2009 is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. And to visit that city today, you’d never know that it was once a travel “no-no.” Well here’s some information on hot spots that used to be travel “not spots.”

If you want to explore the old Berlin behind the Iron Curtain, take a Trabi safari tour in the tiny East German cars known as the Trabant.

And believe me these were terrible cars – but it’s a lot of fun.

These hour-long tours take you well off the beaten path through the eastern part of the city along the wall’s remains and down Karl Marx alley.

What about China?

Watching the Olympics last year it seems hard to believe that the country was almost completely off limits until the 1970s.

And then there’s the other countries that you thought you couldn’t get to.

How about northern Iraq? Yep – you can fly there.

Iran? There are tours.

There’s even a tour to North Korea.

Those are all real options nowadays.

And what’s next? You guessed it – Cuba. It could happen any minute, so stay tuned.

For more tough travel experiences, check out Tough Travel: An Excerpt from the Travel Detective Bible.

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