Speaker 1: The seasoned traveler knows that even the best laid plans
Speaker 1: often go astray. If you travel long enough, delays and
Speaker 1: disruptions are inevitable. Inclement weather can cancel a flight, cars
Speaker 1: and buses break down, trains are delayed, and workers go
Speaker 1: on strike. Your luggage may be lost, and you might
Speaker 1: need to get yourself somewhere quickly and be unable. All
Speaker 1: this may lead you to find yourself stranded in a
Speaker 1: foreign land, not speaking the language, with no means of escape.
Speaker 1: You might feel lost, trapped, even helpless. But with the
Speaker 1: right perspective, these delays can become opportunities to this savvy traveler,
Speaker 1: a chance to discover a new corner, make a new friend,
Speaker 1: try a new meal, get to understand something deeper about
Speaker 1: yourself or your travel companions. Delays might keep you from
Speaker 1: your desk, but the true joy of travel is in
Speaker 1: the journey, not the destination, And with the right attitude
Speaker 1: and preparation, everyone can turn a lost day into a
Speaker 1: found adventure.
Speaker 2: Jeane, are you just gonna stare out the window all morning?
Speaker 2: Or help us come up with a plan to escape?
Speaker 1: I just can't believe I've locked down all of East Berlin.
Speaker 3: That I have no trouble believing, but building a wall
Speaker 3: to cage us in like animals, shameful.
Speaker 1: Flost is gonna be worried sick.
Speaker 2: News of the lockdown must have already reached her, so
Speaker 2: at least she knows why you haven't returned.
Speaker 1: That won't be good enough for my wife. I won't
Speaker 1: be surprised if she tries to tear down the wall herself.
Speaker 1: If I don't get word to her soon, Martin.
Speaker 2: Will be all over this. He'll make sure she's taken
Speaker 2: care of.
Speaker 1: But for how long?
Speaker 2: Hopefully not long?
Speaker 3: This is all my fault. Perhaps I should try to
Speaker 3: head home.
Speaker 1: We came here to help you and your nephew escape.
Speaker 1: We will still find a way out for all of us.
Speaker 2: That's right. No more sitting around here feeling sorry for ourselves.
Speaker 1: The city is shut down, roads and checkpoints closed, trains
Speaker 1: have stopped running. They are literally building a wall.
Speaker 2: And the National People's Army and combat groups of the
Speaker 2: working class soldiers are guarding the construction, with orders to
Speaker 2: shoot anyone who attempts to defect. So we need a
Speaker 2: new plan.
Speaker 3: How long are we savi you?
Speaker 2: This safe house won't be compromised, But the longer we're here,
Speaker 2: the harder it will be to cross the border. Every
Speaker 2: hour that passes means more walls, more land mines, and
Speaker 2: more guards.
Speaker 1: Would it be foolish to assume there was a plan B?
Speaker 2: Well, there was a plan BC and D, but this
Speaker 2: wall has thrown out the whole alphabet.
Speaker 3: Are there any papers you can think of that could help?
Speaker 3: I could make whatever needed.
Speaker 2: I'm not sure of it. Huh. That does make me
Speaker 2: think I have a contact here in the east, a
Speaker 2: black marketer who we've used before to help move things.
Speaker 1: Is he good enough to help move us?
Speaker 2: I'm gonna find him and find out where does he live?
Speaker 2: Prince Lauerberg, I'll go check it out and be back
Speaker 2: in half an hour.
Speaker 1: We'll go with you.
Speaker 2: With Javago being hunted, it's best I go alone. I
Speaker 2: don't want to draw any attention with a group.
Speaker 1: If you insist, be safe, I'm sure she'll be back soon.
Speaker 1: We'll just sit tight.
Speaker 4: Do you know Elvis?
Speaker 1: Her photo be Elvis?
Speaker 3: Yes?
Speaker 5: The King My uncle said you were famous, have your
Speaker 5: own books with your name on it. I thought you
Speaker 5: might know Elvis, since he's famous too.
Speaker 1: I never met the man, but I've been to Memphis,
Speaker 1: where he's from. Great barbecue and blues music.
Speaker 3: Listening to Elvis was al Mattia's firstly in English. Now
Speaker 3: he reads and listens to anything he can get his
Speaker 3: hands on. He even fixed his transistor at home to
Speaker 3: buy it Western Radio.
