Transcripts For DW Check-in 20240712

There are more than 1000 half timbered houses here. And if youre lucky youll hear the bells ring at the market place. When i was born and spiegel was located on the fringe of the German Federal republic germanys and our border right only a few kilometers from here it separated hanson and to lincoln and germany and all of europe for that matter and to east and west but in 1909 the wall came down in berlin and the border between east germany and the federal republic was opened for the past 30 years now and being it has been at the heart of germany. Today i want to take you on a little tour along the border between hassett and thuringia well visit places that still bear witness to the Cold War Division of germany and thats make tims and well find out what has. Change since reunification turning a once heavily fortified death strip and so unattractive Tourist Destination. Will visit a small town torn apart in the cold war. Well check out castle one of the symbols of german reunification. And globetrotters painted sends us regards from durban in south africa. Im heading south all the way along the border between hess and until i reach the. 3rd cities and towns meadows and feels quite unimaginable that this region was once marred by the cold war and cut into by the iron curtain i want to find out what things were like back in the day and head over to point alpha a former u. S. Observation post at the inner german border. Takes me around the premises 1st he shows me the different stages of the east german border fencing. Starting in 1952 the old boundary stones were replaced with barbed wire. But those trying to flee could easily cut it when no Border Guards were in sight so the east german leadership made escaping more and more dangerous. Were in the middle of a minefield that dates back to the 1960 s. When they began building the berlin wall on august 13th 1961 the inner german border was secured through military means and 1. 3 to 1400000 land mines were planted. The death strip whoever managed to pass it unscathed was often brought to a halt at the last border fence. Really it would have been very difficult to climb the fence and practically impossible to pull yourself up by your fingertips. Up until 1904 there were also s. M. Seventys here antipersonnel mines which would detonate if anyone tried to climb up. They were called automatic firing devices and would have fired shrapnel that anyone trying to escape and had. This was the Border Patrol road in the former east. Only 50 meters across the border a u. S. Army watch tower it was part of observation post alpha 40 u. S. Soldiers were stationed here they all belong to the reno and blackhorse regiment a demanding task at the frontline of a conflict that had the whole World Holding its breath news that quickly meant that the black horse regiment was a very strong unit of its own combat helicopters armored infantry and artillery and the assumption was that if war broke out the soviets would advance and this would be one of the 1st sights of a 3rd world war helpless and couldnt it be fun to. Every Accidental Movement could have had devastating consequences tanks were only allowed to drive up to this red line a rule established by the americans and meant to avoid provocation that could have cost the soviet leadership to snap. Nowadays point tells the tale of germany seemingly distant but there youve recent history groups of schoolchildren come to learn but also veterans who served here and many people from around the world interested in germanys peaceful reunification by the way this watch tower was only built in 1984 back then nobody thought that 5 years later the cold war and the iron curtain would be history until not too long ago the region were in right now the wound was full of military infrastructure on both sides of the border today the low Mountain Range as a protective bias fair reserve and still somewhat of an insider tip for travelers for hiking biking or just taking a little time up. The one is a low Mountain Range in the middle of germany often called the land of open spaces it ranges from the state of turning in to hassen and the various. There are some larger cities on the outskirts for example mine again in the east which for a long time was the capital of the duchy of socks of mine again. For the row city of pluto in the west. And right in the middle is the vasa cookbook the highest peak of the 1950 meters. This is the heart. Gliding in germany because of the thermals. The 1st attempts at gliding took place before the 1st world war but the 1st competitions were organized in 1920. A sailplane is designed to write the air currents without an engine so that it can just glide through space. Back when germany was still divided sailplanes from hessen in the west sometimes found themselves gliding towards and even over the border just 15 kilometers from the boss a cookbook. Some pilots were even arrested and only released weeks later after paying a hefty fine in torch marks. The planes were confiscated. Today these gliders and paragliders have the same ideal thermal lift conditions but theres no border that they have to mind. So they can glide freely in their own plans of the open spaces. Little remains of the iron curtain only the Border Patrol road still knee enders through germany i can start to walk on it on the shores of the baltic sea and would end up in hope and bavaria the 400 kilometers of exclusion zone have turned into a greenbelt a protected area for flora and fauna. My ts kiss as one of the many environmental activists and east and west that demand the german greenbelt not be used for construction or agricultural purposes he wants it to be fully returned to nature with were close to the book on the taft. Which is now flowing again in its own bed. Before the wall came down this stream