Forum game A–Z: In my childhood there were still ...

Mod. edit:
You can continue over in the new thread.
Have fun with it.


Dear craft friends,

My grandson (1st grade) recently had a homework assignment to interview his grandparents about their school days and childhood. During the lively conversation, we thought of a thousand things that existed back then and no longer do today. What child today still knows a bread bag worn around the neck, a cutlery pouch made of Igelit, colorful counting rods, or a slide rule? He listened wide-eyed and even thought one or two things were pretty cool. 

Maybe you’d also like to reminisce a little about your childhood and list here the things you still remember that are slowly being forgotten. Anyone who’d like to join in is welcome to write a few sentences about them. That will make it even more entertaining for all readers. 

I wish us all lots of fun with this nostalgic look back and rummaging through memories.

Warm regards from Ina 

A = Cars Without Seat Belts

Yes, you’d just get in and off you’d go. It wasn’t until 1980 that seat belts became mandatory for front-seat passengers in the GDR. Rear passengers were still unprotected, since there were no seat belts installed there at all. That didn’t come until later. 

B = Sherbet powder

I loved that as a kid. Those little packets with the sherbet powder inside. You could dissolve it in water and drink it like a fizzy drink, but the best part was dipping our damp fingers into the powder and then licking it off. It gave such a great tingling sensation on the tongue. Ah, those were the days.

Oh yes, effervescent powder—a great memory. Thanks, Andrea.

C = Centrum Department Store

—it doesn’t exist anymore. Back then, it was a shopper’s paradise. You’d stand in a long line of customers to buy, for example, the new Action deodorant or a record. 

C = Christstollen

...what an experience that was for us kids. The big baking started as early as mid-November, and from then on we sang Christmas songs like “So viel Heimlichkeit in der Weihnachtszeit.”

In the evenings, we were allowed to help snip off the almond skins. The baby bathtub was brought out for the stollen dough, the whole kitchen was full of ingredients, and Dad was up to his elbows in stollen dough. Mom shaped the pieces of dough. These were labeled with a little tag bearing the family name and placed on a large board, well covered.
The board was then usually put on a sled, because back then there was still snow, and the whole family helped make sure the stollen got safely to the baker. 

The baker then took over the baking. Of course, we kids were there too.

The finished stollen were then stored, well wrapped, and only buttered and sugared just before eating. The first slice was always on the first Sunday of Advent.

I’ve kept the tradition alive and still bake my own Christmas stollen today. Though in a home oven and with finer ingredients.

I’ll be starting again this weekend. I’m sure I’ll be humming “So viel Heimlichkeit in der Weihnachtszeit” and “Oh es riecht gut, oh es riecht fein” again, and when the scent drifts through the house, I’ll think back to my childhood.

 

D = Three TV channels

That was perfectly sufficient. 😉

Wonderful memories!

E = Ice flowers on the windows

Winters were colder back then, and some rooms weren’t heated. That’s why beautiful ice flowers would form on the windowpanes.

To look outside, you had to breathe on a spot in the middle several times and rub it clear. You’d then be rewarded with a view of the dark night—maybe with snowflakes falling softly. 

String game—two people would take turns winding different shapes around their fingers, and the other person would create a new pattern out of them.
It went back and forth like that.

Baked apples—their scent was a staple of this time of year.

Love, Inge

G = Rubber Band Jump
This was really popular when I was young. You’d take a regular piece of trouser elastic and sew the ends together securely. Then two people would put the elastic around their ankles or calves, and a third person would jump rhythmically with the elastic stretched taut.
I can’t really describe it properly, but it was sooo much fun. 

I = hedgehog made from toothpicks and chestnuts

Crafting at the kitchen table - I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my mother and my brothers, making hedgehogs and giraffes in the fall. 

J = Jesus sandals
Minimalist summer sandals with thin soles. Almost everyone wore them at school. They were trendy and affordable.
 