Speaker 1: It's a great way to learn. I used to pretend
Speaker 1: to be sick so I could read all the magazines
Speaker 1: in the doctor's office.
Speaker 4: My uncle is to me about how you get to
Speaker 4: travel as the world for work. This is what I
Speaker 4: wish to do.
Speaker 5: I want to see end on everything, not be trapped
Speaker 5: in a country behind a.
Speaker 3: Vall after he goes to university.
Speaker 5: Of course, of course, please tell me more about America,
Speaker 5: hairfo door. What to expect in America.
Speaker 1: For an avid learner like yourself, Just be prepared for
Speaker 1: the multitude of choice. I was almost overwhelmed when I
Speaker 1: first arrived. Public libraries, outdoor performances of music, movies, theater,
Speaker 1: all derived from the beauty of free speech.
Speaker 5: Incredible, and you can criticize the government openly.
Speaker 1: If you so choose. But most importantly, if you have
Speaker 1: a dream, you can make it happen. If you work
Speaker 1: hard enough, you can realize it. Anything can be possible.
Speaker 4: This is what my uncle told me. But it's great
Speaker 4: to hear it's true.
Speaker 1: And I know better than most. I was born in Hungary,
Speaker 1: but have made America my home by choice. Really how
Speaker 1: I first left my home country for France to study
Speaker 1: in Paris at the Sorbonne. That's when I first saw
Speaker 1: a small piece of the world and knew I wanted more.
Speaker 1: And the more I saw, the more I wanted to
Speaker 1: tell people about it. People who travel, yes, but also
Speaker 1: people like me and you who grew up in our
Speaker 1: corners of the world yearning for more.
Speaker 3: That's very admirable, gene and naive.
Speaker 1: I thought that when you meet people from different cultures,
Speaker 1: it's extremely hard to start a war. That I could
Speaker 1: help change things.
Speaker 3: But of course woy is what always happens.
Speaker 1: Yes, I was in the United States promoting my guide
Speaker 1: book when I learned of the Munich Pact. I was
Speaker 1: so outraged that I cabled the magazine office in London,
Speaker 1: where I was employed, and told him I was staying put.
Speaker 1: I vowed to never return to Europe except in uniform,
Speaker 1: a promise I made good on when I joined the
Speaker 1: U S Army in nineteen forty two.
Speaker 4: Was it difficult to fight for countries? Is it not
Speaker 4: to own?
Speaker 3: Ah?
Speaker 1: But that's exactly how it became mine. It wasn't because
Speaker 1: of birth. It was a choice. I believed in what
Speaker 1: the US stood for, what it was fighting for. It
Speaker 1: was a marriage of sorts, and much like my marriage
Speaker 1: to my wife, it is a decision I've never regretted.
Speaker 4: I hope one day to make the same choice.
Speaker 1: I hope we give you the opportunity.
Speaker 3: Thank you, Jean, thank you.
Speaker 1: That must be Rebecca Good and tag youngs. You startled us.
Speaker 2: That's the vibe of the whole city. Nervous citizens are
Speaker 2: filling the streets, and the checkpoints are heavily guarded. I
Speaker 2: feared as much, but I was able to reach my contact, Ziggy,
Speaker 2: and he's going to help.
Speaker 1: Oh that's great news.
Speaker 2: He runs a small car repair shop in Mitta. We're
Speaker 2: going to relocate there and he'll smuggle us out.
Speaker 1: You're sure it's safe.
Speaker 2: Well, it's the best option we have. Everyone, grab your things,
Speaker 2: we won't be returning here, Ziggy. I returned. Hello, Rebecca,
Speaker 2: come to the back, Siggy. This is my colleague Jeene
Speaker 2: and our friends.
Speaker 6: Pleased to meet you. Crazy day, no Soviet it's always
Speaker 6: liked to build falls and destroy bridges.
Speaker 1: Bad for business. Thank you for helping us, ah, but.
Speaker 3: We all help each other.
Speaker 6: I get sings in, I get sings out.
Speaker 3: I do not ask what.
Speaker 6: I only tell you. The cost, which they must tell you,
Speaker 6: has just sent up much likes of all that is
Speaker 6: being built.
