Fringe Europe: 2003
Everybody does Paris, Amsterdam, and the Cinque Terre these days. But what about fringe Europe: Norway's Spitzbergen, Portugal's Azores, the Ukraine, Albania? If you're gone to the edge - and lived - here's your chance to talk about it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Wittenburg, Germany
Wittenburg, Germany is not exactly "fringe" Europe, but it is "fringe"
Germany. In the heart of old East Germany, Wittenberg is just sitting
in expectation of the possibility of tourists invading its town. You may
recogize the name as the town where Martin Luther did much of his work,
so there is plenty of European history at your fingertips. Seeing the
size of Martin Luther's house is incredible.
This small city is perfect for a ETBD traveler. it is small (about 20,000 people) and vibrantly cultural. The inner and oldest part of the town is still preserved with the castle church and town church spires visible from miles away. Many of the people in town used to work in the nearby auto plant that was funded by the communist government in "times of GDR" (as the locals will often remind any tourist).
Wittenberg is waking up after
years of communism and now rebuilding. It is a perfect stop for any ETBD
type of traveler.
Jarrod
Saint Paul, MN USA Tue 12/09/2003
Iceland 2003
In June, my sister, my husband, myself and our 2 boys went on a trip of
a lifetime to Iceland. We had spent 2 weeks in SW England before flying
from Stansted airport to Keflavik for one week of car touring and hostelling
in SW Iceland.
Before we left I had spent weeks reading "Daily News from Iceland", a free e-mail subscription, and it gave me some advance warning on weather, travel conditions, culture, and what is newsworthy in Iceland. This is how I discovered the brand new airline called Iceland Express Air, which flies from London much more cheaply than anything IcelandAir offers.
We arrived at Keflavik late on a Tuesday night and boarded the flybus into Reykjavik. It was past 11 p.m. and bright enough for the golfers on the course amid the lava fields. We reached the Reykjavik hostel close to midnight. Iceland has many youth hostels and a terrific website with photos of each. Because we wanted to share a single room I had booked a "family room" in each hostel before we left N. America. Reykjavik's hostel is new, clean, modern Scandinavian design. The hostels in small towns are generally converted homes and can look alarmingly dilapidated from the outside, but are usually nice inside.
We used the bus to explore Reykjavik, then had a rental car delivered to the hostel so we could venture further. We drove north along the western coast to Snaefellsnes and stayed in 2 small towns and explored. Then we drove back south, staying at Hveragerdi, where we saw our first geyser at the local golf course in the "steaming valley". Our final stop was Vik, the southernmost town in Iceland.
The best way for us to meet people turned out to be in swimming pools! Every town has a swimming pool with a hot tub and we usually found ourselves striking up conversations in these "hot pots". Most people speak excellent English, and those who do not generally understand quite a bit.
It was a little intimidating trying to order meals. Menus were almost always in Icelandic, but we quickly learned the words for a few staples. And it's fine to be surprised occasionally when your food arrives and it's nothing like what you expected. We cooked our own suppers and breakfasts in order to save money, because Iceland is not cheap. How could it be when so much food has to be imported?
Highlights from our trip included Skogar folk museum, Gullfoss, Thingvellir, Fjorahusid cafe, waterfalls, the Blue Lagoon, lava fields, craters, puffins, sheep behaving very un-sheeply, black beaches, waffles and coffee every afternoon,and the wide open, clean, green, spectacular landscape. It helped, too, that we were there during a "heat wave" so we didn't need our gloves or long johns!
Iceland is a fantastic place to visit, but the traveller must do a lot
of homework before going. There are very few marked "tourist attractions"
so it helps to have read a little history and perhaps acquainted yourself
with some of the sagas so you don't drive past an old red house and find
out later that a famous character from one of the sagas lived there. Don't
expect signposts or billboards pointing the way to special places. And
hold onto your children, since most spectacular sights have no guard rails
or safety features. In other words, what kind of an experience you have
is very much your own responsibility. Iceland is very otherworldly, with
a fascinating history and stunning landscape. It has had a profound effect
on all of us.
kate reed
edmonds, wa USA Mon 11/17/2003
volunteering abroad
Check out Global Volunteers at their website (www.globalvolunteers.com).
They offer short term volunteer opportunities in many countries around the
world. I spent two weeks last spring at a Romanian hospital working with
failure-to-thrive infants and toddlers through GV. They are an excellent
organization.
Susan
Odessa, FL USA Sun 11/09/2003
How to go abroad as volunteer
There are many organizations that offer the opportunity to do volunteer
or charitable work abroad, especially in the former Eastern European countries.
For my first trip to Belarus, which I wrote about below, my local pastor
knew a Canadian missionary in Belarus who helped me arrange the trip. Even
if you speak Russian, you really need a contact person who can "host" you
and help you with the finer details (like providing you with a "homestay
VISA" which allows you to stay in someones home instead of a hotel.) Having
a local host is critical to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience. After
you make the trip, you will have made many new friends and contacts. There
are many religous groups that offer trips. The best thing to do is check
with your local church or religous association or check out www.volunteerabroad.com,
this site provides links to both religous and non-religous volunteer opportunities.