K = stealing cherries
from the neighbor’s garden, straight from the tree, into your mouth without washing them. And walking around with “earrings” made of twin cherries.

Absolutely wonderful—your memories. I also played Chinese jump rope with my sisters. All you needed was an elastic band, nothing else.

I can also remember cat’s cradle very well. All you needed was a long piece of string and the knowledge of how to take the string off from above. You really had to know how to do that.

And the Jesus sandals are famous too. They were quite uncomfortable because of the totally flat sole, but everyone wanted to wear a pair. That was just cool. Today, apparently, a small family business in Thuringia still makes these things and sells them all over the world. 

I have a memory with L:

L = lollipops you could whistle with
 

Dear Ina, Oh, what a great idea that was. I’m reveling in the past while baking Guzzle cookies. Simply wonderful.

Jesus sandals—and to go with them, my long dress, my hair braided into many plaits overnight. What a beautiful (and carefree) time that was for me back then.

I’ll continue with M = Mohrenkopfweckle

Tuesday was handball practice. Sometimes I was allowed to pick up a Mohrenkopfweckle from the bakery beforehand instead of having dinner. I’d slice open a roll and put the Mohrenkopf in the middle. It was such a joy to squeeze it all together and eat it.

Does anyone still know this today? My grandson looks at me with questioning eyes. 

Oh yes, the Mohrenkopf roll.... mmmmmmhhhh, delicious

N = Sewing machine
I remember so many households that had a sewing machine. Unlike today, there was a truly practical reason for it. People would alter, repair, and mend their clothes. After all, there wasn’t the kind of clothing you could just buy on a whim.

I don’t know the chocolate-covered marshmallow roll; we probably didn’t have that at all where we lived in the GDR. But sometimes (rarely) there were chocolate-covered marshmallow treats. Of course, they tasted wonderful all by themselves, too. 

I’ll continue with
O as in oven heating

Well, we still had to fetch coal from the cellar. Then a fire was lit in the stove with a few pieces of pine kindling we had chopped ourselves. Once it had caught well, you had to add more fuel. And when the coal or wood had completely burned through and only a bit of embers remained in the stove, it was closed up tightly. We children learned that, too.

The tiled stove held the heat nicely for a long time. And after a cold winter day, I liked sitting with my back against the stove to warm up. Sometimes an apple went into the oven compartment and became a baked apple. And we hung the wet woolen gloves on the stove doors. From the rubbing while playing and the heat of the metal stove door, the gloves felted. 
 

What a great memory game!! Thank you for this, dear Ina.

P = Perlon dress with a petticoat

—I had one in light blue with eyelet embroidery and a bow. The petticoat was made of foam and had lots of lace along the hem. I wore it with white knee-high socks and black patent leather shoes. In the summer of 1965, I barely fit into the dress.

Yes, I know that string game too; I can still do it today. Rubber band jumping/Gummihopse—oh, that was so much fun. We didn’t need much to be happy or to play.

I’ll continue now with P = Pioneers

There were the Young Pioneers (blue neckerchief), and from 4th grade on the Thälmann Pioneers (red neckerchief). We were so proud to wear the Pioneer uniform with the neckerchief, plus a blue cap. We also had a Pioneer ID card... it was still a lovely time.
It’s nice when you can reminisce. Everything was so carefree.

A little step back—the letter “L” reminds me of the “Leckmuschel,” which got terribly sticky if you kept sucking on it the next day.

We called the “Mohrenkopfbrötchen” “Elefantenfuss” where I’m from. 
 

Q for Mashed Potatoes

You can still find them today, but now they’re called “Stampfkartoffeln,” “Kartoffelstampf,” or “Kartoffelbrei.” But basically, they all taste just as delicious. My grandchildren love them very much. A tip for anyone doing DIY: Always mash the potatoes first, then add the milk and butter. Serve with sweet-and-sour eggs and mustard sauce :-)

Oh yes, the Leckmuschel. What a lovely memory!!