Speaker 2: Of course, See, we don't have a lot of money
Speaker 2: on us, but I promise to keep you fully supplied
Speaker 2: with denim jeans and rock fine.
Speaker 4: Oh, I do love the Levi's.
Speaker 6: And they fetch a pretty penny with the coms.
Speaker 1: And like you said, prices just went up.
Speaker 6: True, true, okay, so as long as the delivery is big,
Speaker 6: you have a deal.
Speaker 1: But I've on you.
Speaker 6: All my usual routes have been closed. The only one
Speaker 6: left open is checkpoint Charlie.
Speaker 1: Can you get us through it?
Speaker 6: This this new high security. A normal smuggler would say
Speaker 6: it is madness. But Ziggy is best smuggler in the world,
Speaker 6: and Ziggy has an idea.
Speaker 1: Some might say crazy.
Speaker 3: I say genius.
Speaker 6: You see this family automobile right here, A traby that
Speaker 6: says Schweinschlager family volks band on the side.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 6: So last month I help a folk music band escape
Speaker 6: to the Vest. They saw a brighter future there for
Speaker 6: their music. But to escape they could only bring what
Speaker 6: they could carry, so they sold the rest to me
Speaker 6: at the fair price, of course, instruments, costumes, even their
Speaker 6: trusty tour of.
Speaker 7: The uncle here.
Speaker 2: Nothing trusty about it, Trovi.
Speaker 1: I'm leaning toward crazy here.
Speaker 3: No, it's genius.
Speaker 6: I tell you, sees this flyer here. A Volks music festival,
Speaker 6: the biggest in Germany, happened yesterday here in the east,
Speaker 6: in Margdeburg.
Speaker 2: I was going to.
Speaker 6: Sell my new acquisitions, but I had a little too
Speaker 6: much to drink the night before and overslept. Whoopsie, only
Speaker 6: my hangover is your benefit?
Speaker 1: Yep, definitely crazy.
Speaker 6: No, don't you see these bands from the Vest. There
Speaker 6: are many, and they all want to get home. I
Speaker 6: sell you instruments, costumes, everything, and you travel to the
Speaker 6: Vest as a family band.
Speaker 1: That's absurd, Rebecca, We're wasting time here.
Speaker 8: It is absurd.
Speaker 2: But they aren't looking for a family, and hiding in
Speaker 2: a crowd does make sense.
Speaker 4: I even have papers for you.
Speaker 3: Let me see those, these passports, as Heiser. But I
Speaker 3: can fix them. It won't take long, and I can.
Speaker 5: I think it's fallen through a party in the county jail.
Speaker 2: Like Elvis, It's actually not so crazy. We can all
Speaker 2: speak German enough to get by, and if the checkpoint
Speaker 2: is overwhelmed, I doubt they have time to ask us
Speaker 2: to audition. Frankly, it's the best option we have. And
Speaker 2: the clock is.
Speaker 1: Ticking all right, I guess if the later Hosen fits
Speaker 1: wear it. Though much of Germany can resemble the modern world,
Speaker 1: they have their own distinct tastes in music, food, and fashion,
Speaker 1: all of which they take great pride in. For example,
Speaker 1: in fashion, there is the male outfit of led Josen
Speaker 1: that may defy logic but remain the life of the party.
Speaker 1: Imagine leather shorts with suspenders, accompanied by a blouse, knee
Speaker 1: high frielly socks, and topped with a feathered hat. Combine
Speaker 1: this with plenty of beer, pretzels and broughtwurst at the
Speaker 1: local beer garden, and you'll have no choice but to
Speaker 1: sing along in chorus with the rest of the crowd
Speaker 1: as the ump pumppa ump pumppa of the Volks music
Speaker 1: starts to play.
Speaker 2: Whoa nice legs, Jean?
Speaker 1: Don't objectify me in my later hosan at least your
Speaker 1: derndal seems to fit.
Speaker 2: Unfortunately, I'm not quite as booksome as this wardrobe requires.
Speaker 2: I just stuff my bra to get all this cleavage.
Speaker 3: Oh wow, don't you both look fantastic. Hear the completed
Speaker 3: West German passports. I must say I'm proud of my
Speaker 3: own handiwork. Please note the German names and commits him
Speaker 3: to memory. Where's Mattias? He's working on Zika with Ziggy.
