First encounter with border officials

Helmut Haselberger grew up in the immediate vicinity of the Iron Curtain. With his friends, he would make many trips to the forests immediately surrounding the border crossing Finsterau/Bučina. One day he accompanied his uncle, who went fishing, to a local creek at the German-Czechoslovak border. Crossing this border creek was considered to be illegal. Suddenly, Czechoslovak border guards appeared out of nowhere which frightened Helmut. Thankfully, they started conversing with his uncle and they amicably exchanged some cigarettes with him.