We often had scalded sausage with mashed potatoes toward the end of the month. I think it had to do with money.
There were no checking accounts back then, and you just had to make do with what you had. 

Sledding—a wonderful winter treat for us as kids—and what a happy day it was when the sled held up until we got home, because how often was there a tree in the way somewhere and we’d crash right into it :-)))
Ina, wood-burning stoves were a must for baking apples—either on top of the stove or down in the oven. It was such a treat when we came back from sledding—a cup of hot cocoa to go with it was heaven on earth for us kids.
That’s hardly possible today with the modern induction stoves found in almost every kitchen.

Love, Inge

S = walking on stilts

Back then, they were made of wood. The boys often used them for a kind of battle game. They’d shove and nudge each other until the last one was still standing and celebrated as the winner. 

Yes, the licking shells, I remember those, too. 

And coal in the basement — yes, we had a stove like that, too. If we hadn’t tidied up our room (three kids in one room), my mom would always threaten that anything still on the floor in an hour would be swept up and thrown into the stove. We’d clean up really fast, because after one experience, we knew she’d make good on her threat. 

Sledding — we still did it right in town. My friend lived on a steep little alley. After we’d let off steam there, none of us could walk anymore. It was as slippery as glass. Still, there were no accidents back then. Everyone knew that when it snowed a lot, you just had to walk carefully in good shoes. 

Sledding—there was nothing better in winter. We’d head out to a nearby forest with our wooden sleds, and the fun would begin. On the way back, we’d be cold and wet through and through—but happy! Moms today would have a heart attack :))))

S = Sunday Dress

Back in the day, when we got a new dress (jeans didn’t exist yet), it was always too big. At first, we’d only wear it on Sundays—to church or to visit our grandmas. Later, it became an everyday dress and was eventually passed down to my sister. From today’s perspective, we were so sustainable.

Oh, your posts give me goosebumps and a warm feeling in my stomach. Yes, that’s how it was back then.

I can still remember the sled rides very well, too. My three siblings and I would spend hours out on the sled. We built huge snowmen. The snow was always the most untouched around the church. That wasn’t far from our home. There, we rolled snowballs for the snowman and somehow hauled them back to our yard on the sled. We lost track of time doing that. It got dark, and at some point our neighbor had locked the front door. It started to snow, and we were stuck outside. We had to throw snowballs at the windows so they’d notice us outside and let us back in.

The “Sunday dress” also made me smile. Yes, at first, new clothes were always “for special occasions.” But that changed quickly, because those got worn, too. As the third daughter, I naturally had to wear my sisters’ hand-me-downs. No one rebelled against that—it was just the way things were.

Next up is

T for teakettle

Ours was made of aluminum and had a whistle. And when the water was hot, it would whistle—until you took it off the stove. A very distinctive sound that you’d still recognize today.

 

T = Wallpaper trim

—I only know that back in the GDR days, when my dad helped us hang wallpaper, they’d always nail these narrow strips of wallpaper trim to the wall as a top border. They came in all sorts of patterns and colors, as far as I can remember.

And I think my mom used the leftover ones as a support frame for my kite; she covered it with packing paper, painted the whole thing, added a “newspaper tail,” and it was done.

Ina was faster

nice idea 💡 for this chat

Changing channels on the TV and radio without a remote control. Back then you still had to get up from the sofa. 

UV Protection

I don’t remember using sunscreen as a child. 

Oh yes, such wonderful memories! Sledding, Sunday dress, string games, etc.

V = Lots of children
At home, there were six of us siblings. Whenever we went outside, there was always someone to play with, because all the other families had several children, too. We hardly ever made plans to meet up. And if there really was no one outside, we’d simply ring the neighbor’s doorbell. We often all played together, all ages together. “Who’s Afraid of the Black Man?”, “Fisherman, Fisherman, How Deep Is the Water?”, and so on. And: we were mostly outside, whatever the weather—no one wanted the whole gang indoors 😄.
 