Speaker 3: Come this way, Oh go, I think I fixed it.
Speaker 3: Give it a try.
Speaker 6: It might not be roomy or reliable, but it will
Speaker 6: get you across the finish line. I assure you.
Speaker 2: Where will we put the instruments? They won't fit on
Speaker 2: our laps.
Speaker 1: Stuff them in the trunk.
Speaker 2: Whatever you say, I'll drive in case we get stopped
Speaker 2: the ab sheet Ziggy, thank you for the help. Good luck.
Speaker 6: I look forward to my airlift of Levice.
Speaker 8: You have my word.
Speaker 1: If you are renting a car on vacation, try to
Speaker 1: avoid the Trabant. One of the shittiest cars in automotive history,
Speaker 1: the Trabant was first produced in nineteen fifty seven by
Speaker 1: an East German car manufacturer. It features a duroplast body
Speaker 1: on a one piece steel chassis, front wheel drive, a
Speaker 1: transverse two stroke engine, and independent suspension. For those who
Speaker 1: don't speak car, none of these elements make for a
Speaker 1: very road worthy vehicle, hence its well earned reputation as
Speaker 1: a spark plug with a roof. The name was inspired
Speaker 1: by the Soviet Sputnik satellite, and the cars are often
Speaker 1: referred to as Traby. But all you really need to
Speaker 1: know is the build quality was poor, the reliability was terrible,
Speaker 1: and it was loud, slow, and poorly designed.
Speaker 2: Gene, watch out, Stasi police car up ahead?
Speaker 1: Shit, everyone, get down on the floor. What do I do?
Speaker 2: Just keep your hands on the wheel and look straight ahead.
Speaker 1: I know, I know, we're passing them.
Speaker 2: What's the police car driver doing?
Speaker 1: Shit? He's pulling out and following us. What should I do?
Speaker 2: Keep calm? We don't know if he's onto us yet.
Speaker 2: Don't want to tip him off.
Speaker 1: What if your friend, Zuki you got a better offer
Speaker 1: to sell us out?
Speaker 2: He wouldn't risk it.
Speaker 1: I don't know. His only loyalty seemed to be to cash.
Speaker 3: I'm sure as the Soviets have put a pretty big
Speaker 3: bounty on my.
Speaker 2: Head, then make sure you keep your head down.
Speaker 1: There's a stop light coming up ahead as he's still following. Yes,
Speaker 1: they're pulling up beside us. Keep very still.
Speaker 2: Okay, I'm going to ask you a few questions.
Speaker 9: Hum.
Speaker 2: If the answer is yes, stay silent. If no, do
Speaker 2: not look like you were talking to yourself. Is there
Speaker 2: just one police car? Is he looking at you?
Speaker 3: Hm?
Speaker 2: Does he have both hands on the wheel just one
Speaker 2: hand on the wheel?
Speaker 1: Hmm?
Speaker 2: Okay? What are you doing making sure we're prepared?
Speaker 3: Why did you get that gun?
Speaker 2: Sickie really loves his leviys gene. When you hear a gunshot,
Speaker 2: drive like hell.
Speaker 7: Hold on, everyone, okay, just drive, I'm done.
Speaker 2: What are you doing? I said, drive? I'm dating on
Speaker 2: a phone.
Speaker 7: I am is as fast as it goes.
Speaker 3: Hold on, are you going?
Speaker 1: You can't outrun them in this piece of crap, but
Speaker 1: maybe we can lose them. Damn it, they made the turn.
Speaker 1: It's one way down this alley because.
Speaker 2: I've only got one bullet left. Hold it steady. I
Speaker 2: shut their tire.
Speaker 3: Wow, that was like John Vayne.
Speaker 1: Nice work. But now what are covers more blow than
Speaker 1: their tire?
Speaker 2: We need a new place to hide in a new
Speaker 2: plan fast.
Speaker 10: I know a place by Zarriva, very close an old
Speaker 10: abandoned Soviet shipyard would be safe point the way.
