Eastern Europe Adventure

by

June A. Malina

For 23 days I traveled alone in Eastern Europe via train September 26-October 18, 1994 -- two overnight trains and 14

other trains in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and passing through Hungary and

Yugoslavia. I know not one word of any language but English. Here's how it went...

Trains: Trains were on time, windows and toilets were dirty, trains were full of neat college kids in Slovakia

going back to school and then going home for the weekend. Sleeper from Sofia to Bucharest cost $15 (in

addition to Bulgarian rail pass cost) In overnight trains, car official takes your passport and keeps it with

him until you are ready to get off, then he returns it. Train views were fabulous especially in Slovakia

where the mountains provided the most exquisite background for the setting sun. Saw farmers doing final

harvesting -- backbreaking work done by hand.

Had two suitcases, both on wheels. Still not easy because in EE train stations don't have elevators,

escalators, or curb cuts. Example of a typical adventure in a train station: Walk up about 15 stairs to station. Try to

determine "arrivals" and "departures" in another language. Look for your destination (many times it's not

listed if it is an intermediary stop) figure out your track number, go down a flight of about 25 stairs,

pass through a tunnel to your track number, go up 25 stairs to your platform.

When the train comes try to determine which car you are in. Although ticket is marked with car number

many times the car itself is not numbered. Get on, hopefully the correct car, and find your seat number.

Overnight trains have an inside compartment lock, but you must get up for border crossings -- both with

border guards and customs folks -- and they don't come together. Count on two wakeups for each border

crossed.

Many times women would help me with my suitcases as much as men. Sometimes one person in the

compartment would speak English -- sometimes no one. Bring your own toilet paper to the w.c. (water closet or toilet) at the

end of the car.

In Slovakia I stopped in Banska Bystrica (3 days), Kosice (2 days), and Martin (3 days where I have

relatives) Slovakia is the most mountainous country I was in.

The tour in English in the War Museum in Kosice was worth the extra price. I learned a lot about Slovak

history -- Slovakia was conquered, traded, and betrayed throughout her history.

Hotels: Hotels seemed to go out of their way trying to woo Westerners. All had TVs, remote controls, and

telephones -- many had refrigerators with drinks (you had to pay for them when you left) Biggest surprise

with hotels was cost of faxes to U.S. $12-$15 each page. First night I was surprised with an extra bill for

$88 for faxes. That high price continued throughout EE. When I discussed it with the manager in Kosice,

she said their overseas phone rates are very high and the hotel just adds a small percent to the bill.

Food: Breakfast came with the hotel rooms and usually included sandwich fixins, leftover salad from dinner

the night before, (rarely, but sometimes, cereal -- but then with warm milk) sometimes scrambled eggs. In

Slovakia I followed a guidebook's recommendations on where to eat and found a lovely restaurant where

you sit down wherever there is room -- even if it is in a booth with another party! I was told that is

common. I had many interesting conversations with strangers that way.

Best food was from my relatives in Martin. As I went to Bulgaria and Romania I was more careful about

food and avoided sauces and anything that should be refrigerated. Usually asked for vegetable soup and

bread. Servers couldn’t conceive of anyone bypassing meat by choice and I sometimes had a hard time

convincing them I didn't want meat. They also served me the whitest bread they could find -- again I had

a hard time telling them I wanted serious bread. But when I got it -- such as brown bread with cooked

onions in it, it was wonderful.

Colors: The most popular color for things new and things renovated seems to be purple -- sometimes with

turquoise or pink -- but for sure purple. Storefronts, clothes, including men's clothing (saw a man with a

purple sport jacket), baby buggies. Purple seems to be the color of joy there.

Relatives: My relatives were very happy to see me. I had been there three years ago and I'm sure they thought

they would never see me again. I had written ahead and sent a sample of the family tree with

photos. Told them I wanted to take pictures of them for the family tree. They were all dressed up in their

finest, most joyful colors, had wonderful food for me and treated me like a treasured person. Two young

girls 10 and 11 years old gave me a welcome speech in English and sang "Old MacDonald had a farm." I

had hired an English teacher as a translator.