Lots of kids! There were four of us—that was perfectly normal.
If no one was home, you’d ring the doorbell or just call out, “Are you coming down?”

Christmas. Every year at Christmas, my mother (an amateur seamstress) would sew a new dress for my doll. I don’t know when she did it. When I was at school, she was at work. She must have sewn late at night by dim light, once I was finally in bed. It’s only now—my mother passed away over 20 years ago—that I truly appreciate everything she did for us. I think Christmas back then would be worth a separate post.

The xylophone really fits here. Do they even still make those today? It really reminds me of Christmas back then.

My sister’s dolls and mine would disappear shortly before Christmas and then reappear under the Christmas tree, dressed in new outfits. We were so happy.
The train set was always set up for my two brothers, with something new each time. 
Thinking about that just brings a few tears to my eyes. The two of them passed away far too soon. 

A for ABC-Zeitung

It came out monthly and cost 30 pfennigs. 

Oops, I skipped the Z. So here’s the 

Z for matches

Lighters didn’t exist yet. 

Augsburger Puppenkisten (the ones with the marionettes)

ABC—at School

The first letters in my reading book were an I and an A. I’ll never forget that picture of a big donkey.
We worked our way through individual letters, then on to words… short sentences…
That was during my first year of school in 1960

B = Rolls from a real bakery

Every morning (except Sundays), people would wait patiently in line until the bakery opened at 7 a.m.

The freshly baked rolls (Schrippen) were carried from the bakery into the salesroom in large laundry baskets through a swing door. A wonderful aroma filled the air. And one roll was always eaten on the way there.

One roll cost 5 pfennigs, if I remember correctly... and a streusel roll cost 10. They actually had those at the bakery from my childhood, too. 
 

Decorating the Christmas tree with Dad was always such a great time for us 🌲🌲


Love, Inge

Exactly! We called them “Fortuna rolls”!

A “dacha”

used to be a weekend cottage or garden shed.
We didn’t have one back then, but we did have a small boat and a tent. My parents would often take us by boat to the campground when we were on vacation. Great times. Three weeks straight out in nature—fishing, playing hide-and-seek, campground parties, swimming, walking around the island, barbecue evenings...

Edible paper: There are people who build something out of it first and then eat it. I just stacked five pieces on top of each other and bit into them.

F = Woven Mats

I used to love making these during summer camp. The package is still mine. Now my grandchildren play with them. 

Gedetschde—that was two halves of a bread roll with a chocolate-coated marshmallow treat squeezed in between.

Making “Huzzelmännle”—those are little figures made from dried fruit—Grandma always used to make them with us.

Love, Inge

Interflug
That was the state-owned airline of the GDR

Yo-yo
Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite up to those acrobatic feats.

Dots and Boxes—this game was often played under the desk at school.

I can remember lots of short

lederhosen

with a piece of leather on the chest between the two straps (often decorated with an edelweiss).
As a child, I thought they were awful. Today I think: “How cute.” :D

I for Ikarus buses

Every citizen of the GDR knew the yellow or orange buses, whether in the standard or extended “Schlenki” version. Mechanical ticket machines were installed at the back and in the middle. You’d insert 20 pfennigs (dutifully) and pull the lever. A ticket would come out from the roll, which you’d then tear off. If you were short on cash, you’d put in less. You could also see trouser buttons or coins from other countries in the viewing window. 

Oh sorry, my computer froze and got stuck behind Inge's little gnomes. That's why we'll continue with M now, of course. 

Mostrich

I was just wondering why my grandma always said “Mostrich.”
g....e says: “Back in the day, unfermented grape juice—known as ‘Most’—was used instead of vinegar, and that’s what gave the mustard its name, ‘Mostrich.’”