Speaker 1: The river Spree might sound small, especially as it is
Speaker 1: often viewed in comparison to the enormous Rhine River of Germont,
Speaker 1: but the Spree is nothing to be sniffed. At approximately
Speaker 1: four hundred kilometers in length, it flows through the Saxony,
Speaker 1: Brandenburg and Berlin states of Germany before cutting into the
Speaker 1: Czech Republic. In Berlin, the Spree was where the original
Speaker 1: center of Berlin was built and now holds many of
Speaker 1: its greatest attractions, such as Museum Island, where one can
Speaker 1: find the Ergemann Museum and National Gallery. To capture the
Speaker 1: beauty and history of Berlin, I suggest a riverboat cruise
Speaker 1: along the Spree, where you can catch dozens of sites
Speaker 1: from a rather different perspective as the river winds between them.
Speaker 1: You can choose your time too for something really lovely
Speaker 1: go over the evening tour. During the summer months, the
Speaker 1: more energetic can rent a bicycle to follow the river,
Speaker 1: stopping off to visit attractions as they go, and the
Speaker 1: languid can simply relax in one of the many fine
Speaker 1: bars that can be found on the banks of the Spree.
Speaker 1: But more recently, the Sprie has also become a border
Speaker 1: between East and West, dividing the districts of Kreutzberg and
Speaker 1: West Berlin and Friedrichsheim in East Berlin, which run along
Speaker 1: the river's banks. East Berlin controls the entire width of
Speaker 1: the Spree at these points, with walls occupying the river's
Speaker 1: eastern bank. Armed patrol boats cruise the waters above, while
Speaker 1: below underwater, chain link fences, submersible mines and barricades create
Speaker 1: a water border with the West, preventing boaters, swimmers, and
Speaker 1: scuba divers from reaching freedom through the Spree.
Speaker 3: You know, Jane, you stare at a river like I
Speaker 3: used to as a boy. Back then, this time of year,
Speaker 3: the Spree would be filled with swimmers. Now it's illegal
Speaker 3: and you'd only get shot.
Speaker 1: Hopefully it's not that way forever.
Speaker 3: A riven never stays the Sames they say.
Speaker 1: Nope, can never step into the same river twice.
Speaker 3: I want to thank you, Jean for risking your life
Speaker 3: to save us. You are more like your father than
Speaker 3: justin looks. He would be very very proud.
Speaker 1: Honestly, I don't know what to think about my father
Speaker 1: right now. Humh For so long I thought he was dead.
Speaker 1: I grieved him and made my peace with it. But
Speaker 1: now not only do I learn he's alive, but that
Speaker 1: he's been helping the Soviets for years. If it's true,
Speaker 1: it betrays everything I believed for so long.
Speaker 3: I can tell you from experience, many men are forced
Speaker 3: to make opromises. Only they can know the whole truth.
Speaker 3: I suppose, but I know this, he is still the
Speaker 3: man that you think he is.
Speaker 1: How can you be sure?
Speaker 3: Because I know he tried to escape to the Vest.
Speaker 3: He had me make him a passport.
Speaker 1: What are you doing?
Speaker 3: I've kept it in the lining of my coat to
Speaker 3: give to you when we crossed. But there's no need
Speaker 3: to wait.
Speaker 1: Here. My God, it's really him. I haven't seen him
Speaker 1: in so many years.
Speaker 3: That photo is a few years old now, but I'm
Speaker 3: sure he hasn't changed.
Speaker 1: Happened to him?
Speaker 3: Za KGB took him in the night before I could
Speaker 3: give it to him, No Chavai. Maybe they had heard
Speaker 3: of his plans, Maybe they just needed him for theirs.
Speaker 3: When Martin told me you would be my escort across,
Speaker 3: I thought I'd give it to you. Hopefully you'll meet
Speaker 3: him again before I do. For me, most likely in
Speaker 3: the next life, but please keep it for him and,
Speaker 3: with luck, one day put it to use.
Speaker 1: Thank you. Hopefully one day we're all together toasting to
Speaker 1: Mattais's graduation. What is this in the passport? A postcard?
Speaker 3: It's the last message I received from your father.
Speaker 1: There's no message or address, only a quote from a
Speaker 1: certain point onward. There's no longer any turning back. That
Speaker 1: is the point that must be reached.
Speaker 3: I wasn't sure what it meant, but I recognized his
Speaker 3: pathfinder signature, so I knew it was your father. Thus
Speaker 3: I knew it must mean something.
