The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-09-14
GET ABOARD THE
new RUBBER NECK
SIGHTSEEING BUS

Berlin, Sept. 14-"Rubber-n
wagon" has become a standard Ger
man word and sightseeing tours about
Berlin are. supplied with all Ameri-
can trimmings.
This is the German White House,
the home of President Ebert" the
conductors announce as they pass
along Wilhelm Street.
When the touring cars cross the
bridge over theSSpree, in sight of the
lock which regulates the height of
water in the highly-canalized stream.
the conductors shout: IT'S just like
the locks on the Panama Cana, but
not quite big"
Inter den Linden is now buster
than the avenues of Coney Island on
a. bright day, and half the pedestr
ians are speaking English. The tour
ing cars all start from Unter den
Linden. Every two hours "a flotilla
of autobuses moves out of the famous
boulevard loaded with tourists bent
on getting a bird s-eye-Wew OF the
German capital
All guides speak both German and
English. At least that is what the
placards on the autobuses say. But
the tax on the voices of the guides
has been SO great during the sum-
1ner rush that many of them are too
Ioarse to be understood in any Ian
guage.
Great Change Wrought.
Inter den Linden is no longer the
quiet, dignified thoroughfare it was
! L imperial days. If the former Kais-
er were to quit cutting trees at Doom
ong enough to visit his favorite thor
oughfare, he would scarcely recognize
it.
| Miscellaneous traffic now moves
& ong the boulevard and cars and cabs
| re parked everywhere. Cafes nave
xtended their crowds far out on the
| idewalks. Vendors of postcards are
en- all sides, and more ivory and am
Der ornaments are displayed than
can be seen on the boardwalk at AT
| 1lntic City.
| Blind soldiers led by police dogs
and crippled soldiers in invalid chairs
offer matches for sale from Brande-
burg Gate to the Royal Castle on the
and book pedd1ers have found places
along the boulevard. >Cabarets when
advertise ballets notable chiefly Tor
their warm weather costumes ana
into Inter den Linden. 1t is the home
| Of the tourist, and all the Vlsllors
| who want to get their moneys worth
lRre centering there.
! English is spoken on Inter den
Linden about as generally this sum
I11er as it was on the Champs Ely
es when the United States army was
! f ill in France. But the majority OF
ourists are women, and many OF them
Eoeak English with a decided German
accent German-AmericanS are liock-
Ing here in great numbers to show
the fatherland to their children ana
grand children, and it is amusing to
| lear the comments of the old folks
who haven't been in Germany since
hey were children.
No More Speculation.
The standard topic of conversation
among tourists is the falling mark
-Iany of them are spending marks
~yhich they bought in the United
tates when the idea was still preva-
| lent in the world that the mark was
good investment.
II paid eight cents apiece for my
marks and now I could buy them Tor
One-eighth of cent apiece" one old
Woman remarked sadly to a group OF
younger women 81 want to tell you
am off speculation in European ex-
change for all time.
| Nearly all the criticism one hears OF
Germany and the Germans is from
tourists with a German accent. 20
ice regulations and passport require
11ents do not seem half as CALLING &c
ne native born American tourists as
they are to those of German orlglh
At least they do not talk as mucn
about their troubles