for the moment in which the Dueppel - Zehlendorf shuttle
coasts over the road crossing. A lone passenger peers out into the
darkness. The gate rises, the red lights dim out, peace is restored.
The Dueppel line, our guide explains, is a political vestige of grander
times. This is a piece of the original Prussian railway from Berlin
to Potsdam. It was bypassed by newer routes, but once carried the
grandest names of the newly united German nation. In the years before
World War II, it carried steam-powered S-Bahn express trains. Now
on this night, it goes through the motions: a five-minute run from Zehlendorf,
where it connects with the big S-Bahn trains to the city center, a four-minute
layover, then a five-minute run back to the crumbling shack at the end
of the track in Dueppel. Every twenty minutes, seven days a week,
this sorry leftover trundled hin-und-zuruck. On Saturday nights,
it continued hourly through the owl period, sitting patiently in "downtown"
Dueppel, for example from 2:19 a.m. till 2:54 a.m. It might be quiet
enough out here, according to our guide, to hear the swamp creatures moving
out of Krummes Fenn.
For a quiet moment on our tour, we are far from the cares of world politics
and the divided city. And then, having reached its terminal at the
Berlin Wall, the shuttle train comes rocking back towards us, flash-lighting
the countryside with its third-rail shoes' arcs. When the gates go
up again, we are on our way.
Continued....
Enjoy a visit to the Dueppel Museum's website. Site is in German, but has interesting photos for everyone.
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Copyright 2009 by Robert W. Rynerson. Alle Rechte
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