was part of a no go zone on the eastern side of the patrol road set up to prevent escapes. To where you know. After the wall fell the riverbed was recalled invaded by environmentalists and hassen it. Will be referred to soon point in d. M. That now there are wetlands for plants and animals for and this is a very valuable limitation that im going wasnt if you dont have a snap. Surprisingly political and military hostility where Fertile Ground for endangered species. Regularly takes visitors around the greenbelt to introduce them to the biodiversity of the region. I know. I went on a really fun walk with some biology students from all snap look. We went to the last battle which is known for its orchids because or he didnt. Instead of the usual half hour the walk took 2 and a half because the biology students kept stopping at every blade of grass. When they met for. Their lives so its not just the locals in the greenbelt has turned into an attractive Tourist Destination made this clear the greenbelt will never be a tourist trap thank god. Its not done but its very important that those who are interested should be able to come here you know Coleman Clinton went as well this will always be a small select group there wont be any mass tourism. But were noticing more and more people coming from a far more fun closer than in front of you know. My next stop is fox one of the oldest towns in tooling and. Its existence was 1st documented in the year 814. Almost as old this bridge that crosses the vet of river on the other side lies phillips only a stones throw away but unreachable when germany was divided and these are bad luck its born and raised and fought tells me how this bridge when from connecting people to separating them. During a cold war was located in the exclusion zone what was daily life like. With a few when we drove in and drove out we had to show a special stamp on our ideal. No one else was allowed in on friends couldnt visit us. We were allowed to request a visitors permit from the police you were very close relatives 6 we wouldnt know for 6 weeks whether wed get permission or not because im a good miracle. In that battle and this place looked very different and you tell us about this bridge and the role it played on. The bridge was a very important artery cause of 4 kids from the Holy Roman Empire inside it was on the v. A regular from like sick to frankfurt or. We liked it very much when you leave and you were able to cross it until 1952 and a man now you know who. Lived in the house on the border town and then that ended here your fear was that there were more and more fences. First a wire mesh fence. Then a watchtower was built on the grave. Of you and then everything was closed off and there was nothing around this because it was a no mans land really i mean months. I know what i did people trying to flee across the veterans of that knowledge of course very often my brother escaped in 1962 he was a student and try back and he and his friends played jazz and that got them into trouble. So or they swam across in august 1962. So i and safety did they succeed they made it better than them and no member of 989 the border opened what was that like your family was reunited so was germany euphoria must have been immense i suppose and thats the its the best thing to have happened to us at the end of the 20th century. Yes thats why its a feeling that you dont experience very often come on in the us. You can relive this moment in local history museum. And amateur filmmaker captured the scene as the west started to tear down the border wall the famous berlin wall came down on nov 9th 989 only 3 days after the border between fatah and phillips tall followed. Oh. This there is going. Since then the old bridge has returned to its original function connecting and philip stop. Trying to take a little tour of philips town the small town is home to a true gem a castle dating back to the 17th century and surrounded by a lush park. Setting out to explore the world wasnt really an option for the citizens of communist east germany people in fox couldnt even visit their neighbors here in philips top nowadays things are much easier look at our globe trotters save painted all he needs is a ticket a backpack and a sense of adventure this time we caught up with him in durban south africa 2nd biggest city. And we start things off in the sunny city of devon im here with my local guides tell me who god is around put a date some sun i could go im going to be legal welcome to the city over there been wasnt enough done were going to pick up a lot on the recall but i am sure thered be. South africas warmest city is located on the east coast and has a population of about 3 and a half 1000000 in the metropolitan area durban is famous for being the busiest port in the country its also seen as one of the Major Centers of 2 reason because of the citys warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches to get. It. At least. Right richard and mostly the stadium which was built for the world cup in 2000 and were here to do the big rush the worlds tallest swing lets go. Through here what if. You. Know if steve and i were scary. Right its expected to be back. On the road. To the next morning we hit the road and drug about 3 hours northeast. So we just drove into the well and what we see just right after we entered some secrets here. I guess is. Our base inside the park was the hilltop cant which overlooks the reserve. First team drive an awesome game right. There it is going to feel right also expressed that this was. The date and follows the path is the oldest proclaimed nature reserve in africa it consists of 960 square kilometers of heli topography and is known for its rich wildlife and conservation efforts. Each of the big 5 game animals can be found in just a short amount of time also we were able to see 4 out of the big 5 on our 1st game drive. And we are back at 6 every resort in the pool which is the perfect way to finish this trip through the region of cars to not suffer. But. Back in germany im on my way to the protest mining area stretching out on both sides of the back and hassen as well as chilling out between 1945989 it was divided after reunification east and west german potage industries merged the privatization led to the closure of unsafe or inefficient mines and the loss of many jobs in the former east the mine in macas was turned into a visitors attraction. All of a scuba takes me on a tour of the huge underground labyrinth. Even the ride is quite an adventure. 