If you want to experience Eastern Europe, I definately recommend going
as a volunteer. You will gain access to parts of the country inaccesable
to most tourists and experience many eye-opening experiences. I promise
you will gain a whole new insight into life and the many things we take
for granted! Good luck and happy travels!
<email>
USA Tue 11/04/2003
Belarus
A couple of years ago my family took a trip to Belarus to hunt down our
past relatives and to do mission work. My grandmother lost touch with them
about 30 years ago and we just had some old letters and addresses to go
by to find them.
The trip started from Warsaw. We drove across the Belarussian-Polish border at Trespold at 3am in the morning in order to speed the border crossing as much as possible (which can take 2-3 days without bribes or connections). It was pretty interesting when some prostitutes tried to hitch a ride with us across the border (they buy cigarettes in Belarus for cheap and sell them in Poland -- pseduo legal at best.) Needless to say we refused their request and acted like we did not understand Russian and spoke only French. I was amazed at the almost 1 kilometer line of cars waiting to pass through cutoms. People were camped out by their cars waiting for the snail like line to move. We had to go through about 4 different check points and the surly attitude of the Belarussian border guards did not disappoint.
On the way, we witnessed a horrific accident. One of the motorists was badly injured since ambulances are non-existant in the country. We loaded him into our car and raced him to try to find a doctor. Blood was gushing from a hole in his throat and we tried to stem the flow with some clothes. We finally located a doctor and dropped him off; I hope he survived.
After that harrowing detour, we arrived at the town where we were to lead a Christian camp for young boys and girls. We were greeted with much hospitality and generosity. We needed to be somewhat secretive about the camp since the local politicians, and especially the Russian Orthodox church, are pretty corrupt and will do just about anything to preserve their power. A year after we left, in fact, they expelled one of our Canadian friends and shut down the camp since it was perceived as a "threat" to the Russian Orthodox church.
After the camp concluded, we spent a few days scouring the countryside to find any remaining relatives. We located a "babushka" in a small village and learned she was my grandmother's cousin. She produced old letters from my great-grandparents sent from America during the Great Depression, describing life in America as hard and difficult.
Since we only had a few days left on our trip, we could only spend one afternoon with our relatives, but we returned a year later to spend more time with them and many-many more distant relatives! (This is another interesting story, complete with hitchhiking with crazy Russians, being held and interrogated by the state security agency, getting expelled from a city, getting lost in the Belarussian forest, and having some of our possesions confiscated).
We keep in touch with our relatives and have visited them numerous times since. I even added to my family's Russian heritage by marrying a very sweet Russian girl from my church in the States. We returned to her home town in Russia to get married and visit her family there whenever possible. Our wedding there is yet another interesting story!
Anyway, if you are ready to move from seeing "Europe through the back
door" to actually walking through the back door, I highly recommend visiting
Belarus and/or Russia OUTSIDE of Moscow and St. Pete. I guarantee an adventure
and experience of a lifetime where you will meet and make new friends.
If you do not know the language, consider going as a volunteer with one
of the many organizations and mission groups that host trips.
USA Mon 10/27/2003
Iceland
On our way to the UK and Norway, in May 2003, we stopped in Iceland for
a couple of nights. Icelandair has a deal that allows you to stay up to
72 hours on the way to Europe for no extra cost. I have to admit though,
that the costs pile up in Iceland! Lodging, food (even picnicing out of
grocery stores), etc. costs a bomb. I think it was still worth it, though.
Iceland is not quite Europe, nor North America. It's a very different feel.
The geography is unique and worthy of the visit. Get out in the countryside;
that's where the sights are. The people almost all speak English, so that
shouldn't be an issue either.
Shonn
HdG, MD USA Thu 10/23/2003
Bus from Estonia to Latvia
In the summer of '98 we used Rick's Baltics guide to travel around Latvia,
Lithuania, and Estonia on our own. Although the countries themselves would
not now count as fringe Europe, at the time, the transportation systems
were not well developed (trains were about nonexistent)and American tourists
were few. We traveled as locals and took the bus.
The trip between Tallinn and Riga was especially memorable. The driver exercised Soviet style authority and insisted that each person could have only one piece of luggage. We appeared to be the only violators. Never mind that we each had just one bag - smaller than our current Rick bags- and a day bag. Never mind that the luggage hold was empty. It was the rule. Perhaps because we appeared ready to walk away, we were let on just before departure.
The border was even more rigorous. Everyone had to get off and go into the Estonian border patrol office. Our passports were taken. After while, we were led by an officer back to the bus. Another officer holding all passports got on, and one-by-one stared at each of us and looked carefully at our passport - then handed it back to the lucky ones. Several people, including a young Korean tourist, had to leave with the officer and did not continue on. Then we got a few hundred feet to the Latvian border, and the same routine. All told, it took several hours to cross the border.
Although the Soviets were no longer in legal control, the legacy was
strong. We are so glad that we travelled on our own in those coutries
when we did - it gave us greater understanding of the changes that were
going on and the difficulty of life before.
Suzanne
Columbus, OH USA Sat 10/18/2003