I didn’t sleep very well on my final night in Vienna, and on the 4th September was up early to get the train. After saying a quick goodbye to Sue, I thought I had plenty …
Continue reading150. The White Cliffs of Dover…
Category: Europe
149. Vienna
On 2nd September I said “thanks” and “farewell” to Mirek, as he left to go to work . Later Marta gave me a ride to the bus station. From there I travelled in a rather …
Continue reading148. South through Bohemia
(time stamp 1/Sept) On 29th August, Heidi and I were up by 8, and packed and heading to the station by mid morning. We said farewell at the station as we went to find our …
Continue reading147. Prague
In the end I hardly slept at all on the train to Prague, mostly due to chatting excessively to my fellow traveller Heidi, sitting opposite. Though American, she is spending a year living in Prague …
Continue reading146. Auschwitz
On 25th August I was up early, to get the train to Auschwitz. I was already well aware that a train to Auschwitz was the last journey for countless hundreds of thousands of innocent people. …
Continue reading145. To Kraków
A good night’s sleep followed Slawek’s spaghetti bolognaise and a few beers. On 23rd August I went to have a look at the site of Slawek’s new business – he is a car dealer specialising …
Continue reading144. To Poland
On the morning of 21st August, I lay awake in my top bunk, as the train rattled across the western extremities of the USSR (formerly Belarus) towards the border with Poland. Try as I might, …
Continue reading143. Troops, Tanks and TV Cameras…
I wandered away from the huge crowd that was still cheering Boris Yeltsin, and went over to the other side of the Russian Parliament building. For all the brave words from the balcony, the precarious …
Continue reading142. The World Holds its Breath
Waking up on 20th August, I at first had to think where I was. It seemed odd that the bed wasn’t shaking – then I remembered that I was no longer on the train, but …
Continue reading141. Coup d’État!
I awoke slowly on 19th August 1991. I was in no hurry to get out of bed, since the train was not due to reach Moscow until mid afternoon. To delay the inevitable, I reached …
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