That’s interesting. We always called it “Mostrich” too. That’s another term that’s slowly fading into oblivion because nobody uses it anymore. You won’t find “take 1 tbsp Mostrich” in any recipe or cookbook today.

Thanks for the reminder :-)

N = Needlework class

—as a kid, I wasn’t all that thrilled about it. But it laid an important foundation for my current hobby.

N = Shopping Bags

Everyone could see what you’d bought. I still have one. 

O = Grandma’s Cake
They weren’t always big, fancy cakes, but Grandma’s crumb cakes—sometimes with fruit—were a hit.
On special occasions, Grandma always made a Frankfurter Kranz. It was veeeery rich, though—but delicious.

Paper dolls—these had magnets to which the paper clothes could be attached.
The clothes had several paper strips that you could fold over.

Q for Quartet card games

These are card games where you always needed 4 cards from a set to be able to lay them out. We always brought these card games along on school field trips. We were always traveling by train, so we’d just play cards on the train. 

R = Roller Skates

Who still remembers them? Roller skates that you could strap on under your street shoes. A length-adjustable metal “sole,” leather straps in the front to lace up, a heel cup with a leather strap in the back, and four wheels. Compared to today’s very smooth-rolling inline skates, we really had to work hard back then just to get moving. It was still fun, though—after all, we didn’t know any different or have it any easier.

S = Going to school on Saturdays

How unfair—as children, we had classes 6 days a week and only one day off at the weekend. 

On Saturdays we only had 4 hours, but we still had to get up early. 

Good thing that was eventually scrapped. The teachers probably wanted more of a weekend, too. The 4 hours from Saturday were then spread out over the weekdays. 

T = Geha or Pelikan ink cartridges

We used to collect the little beads from them

What did you do with those little balls, Petra?

UTP classes (Technical Production classes). They were mandatory starting in 7th grade, with both theory and practice. We did work experience at companies and took technical drawing classes. But it was fun (except for having to get up early). I enjoyed technical drawing.
That was also the time of the slide rule—I loved it.

 

Ina, we didn’t do anything with the little marbles—why did we do that? I think it was a way to pass the time in class when we were bored.

V = folk songs

Around the campfire, at cabin evenings, or on hiking trips—everyone could still sing along because we’d learned the songs in school. 
 

Playing water polo at the outdoor pool was always great fun

Best regards, Inge

Folk songs:
- “To whom God wishes to show favor...”
- “No land is more beautiful at this time...”
- “The mill clatters by the rushing brook”

There were so many songs that we sang together back then in the youth group.
This thread here on the forum is bringing back a lot of things that had long been forgotten.

Thank you, Ina!!!!

That makes me happy, dear Petra. Especially during the dark season, when it gets quieter outside, we have the time and leisure to reminisce. Nothing distracts us; we take the time to look back and immerse ourselves in beautiful things. Memories are our treasures.

We’ll just skip X and Y. I simply can’t think of anything for them.

I’ll continue with

Z for Circus

When the colorful wooden circus wagons rolled into town, word got around very quickly. And then we were all at the show on Saturday afternoon. It was dark, exciting, colorful, smelled like animals, and there was cotton candy. 

A - Car-free Sunday

That’s when we could ride our bikes safely on the streets. 

Petra, we always rewrote the lyrics to the song *To whom God wishes to bestow true art* :-))) and would sing: *He sends him to the sausage factory, lets him bite into a Knackwurst, and wishes him bon appétit :-)))*. When I read that, the rewritten lyrics immediately came to mind—those are childhood memories, too. :-))
I had roller skates, too, but mine had boots like today’s inline skates. You always had to carry a pair of shoes with you (I usually hung my sneakers around my neck so they wouldn’t get in the way) when you didn’t want to skate anymore.

Love, Inge

I think there used to be roller skates — you strapped them onto your shoes — mine were made of metal and had red leather straps. They grew with me over the years. Later came the rollerblades, which were strapped-on shoes, just like Inge described. 