Speaker 1: It's a Franz Coffka quote, Ka ka kafka. He must
Speaker 1: be in Prague.
Speaker 3: You two do think alike. You know I have more
Speaker 3: passports in my coat lining. I was saving them to
Speaker 3: use his leverage once we were in the West. But
Speaker 3: in case something happens to me while we are trying
Speaker 3: to escape, I want you to have them, Jeane. These
Speaker 3: men are extremely dangerous.
Speaker 1: Then Rebecca is the safest choice to hang on to them.
Speaker 1: Plus it earns you bonus points with the CIA.
Speaker 2: Rebecca, you boys have our plans se figured out yet.
Speaker 1: Still working on it. But in the meantime, I want.
Speaker 3: You to have zies.
Speaker 2: Three French passports for men. I doubt we can use them.
Speaker 3: No, they're for French radicals in a secret group called
Speaker 3: Vier talmejour. They think they're being funded and supported by
Speaker 3: the OAS, but it's really the KGB using them as
Speaker 3: assassins for their own communist agenda.
Speaker 2: Assassins in France. Do you know the target?
Speaker 3: President Charles Dago?
Speaker 1: Shit?
Speaker 2: Shit? How long do we have?
Speaker 3: I made the original passports three weeks.
Speaker 1: Ago, which means they're probably safely in Paris and prepping
Speaker 1: for the mission.
Speaker 2: It also means we have even more urgency to get
Speaker 2: across and get these photos into the proper hands. We
Speaker 2: need a plan and now the.
Speaker 1: Reality is after the shootout, the Stasse will be looking
Speaker 1: for us and the car. The border will be on
Speaker 1: even more high alert than it was. There's no slipping
Speaker 1: through anymore, no matter how good the forged passports are.
Speaker 2: You're right, we need a direct approach.
Speaker 1: You said, Checkpoint Charlie is the only exit point. Do
Speaker 1: you know how it's laid out?
Speaker 2: There is a gate and a guard station with multiple soldiers.
Speaker 1: What kind of gate?
Speaker 2: A raised arm?
Speaker 3: How tall?
Speaker 2: And I have no clue.
Speaker 3: Geane, what are you thinking.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking that if we can't get over or around
Speaker 1: the gate, maybe we can go through it, or rather
Speaker 1: under it.
Speaker 3: Hmm. The Trobby would never fit underneath the gate, not
Speaker 3: as it is.
Speaker 1: But what about without our roof and windshield?
Speaker 2: You're serious?
Speaker 1: We'd have to wait until late when there's no traffic,
Speaker 1: create a distraction, and hopefully zoom right under while the
Speaker 1: guards aren't looking. Of course they'll notice soon enough, but
Speaker 1: hopefully we'll be on western soil before they can do
Speaker 1: anything about it.
Speaker 3: It's crazy, but it just might work.
Speaker 2: It's not like we have any other options, but it
Speaker 2: is a risk.
Speaker 5: The tools in the ship I can alter the car,
Speaker 5: take off the roofs of ndshield.
Speaker 4: I'm good with mechanics.
Speaker 1: That's great, Matisas.
Speaker 4: I can even use.
Speaker 5: Some of the scrap metal in the shipyard to reinforce
Speaker 5: the trunk in case the soldiers shoot at us.
Speaker 3: Good thinking, my boy.
Speaker 2: Now we just need a good distraction.
Speaker 1: I've got an idea for that. See those pro pane tanks.
Speaker 1: They're mostly empty, but put them all together and light
Speaker 1: them up and they would make one hell of a distraction.
Speaker 3: I'll help you stack them.
Speaker 1: Great, let's get to work.
Speaker 2: You boys get started and I'll be back as soon
Speaker 2: as possible.
Speaker 1: Where are you going to.
Speaker 2: Do some recon at checkpoint? Charlie and check the height
Speaker 2: of the gate. Seems pretty important for.
Speaker 1: Your plan by yourself in that dress.
Speaker 2: Might as well put this darndal to good use. Mattias,
Speaker 2: pass me a piece of that charcoal?
Speaker 1: And what is that for?
Speaker 2: A lady never reveals her secrets. I'll be the saying.
