Europeans looked at sex differently than Americans in those days. I had hopes that our Sexual Revolution would bring us more in line with the European way of thinking on the subject, but it didn't turn out that way. We did overthrow the old order, but we replaced it with something different than the Europeans had. I don't think the Europeans ever had a sexual revolution. They didn't need to because, as far as I know, they were always that way. And now, back to our story which, by the way, is true.
It was a drim and drizmal night in Berlin, which matched my mood because I had just been dumped by a civilian girl after a brief but intense relationship. I was walking dejectedly down the Kurfurstendam, planning to catch the next bus if the rain got much worse. I soon found myself in front of the Red Chinese Embassy, an impressive Gothic looking structure that had stood vacant for some time because nobody was talking to the Red Chinese in those days. At some point I began to notice a bunch of flamboyantly dressed ladies parading up and down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. They looked like hookers, but not real hookers, more like the kind you would see in the movies. I knew they weren't real hookers because the girls on Augsburger Strasse didn't dress that way and, besides, this wasn't Augsburger Strasse. I concluded, therefore, that I had stumbled into a movie set, and I sat down on the curbing that was part of the embassy fence to watch the show.
I hadn't sat there long before one of the girls crossed the street and approached me, which no Augsburger girl would ever do. I thought she was going to ask me to get out of the shot, but she asked me instead if I was looking for someone. I told her that I was trying to figure out what was going on over there, since it couldn't possibly be what it looked like. She assured me that it was exactly what it looked like, I didn't know whether or not she was telling the truth and, of course, there was only one way to find out. While we were discussing the matter, another girl came over and said something in German to the first girl, who translated it as "It is possible to have two girls." I had wanted to test that possibility for some time, but I only had enough money for one girl that night, so it would have to do. I vowed to come back some day with more money, and the lady said it wouldn't be a problem because they were there every Saturday night.
I had always respected the Augsburger girls for their professionalism, but this one was a cut above. It was all strictly business, as it should be, but she seemed to really enjoy her work and to want me to enjoy it too. She even gave me some auxiliary service at no extra charge, which no Augsburger girl would ever do. When we were done, she looked out the window and said, "It's still raining and I have made enough money for tonight. Do you want to stay here and talk for awhile?" We talked for an hour or more, she about her work and I about my work, both of us being careful not to reveal any classified information. I found her both witty and charming, and I had to resist the impulse to ask her what a nice girl like her was doing in this line of work, which anybody familiar with such matters will tell you is about the lamest thing you can say to a girl in that line work. I did ask her to go on a regular date with me, no strings attached, because I wanted to spend more time with her. She politely declined, explaining that she already had a boyfriend and didn't see how she could make room for another one in her busy life. She told me again that she and her colleagues were there every Saturday night, and I told her again that I would be back.
It was a few weeks before I could get downtown on a Saturday night and, when I did, I brought a friend with me, the guy who had originally taught me how to approach the Augsburger girls. (There is a simple protocol and, if you don't follow it, they won't even talk to you.) Well the girls weren't there, and I told my buddy that I wouldn't blame him if he accused me of making the whole thing up. He said that he didn't doubt my word for a minute, and advanced the theory that the girls I met that night were probably from out of town and only worked that street for one night in violation of the local codes. It wasn't a bad theory, except that it didn't explain why the lady had told me twice that she and her colleagues were there every Saturday night.
I checked the site on a few more Saturday nights before my enlistment expired and I was sent home, but I never did see any of those girls again, and I never did find out if it was possible to have two girls. I didn't patronize any professional ladies after I got back to the States because, from what I heard of them, it just wouldn't have been the same.
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