Car-Free Sunday — only the pastor was allowed to drive so he could get to church on time in the next town. 


B = Blue Jeans — that’s when the first blue jeans came to Germany. My first pair was a pair of Wranglers. I was so happy. Before that, I’d had to wear my brother’s worn-out pants for a really long time when I went outside to play. 

C = Cama, was a low-calorie margarine produced in the GDR. It came in those round plastic tubs with lids.

My grandma lived a healthy lifestyle and often spread it on her bread; I didn’t like it back then. I preferred the cream butter.

D = “Disco” with Ilja Richter on ZDF

was watched and loved by the whole family. We kids would sit in front of the TV already in our pajamas. We’d even dance along right away.

That was one of the few shows we were allowed to watch. Otherwise, bedtime was at 7:30 p.m.

Egg race—you’d balance an egg on a tablespoon and had to get it to the finish line as fast as possible.

Playing the flute—I was already taking flute lessons from my grandpa at the age of 5; he was a music teacher, and I couldn’t read yet, but I could already read sheet music :-))

LG nge

Oh yeah, flute was mandatory—I hated it, but eventually I was allowed to switch to the melodica.

Getting all muddy in the sandbox......

......was always so much fun in the summer. We’d end up with sand all the way down into our underwear. And when we got home, we had to take our clothes off right in the stairwell and then jump straight into the bathtub.

H for Hula Hoop

In my childhood, these weren’t available as toys to buy, but were gymnastics equipment in the school gym. They were made of wood or a wood-like material. In any case, there was always a lot of laughter whenever we had to use them. If you don’t practice, you just can’t get the hang of it.

@Andrea,
I’m glad you mentioned the Rahmbutter. That was my favorite, too. It cost 1.75 East German marks—it came in one of those square tins. The round Cama cost only 1 mark. Since we were always short on money, it usually had to be Cama in our household of six. I didn’t like the taste of that one either. But we didn’t have a choice. 
 

Veronika, I later switched to an accordion and even later to a keyboard; these days I hardly play anymore because my hands just don't really cooperate

Best wishes, Inge

I – as in “imnu” coffee

This is a roasted, instant malt coffee without caffeine. It was made from barley, rye, chicory, and roasted malt. We kids used to drink it all the time. You just brewed the powder with hot water. It didn’t taste too bad (as I recall). It came in a brown can with big red letters on it. 

Playing with a yo-yo—it was usually a disc hanging from a string with a slit in the middle where the string was attached. You’d wrap the string around the slit in the middle and then let the whole thing bounce up and down; it would keep winding itself up, so you’d have to let go again. You could play with it for hours if you were really good at it.

Best regards, Inge

K for Konsum :-)

These were small grocery stores. They carried just about everything and closed promptly at 6 p.m. When the church bells struck 6, the shopkeepers would lower the roller shutter at the door. In many ways, they were nothing like today’s supermarkets.

For every purchase at the Konsum, you received Konsum coupons. We kids would carefully sort and stick them into a Konsum booklet. At the end of the year, we’d turn it in and receive a small cash reward in return.

I had captured this memory for my mom in a homemade album for her 70th birthday. That’s why I can show it to you here:

Lollipops
are still around today, but I can still remember the colorful ones from my childhood very well.
They came in yellow and red, and afterward your tongue was always colorful. Funny. Especially those chocolate lollipops with cocoa inside. I like to suck on them, just like those pipe-shaped lollipops—elongated and red, as far as I remember.
There were some interesting candies back then, but we paid close attention to dental hygiene. We learned that as early as kindergarten.
 

M for Payphone

Once a given, now extremely rare. It’s hard to even imagine what it was like not to have your own phone. I still remember when I was pregnant and, as the pregnancy came to an end, it was nerve-wracking wondering whether I’d be able to call an ambulance from a public payphone at the crucial moment. Often, the handsets were even torn off. In the high-rise where I lived, only a handful of neighbors had their own phones. And if they weren’t home, things looked pretty grim. But we survived it all. Today, EVERYONE has a phone—and they always have it with them, not three blocks away.

