The little town of Bayerisch Eisenstein, on the Bavarian-Czech boundary, along with its Czech neighbor, Zelezna Ruda, has praised the finish of line controls along the previous iron blind. 60 years after the iron shade partitioned Europe and 18 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. At last, crossing the line among East and West is about as simple as going across the street.
On twentieth December, the festivals were nearby and quieted. In the late night, the 2 civic chairmen went to the rail line station, the one in Europe which has a public line going through it – a boundary which comprised for quite a long time of security fencing. The genuine closure of line controls, at 12 PM on twentieth December 2007, was set apart with the expulsion of the Wellnessurlaub line signs and a shaking of hands with the line monitors as they went off the clock once and for all The couple of local people, including English guests remaining at Haus Sterr occasion lofts, gone to the occasion, which we as a whole felt special to be essential.
The razzamatazz went ahead 21st December 2007. Moving toward the station, the forecourt was brimming with individuals unobtrusively pausing, many holding blue inflatables The Bayerisch Eisenstein town band was playing at the passageway. The previous Czech boundary gatekeepers’ cabin was currently apportioning Gluehwein and barbecued frankfurters. At 14.00, the VIPs showed up: the inside pastors of Czech Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Free State of Bavaria, with different lawmakers, all invited by the city hall leaders of Bayerisch Eisenstein and Zelezna Ruda. The Czech Interior Minister discussed having been important for the showings which brought about the finish of Communism 18 years prior. All the government officials alluded to the tourist spots of the most recent 18 years – the first opening of the line and cutting of the ‘iron shade’ fence, the day when Czech Republic joined the EU and now, the last advance, Czech Republic joining the Schengen territory and the evacuation of line controls.
The Bavarian Interior Minister gave the Czech Interior Minister one of the Bavarian line signs, showing the Bavarian ensign. The Czech Interior Minister gave the Bavarian Interior Minister the final machine for placing stamps in travel papers. An elementary school youngster from every nation sang their country’s public hymn. The Bavarian public song of devotion was played and afterward the European hymn.
At last, the Interior Ministers squeezed the catch which turned every one of the 3 lights on the extraordinarily introduced traffic signals to green.
As individuals moved away, little cards celebrating the occasion were offered out to everyone. The Czech Interior Minister’s translator had the stepping machine which had been given to him and was stepping the card of any individual who asked her to.
In this excellent and serene territory, where the Bavarian and Bohemian Forests meet at the line, it is difficult to recollect the unpleasant history. The families isolated. Individuals drove away from their homes toward the finish of the war that could not peak return. Individuals slaughtered attempting to leave. The wire fences, the boundary watches, the solid hindrances.