Speaker 1: That's the last one. Should be enough to create an
Speaker 1: explosion that gets everyone's attention.
Speaker 3: And at this distance no other buildings will get damaged
Speaker 3: while people hurt.
Speaker 5: I've got over here too, Uncle, it's the cars ready.
Speaker 2: Looks like you boys have been busy. The car actually
Speaker 2: looks better without the roof and windshield.
Speaker 3: You're back.
Speaker 1: What did you learn about the checkpoint?
Speaker 2: I learned that a girl in a dirndl can get
Speaker 2: away with about anything in this place. See the black
Speaker 2: line on the back of my leg, that's the height
Speaker 2: of the bottom of the gate. I drew it on
Speaker 2: there while I was asking the guard directions to Alexander Platz.
Speaker 2: It was amazing to see how many guards wanted to
Speaker 2: help impressive as always, but don't be fooled. It is
Speaker 2: well guarded and heavily armed, and the shift changes at
Speaker 2: the top of the hour.
Speaker 1: That's in twenty minutes.
Speaker 2: No time like the present.
Speaker 3: Then, Rebecca, come stand over here please so we can measure.
Speaker 1: Please tell me you've shrunk, because otherwise the car is
Speaker 1: still too tall by a couple of inches.
Speaker 4: Shiser, this won't fit.
Speaker 2: What the hell are we going to do?
Speaker 1: I've got it. You didn't shrink, But we can shrink
Speaker 1: the car. What do you mean. Watch if we release
Speaker 1: some pressure in these tires, we can lower the height.
Speaker 1: It'll be close.
Speaker 4: I can do this fun for me too.
Speaker 1: That's enough. Still needs to be drivable, Rebecca, measure again,
Speaker 1: got it by a kneecap.
Speaker 3: We should just be able to make it under, hopefully.
Speaker 2: With our heads intact. Is the diversion ready to We.
Speaker 1: Stacked all the propane tanks and collected all the oily
Speaker 1: rags and flammable materials. It will make a beautiful bonfire
Speaker 1: with an explosion large enough to draw everyone's attention here
Speaker 1: to the shipyard and away from the gate.
Speaker 2: Then let's pack it in and light it up. I'll
Speaker 2: drive this time.
Speaker 1: Checkpoint Charlie is a crossing point in the Berlin Wall,
Speaker 1: located at the junction of friedrich Strasse, Ziemerstrasse and Mauerstrasse,
Speaker 1: which coincidentally means wall street. Checkpoint Charlie was originally designed
Speaker 1: as the single crossing point on foot or by car
Speaker 1: for all foreigners and members of the Allied forces between
Speaker 1: East and West Germany. The name Charlie comes from the
Speaker 1: letter C in the NATO phonetic alphabet. Other Allied checkpoints
Speaker 1: on the Autobahn from the west were Checkpoint Alpha at
Speaker 1: Hemstout and Checkpoint Bravo at Drei Linden, but the East
Speaker 1: Germans officially referred to it as the grandsuber Gangstelle or
Speaker 1: border crossing point. The single lane guard post is surrounded
Speaker 1: by sandbags, barbed wire and a wooden shed used as
Speaker 1: a guard house with a manual lifted arm gate to
Speaker 1: let cars through. The East Germans never built any permanent
Speaker 1: structures at the checkpoint, their reasoning being that they did
Speaker 1: not consider the inner Berlin sector boundary in international border
Speaker 1: and did not treat it as such. But with no
Speaker 1: minefields or no man's land on the other side of
Speaker 1: checkpoint Charlie, Freedom and the West is only a step away.
Speaker 2: Okay, everyone, stay on the floorboards, keep your heads down,
Speaker 2: and the blankets and cushions over you for protection. Yes,
Speaker 2: and almost time for the shift change. Why haven't the
Speaker 2: tanks exploded yet?
Speaker 1: Maybe there wasn't enough gas left in them after all.
Speaker 2: Damn it, they're changing shifts. It's now or never. What
Speaker 2: do we do?
Speaker 1: Just go for it?
Speaker 2: All right, stay low and hold on. Here goes nothing.
Speaker 1: For it?
Speaker 2: I am. It's got like three horsepower?
Speaker 7: How far are we?