Warm regards, Ina

M for buying milk
...one of us four kids was always sent out on Saturday with a 1-liter plastic bucket with a handle to buy milk. Back then, milk was only sold “in bulk” and was pumped out. There were no Tetra Paks yet. But for 5 pfennigs, you could get 3 fizzy sticks or a little red cherry lollipop.

Night hikes while camping—our dad always took us and the whole family on them, even after the grandkids were along for the ride. Once we had to laugh so hard at my “sandwich daughter”—she kept getting closer and closer to me, and I asked what was wrong, if she was scared. She said, “No, Mom, not that, but the night is staring at me so weirdly from that bush :-)))))”—I really had to bite my tongue to keep from bursting out laughing. The girl was about 6 or 7 years old at the time.

Love, Inge

Oh, how lovely—as I was reading, I found myself mentally joining you on the way to get milk. Yes, those were the days—back when food was still real, too.
And Inge’s nighttime walk just took me into the dark forest for a brief moment. All such lovely memories.

O as in oranges only at Christmas time

In the GDR, we really only got real ones at Christmas—and only if you happened to get them. Everyone got one orange on their colorful plate. The whole room smelled of them.

In the run-up to Christmas, you could sometimes buy oranges, but they came from Cuba and were mostly green, stringy, and full of seeds—no comparison to today’s sweet navel oranges. When you think about the abundance and variety we have today, it’s hard to even imagine what it was like back then. 
 

P for Polio Vaccination

When I was a kid, there was still a big vaccination drive once a month at the community center. The health department would come, and they’d give you a sugar cube with the vaccine. And then they’d make a small cut in your upper arm with a little knife—I think that was for smallpox? These days, little ones get the 6-in-1 vaccine very early on to protect against diseases we hadn’t even thought of back then. 

Q - Quark

Fridays were bath day at our house. One by one—or sometimes all three of us at once—we’d get into the bathtub. Afterward, it was time for dinner. For us kids, sweet quark—sweetened with bananas and jam; for our dad, quark with chives and onions.

  And that happened three times a month; on the fourth Friday, we had canned fish with tomato sauce or fried herring with fried potatoes. 

 

R for Tube Radios

When I was a kid, we had a big radio with a wooden cabinet in our living room. When you pressed the big “ON” button, the “magic eye” would light up first, and then the station dial—with places all over the world—would be backlit in green. Once the tubes inside the radio were warm enough, the sound would slowly come on. To tune in to a station, you had to turn a palm-sized knob and try to get the station in with as little static as possible.

We always wanted to listen to Radio Luxembourg—they played good music—but it usually had a lot of static. We could also pick up stations broadcasting in foreign languages—of course, we didn’t understand a word of what was being said. 

S = Stasi (abbreviation for the Ministry for State Security...)

Many people may associate this with bad experiences; I personally don’t, but that’s just how it was back then. Everything had its place.

S for Skiing

In 1968, I got my first pair of skis for Christmas. Back then, skis still had straps, and every time you fell, the skis would fly all over the place. Of course, there were no ski helmets back then either—but they weren’t necessary, because the slopes weren’t yet full of overconfident and sometimes intoxicated hooligans; after all, ski bars didn’t exist back then either. 

T = Cakes from the Bakery

You’ve already read above about the bakery from my childhood, where they had fresh rolls every morning. This bakery also baked cakes to order and to your specifications. If you had an occasion that called for a special cake, you’d bring a large, sturdy cardboard cake box to the bakery. Inside the box were the ingredients for the cake—for example, a jar of morello cherries, a stick of butter, dark chocolate, and so on.