Houses: Houses ran the gamut from a single family home with a back yard, patio, bathroom with toilet in the same room as sink and bathtub...to a one-bedroom flat for a family of four. Many homes had clothes washing machines, but none had dryers, so the balcony was used in the summer to dry clothes on clotheslines and a clothes drying stand was placed in the bathtub in the winter. It must be removed to take a bath. In the villages some of the houses were bigger than those in the cites and seemed to have more room.

Frequently, if you could afford a house, you couldn't afford a car. All houses had TVs; the toilet is in a separate

room -- with the sink and bathtub being in a room together. Most kitchens have a large pantry where canned

goods (like canning -- not tin cans) were stored. The refrigerators frequently are small with tiny freezer inside the

refrigerator. The balcony is also used as overflow refrigerator. Most stoves are narrow with four burners crowded together. No homes had dishwashers.

Gypsies and other beggars: In Budapest, Hungary – where I had to change trains at midnight -- while waiting for train, a gypsy

woman came crying and dramatizing that her luggage was stolen and wanted me to go with her to try to

retrieve it -- and leave my luggage behind. I told her "I'm sorry I can't help you" and she ran away -- but

10 feet away walked at a normal pace.

When I arrived in Bucharest after an overnight train from Sofia, Bulgaria, a young man stood blocking my entrance to a legal change shop. He moved out of my way only when an older man told him to.

Girl, 10 years old in the Bucharest, Romania train station kissed the sleeve of my jacket. I waved her away -- didn't

want to encourage her by giving her anything and having her friends then come. She appeared on my train

before it pulled out. My suitcases were on the floor in front of my feet, so she laid down on the floor and

slid past my suitcases like a snake to the man sitting next to me and kissed his dirty shoes. He got up and

gave her some money and she went off.

A bearded man with no teeth came mumbling something to our train compartment in Bucharest, made the

sign of the cross, then put out his hand for a handout for asking for a blessing.

Neat things and surprises: Kosice has Internet Cafe where for $2.50/hr you can connect to the Internet

and have a cup of coffee. Friends in Romania met me at the train station with a rose. Saw the most

beautiful little opera house in Iasi, Romania and a splendid performance.

Iasi, Romania is a beautiful, cultured, university town with kind, enthusiastic people. Sofia, Bulgaria,

didn't tear down all the statues of sickles and hammers and Stalin and Lenin. They don't want their

children to think they are making up Communist domination.

Learned: EE folks separate Communists from Russians (sometimes we in U.S. have lumped them

together) Russians are people who have also been victimized by the Communists. McDonalds

(Styrofoam plates or not) is the university of business administration for EE. Many EE folks need

attitudes changed from "what can I get away with" and "how can I do less on the job" which was a

survival attitude under the Communists to "how can I do my job better" and "I'm so glad I have this job,

I'll just work as hard and well as I can to show my appreciation" which is the attitude they need to be

competitive with Western economies.

I could go on and on. The most frequently asked question of me was: Are you traveling alone? And the

answer was yes. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I never felt fearful for my safety. That doesn't mean I

wasn't singing God Bless America and kissing my American passport as I boarded the plane in Bucharest.

I am so lucky my grandparents were risk takers and chose to take a steamship ride 101 years ago.

I had two interesting seatmates on the return: From Bucharest to Amsterdam was a young man from

Romania in his late 20s going to Chicago to Hamburger University (McDonalds in Oak Brook IL). I

think highly of that company for taking a risk in EE and training these folks who have so many years of

Communist culture to overcome.

Second seatmate on 8 hour flight from Amsterdam to Dulles: Black man hiding under blanket. When he

finally emerged I learned he had "won the lottery". Not the plain vanilla money lottery, but the "best"

lottery -- the lottery to emigrate to the United States. He had been hiding under the blanket because he

traveled all night from Nigeria to Amsterdam and had been saying a final farewell to his parent and friends

as he prepared to never see them again. But his joy at having won the lottery to emigrate was

unmistakable. We are so lucky -- no, I am so lucky.

Thanks for reading this and letting me relive my wonderful adventure as I wrote it.