Speaker 2: Three hundred yards to the checkpoint? I'm killing the likes
Speaker 2: so they don't see us two hundred yards? Shit, shit,
Speaker 2: I think they've spotted us one hundred. Yeah, our diversion
Speaker 2: is working. They don't see us.
Speaker 9: First saw horse up ahead, hold on, day ahead, Here
Speaker 9: goes nothing good.
Speaker 2: We're through. We made it, is everyone okay?
Speaker 1: Besides a haircut from that gate arm, I think we're
Speaker 1: all good.
Speaker 3: Why is they not shooting? Because they can't anymore? My boy,
Speaker 3: Via in's a vest.
Speaker 1: That's right, Mattias. You're free to.
Speaker 4: Save whatever I want?
Speaker 3: Is that case? I love alb I love America.
Speaker 1: Great sit down, now that we have that settled, Rebecca,
Speaker 1: can you please take me to the hotel. The stassy
Speaker 1: may not have killed me, but Vlosta certainly will.
Speaker 2: Yes, sir, one last trabby tour.
Speaker 1: Jean.
Speaker 2: Is that you?
Speaker 1: Hi, darling. I'm so sorry. You must have been worried,
Speaker 1: sick at.
Speaker 2: The phone to the embassy all day until Martin told
Speaker 2: me you were safe. He said the East Germans canceled
Speaker 2: your visas and he had to get new ones issued.
Speaker 1: It was one of the craziest twenty four hours of
Speaker 1: my life. But this is one instance where I am
Speaker 1: truly proud to be an American.
Speaker 4: Yes, what a waste with that wall. They sure won't
Speaker 4: be getting many.
Speaker 1: Tourists and that's for certain. Go back to sleep. I'll
Speaker 1: join you soon.
Speaker 2: Good night, my love.
Speaker 1: It's like cappuccino afforl though Doncazette.
Speaker 2: Woods in Morgan. Jean is one of those coffees for me.
Speaker 1: I'm bringing them up to Vlasta, so anything you have
Speaker 1: to say better be quick before these get cold.
Speaker 2: I just wanted to let you know that Jevago and
Speaker 2: Matteias made it safely to the US Embassy are in
Speaker 2: good hands.
Speaker 1: I'm very happy to hear that. Thank you. Did you
Speaker 1: also tell Martin about my father and Prague.
Speaker 2: I did, but he said that all of that is
Speaker 2: going to have to wait. First. He needs us to
Speaker 2: transport those passport photos of the French assassins from Jevago
Speaker 2: to Paris immediately, of course he does. The murder of
Speaker 2: Charles de Gaul would threaten peace in Algeria and the
Speaker 2: very existence of NATO itself, which is exactly what the Soviets.
Speaker 1: Want, and we certainly can't let that happen. So when
Speaker 1: do we leave?
Speaker 2: The plane departs at noon?
Speaker 1: Oh boy, then I guess I better tell Vlasta to
Speaker 1: drink this fast.
Speaker 2: I'll see you at the airport.
Speaker 1: Alfas in Berlin.
Speaker 2: Bonjour, Pelli.
Speaker 11: Fodor's Guide to Espionage is created by Lars Jacobson, written
Speaker 11: by Lars Jacobson and Sabrina Jaglain, and directed by Sabrina Jacklain,
Speaker 11: produced by Lars Jacobson and Sabrina Jaguline, and executive produced
Speaker 11: by Noel Brown or iHeart Radio. Fodor's Guide to Espionage
Speaker 11: stars Ethan Korn as Eugene Fodor, Leliah Symington as Vlasta Fodor,
Speaker 11: and Jackie Emerson as Rebecca Ralston, with additional performances by
Speaker 11: Chase Mullens, George Rivera, Matt Linton, Dylan McCollum, Gabe Greenspan,
Speaker 11: Chris Cappel, Duncan Kaladine, Dana Melanie, Alex Gombadi, Noam Thomaschoff,
Speaker 11: Katrina Aaron, and Simon Jagulin. Sound design and editing by
Speaker 11: Chris Childs. Original theme song by Jack Blavelt and Chris Childs,
Speaker 11: with additional scoring by Chris Childs. Sound engineering by Chris
Speaker 11: sec Fodor's Guide to Espionage is an iHeart Radio production.
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