The baker would then use these to bake a truly professional, perfect-looking, and wonderfully delicious cake. You’d pick it up in its box on the agreed-upon day and place it on the coffee table. The box was, of course, saved for the next cake. From being used repeatedly, it already had a few grease stains from various cakes.

Lessons using an overhead projector. And the matching transparencies.



 

Playing hide-and-seek in the summer was especially fun when it was already getting a little dusky.😁🌘

W for Water Heater

This was basically a device in the bathroom or kitchen that you had to heat up so the water inside would get hot. There was no hot water from the tap. 

Playing the xylophone—we kids just called it “Klimbim” because that’s what it sounded like. I’d gotten one from my grandfather and learned to play it, because during the Christmas season we always played festive music at home on the Advent weekends. Grandpa was a music teacher, and we started practicing Christmas carols as early as August so they’d sound just right. So in our family ensemble, we had the flute (Grandpa), the tenor flute (Uncle and Aunt), the alto flute (Mom), the soprano flute (my brother), and my sister and I on the xylophone—and woe betide me if I ever hit a wrong note; oh boy, all hell would break loose, because Grandpa wouldn’t tolerate that; he was very strict with all of us. And yet, I still miss those house concerts today, because they were always wonderful—the whole family making music and singing together.

Love, Inge
 

Y for Y-axis

I still remember that from my high school math classes. We constantly had to draw graphs with all kinds of curves, whose intersection points we had to calculate beforehand. One was the Y-axis, the other the X-axis. If you didn’t label them, you’d lose a point on your math test.

But why did we learn that? Has anyone ever needed it in their life? It’s all way too theoretical.

Ina, my sister was training to be a preschool teacher and had to learn algebra in her math class. At first, she didn’t really get it, so she asked the math teacher how you’re supposed to change a baby’s diaper using algebra :-))) It caused quite a stir back then—so much so that our mom was called to the school because of her *cheeky* daughter :-)

Love, Inge

Oh dear, Inge, back then, dissent—especially from girls or young women—was simply not welcome. That spirit of dissent had to be nipped in the bud so the whole class wouldn’t become so rebellious. It was important to maintain one’s authority as a teacher. 

 

Ina, that’s not quite true, because in 6th grade (1963–64) I had a teacher who literally challenged us to speak up. He always said it builds self-confidence and prepares us for life. And that class still meets regularly for reunions—now every two years, since we’re all over 70.

Best regards, Inge

Oh, he was really ahead of his time—how wonderful. Back then, at our elementary school, I was in the first cohort to be taught without the cane; my brother still experienced it. And I started school in 1965.

My parents also used to tell stories about lessons with the cane. And about teachers pulling you up from your desk by your ears if you hadn’t been paying attention. Good thing we got rid of that! 

Z for cotton candy at the fair

... a sticky business

Apple rings that were dried on the clothesline.
That’s how my mother used to do it.

B = bread bag
the good old bread bag, I miss it. I loved it; mine was light brown, with a long shoulder strap, and inside it had a kind of plastic insert. The clasp was made of metal,  you turned it so it would fit into the slot to close it. I still remember that so clearly, and it smelled so wonderfully of leather. I will never forget that smell. Later on, there was a matching school satchel with reflector clasps.

Oh, and Andrea, you describe that so beautifully. I can still smell that aroma.

C for Currywurst at Konnopke

We used to drive to Berlin-Weißensee regularly. There was a Konnopke currywurst stand on Clement-Gottwald-Allee. No matter the weather, there was always a long line of people waiting. The currywurst with their house-made sauce—based on a secret recipe—was absolutely delicious. And since we’d waited in line for so long, we treated ourselves to more than one. If you’re going to do it, go all out.

After reunification, Konnopke did continue to exist. There’s still a currywurst stand on Schönhauser Allee, but the currywurst doesn’t taste the same as it used to—at least that’s what my taste buds tell me. These days, you’re more likely to find tourists there, who can’t really compare it to the old days.

You can continue writing over in the new thread.
Have fun with it.