DDR Hotel

Last week had been my first at work and I had been staying at Halle's TOP Hotel. The place where all the visiting DDR leaders and any visiting East Bloc heads of state would have stayed. Run by the state organisation Interhotels and even included an "Intershop" where the privileged could buy certain western goods.

A miserable place. A 1960s concrete block set right along the main busy ring road, atop the largest roundabout in the DDR with fumes belching out from the Trabis and lorries. On the other side of the road, the main railway station. Halle was any way the capital of the chemical production area which never let you forget where you were, every time you took a breath.

The dining room was large enough to fit the entire Chinese parliament and generally had 2 guests dining. one was me. The choice of restaurants in Halle was incredibly limited, I don't think a handful and then they were always packed. I guess Halle may have been the 4th or so biggest city in the DDR after Berlin, Leipzig & Dresden. The restaurant specialised in Russian dishes and had the name "Ufa"

The 382 bedrooms were like something out of the 1950s and certainly, the horsehair mattresses hadn't been changed since 1962. At 200DM (€100) per night, not exactly good value either. I hated the place and within a few days was able to find a "container hotel" right next to what was to become my office.

This week only the two nights in Halle as I had to drive to Dortmund on the Wednesday for two days of meetings and some fresh air.