140 square kilometers of winding tunnels the nazis believed this to be the perfect hiding spot in april of 1945 u. S. Soldiers couldnt believe their eyes when they came upon this room thousands of boxes and bags filled with cash diamonds and gold paintings by rembrandt do that and many others in anticipating the downfall of the 3rd reich the nazis hid a lot of their gold and currency reserves and macca us. From by some means so what dimensions are we talking about here and i told you to me you will know right markets who are from different. I mean if you count everything going but it comes to 3000000000 reichs mark in a bank notes alone. There was so much money stored here that there was a shortage of cash in berlin or. One of the most spectacular finds never t. V. This is of course a replica the original is back in berlins Pergamon Museum if all of this is an adventurous enough for you you can also explore the labyrinth by Mountain Bike but there are only a limited amount of spots and dates so you should sign up ahead of time in any case theres plenty to see down here. Like this grotto full of sparkling salt crystals. Because it was on board its Something Special or unique in the world as far as we know the salt crystals of this size with a metre long edge arent found anywhere else except at america. And then the right light its twice as beautiful. Time now for our weekly the mail our viewer jeff messmate sent us a video of his trip to the island of later on the philippines there he went scuba diving and thats an amazing footage of the pacific colorful underwater world. Book castle in eyes and a symbol of german reunification. It too is located only a couple of kilometers from the inner german border germany is arguably a country of many castles so why did the bots book play such a crucial role in german history i meeting with to find out that. For many years hes been showing visitors through the vote book into the birthplace of the modern german language 500 years ago monte lucia translate the bible into german in this very room until then there have been countless dialects has bible created a unified german language a power in the language that german speak today emerged in this room with Martin Luther when good to start here hundreds of years later he said we became of people a nation because of Martin Luther. Thats how we found a common language we would fight to get my hands of. Another milestone in germany history took place in the books banquet hall in 817. 00 students and fraternities hailing from small states and principalities got together and this room. Here they demand that the founding of a unifying german nation with Democratic Civil rights. Under the hands of a poor 1st the year in a fraternity germanys 1st fraternity invited people to the book festival. And the fraternity colors were black red and gold black in the middle red and then a modest gold on the rim of the flag and in the middle and old french. The flag became the symbol of german democracy black red and gold blue over the bog book for the 1st time. Today the focus once again a castle for all germans early still remembers the 1st months after the border was opened west germans were finally able to cross into the east without needing a visa or passport and for many the bought book was the 1st place to visit. Just that one year more than 700000 people came. And they waited in line for hours they were amazed because the font book wasnt such a good state and that money had been invested over decades. All prejudices flew out the window they solve the gold cross on the tower and they knew they were home here. Even the hardest of frontiers are essentially artificial concepts and because theyre artificial they can be challenged by the people and eventually taken down its been 30 years since the fall of the iron curtain and the reopening of the inner german border 3 day. Its that have blurred the lines between east and west and still we mustnt forget about the past which is why its so important to have places that remind us of how difficult and Different Things used to be around these parts thanks for joining me thats it for this week ill see you next time somewhere in germany. Out of traffic jams and turned into the future of mobility european traffic planners are setting their sights on alternatives to cars. They want to reduce congestion on streets and highways with Artificial Intelligence and bold ideas. Will it happen. In 30 minutes on t. W. Take. A walk. In the ring fabric and fashions of elegant clothes like a young designer. Upcycling trash and. What else would he find on the dump. Your. 90 minutes on d w. Closely. Listen carefully. To sift through this to get. Discovery to. Subscribe to a documentary on you tube. When the water rises cities will sink into the sea. Entire stretches of land will be abandoned. The water. Stopped its happening faster than anticipated. Massive sprinklers are supposed to prevent flooding but they only delay the inevitable. Now. We live in the future but 66 meters the sea levels starts to slip on. This instinctively news live from berlin over a dozen u. S. Cities announce curfews protests right of the death of