For decades the outside world knew nothing about life in East Germany. After all, the country was the first sheet of the infamous iron curtain.
But life has changed since the breakdown of the Berlin Wall. Gone were the steel-heeled boots of soldiers march in the hills, the grey-green garbed Volkspolizei listening in to every conversation.
Now, tourists can experience one slice of that bygone life as they enter through the doors of the Bunkermuseum Frauenwald, which offers tourists a 16-hour 'reality experience stay'. It is not just a museum -- the massive bunker complex of the former Ministry for State Security, built in the 1970's -- but a one-of-a-kind experience.
Rediff.com gives you a tour of the unique museum:
An original bunker lookout block stands illuminated at night over the underground Bunkermuseum Frauenwald near Suhl in Germany. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Fifteen-year-old visitor Jesset Kogel puts on an East German NVA army uniforms with friend Andreas Busch as they arrive for the 16-hour-long stay at the museum. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Visitors dressed as East German NVA army soldiers and overseen by museum workers dressed as their commanding officers get ready to prepare dinner at the bunker entrance. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Museum worker Marko Henke, dressed as an East German NVA army officer, looks on as visitors Andreas Zahn and Jesset Kogel, also dressed as NVA soldiers, chop vegetables for a potato salad during an overnight stay. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
A visitor dressed as an East German NVA army soldier looks at memorabilia of the former communist East Germany, including the East German flag and portraits of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Erich Honecker. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Museum employee and 'Sergeant' Olaf Schumann explains the functions of a gas mask system to visitors dressed as East German NVA army soldiers. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Visitors dressed as NVA soldiers take part in a drill to put on gas masks during an overnight stay at the bunker. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images
