Rick Steves' Travel as a Political Act Blog - Firsthand Accounts Make History Spring to Life

Firsthand Accounts Make History Spring to Life

Learning from a local friend who actually lived through the war of the mid-1990s made my Mostar visit a particularly rich experience. Thankful for the lessons I learned in Mostar, I considered the value of firsthand accounts in my travels over the years.

When I was a gawky 14-year-old, my parents took me to Europe. In a dusty village on the border of Austria and Hungary, a family friend introduced me to a sage old man with bread crumbs in his cartoonish white handlebar moustache. As the man spread lard on rustic bread, he shared his eyewitness account of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. I was thrilled by history as never before.

In Prague, my Czech friend Honza took me on the walk he had taken night after night in 1989 with 100,000 of his countrymen as they demanded freedom from their Soviet overlords. The walk culminated in front of a grand building, where Honza said, “Night after night we assembled here, pulled out our key chains, and all jingled them at the President's window, saying, ‘It's time for you to go now.' Then one night we gathered...and he was gone. We had won our freedom.” Hearing Honza tell that story as we walked that same route drilled into me the jubilation of a small country winning its freedom.

My Norwegian uncle Thor gave me a similarly powerful experience in Oslo. Gazing at mosaic murals in the Oslo City Hall that celebrate the heroics of locals who stood strong against German occupation, Thor told me stories of growing up in a Nazi-ruled Norway. He woke up one morning to find his beloved royal family in exile and German soldiers on every corner. Norway's resistance fighters took to the snowy mountains coordinating with brave children smugglers in the towns. Even with the vastly stronger occupying force, Thor told how his country's national spirit remained strong until that glorious day when the king returned and Norwegian flags flew happily again. As Thor brought the mural to life, I wondered what I would do to win back a freedom lost.

In Northern Ireland, my guide Stephen was determined to make his country's struggles vivid. In Belfast, he introduced me to the Felons' Club — where membership is limited to those who've spent at least a year and a day in a British prison for political crimes. Hearing heroic stories of Irish resistance while sharing a Guinness with a celebrity felon gives you an affinity for their struggles. Walking the next day through the green-trimmed gravesites of his prison-mates who starved themselves to death for the cause of Irish independence capped the experience powerfully.

El Salvador's history is so tragic and fascinating that anyone you talk to becomes a tour guide. My Salvadoran guides with the greatest impact were the “Mothers of the Disappeared,” who told me their story while leafing through humble scrapbooks showing photographs of their sons' bodies — mutilated and decapitated. Learning of a cruel government's actions with those sad mothers left me with lifetime souvenirs: a cynicism about many governments (you can tell by their actions who they really represent) and an empathy for underdogs courageously standing up to their governments when necessary.

Tourists can go to Prague, Norway, Ireland, and Central America and learn nothing of a people's struggles. Or they can seek out opportunities to connect with people (whether professional guides or accidental guides) who can share perspective-changing stories.

About This Entry

You are reading "Firsthand Accounts Make History Spring to Life", an entry posted on 10 July 2009 by Rick Steves.

8 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, Sarajevo Roses and Bosniak Beach Boys, posted Jul 08 2009

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Comments [ top ]

I wonder why it is that several of Rick's entries on this blog receive no comments, while each of Jackie's and Zoe's has several. Is it because most folks here really like the travel news and are not so impressed with Rick's "Travel as a Political Act" thoughts? His entries here are interesting, but no one seems to care to comment. Any thoughts?

Posted by: louisa - Jul 11, 2009 8:09 AM

Rick, Bringing this kind of history into the world classroom in the form of youTube bites might be something to explore when they don't fit well on the travel show. P.S. this is one of my favorite blogs, even though I mostly lurk rather than comment! :)

Posted by: Katherine Christensen - Jul 12, 2009 8:45 AM

I salute Rick for trying to remind us of the momentous events of 1989 in eastern Europe, and the completely avoidable tragedy of Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Keep it up, Rick, although it seems most of your fans would rather read about your "must sees" (I cringe at the sound of that term) in Italy or Spain.

Posted by: Tom - Jul 12, 2009 12:56 PM

i would have to say that this particular blog is thought provoking if you do indeed read what Rick is saying. how can you comment on something like this, but maybe rather try to feel what some of these people have gone through. i'm w/Rick on this;would i be able to step up & contribute like these people have?

Posted by: Christine - Jul 13, 2009 7:22 AM

Great post. This is my kind of blog entry! I get a much better picture of a culture in this way than I ever would trying to stay awake while someone tells me about flowers, hills and goulash....well, maybe the goulash.

Posted by: Gunther - Jul 17, 2009 7:45 AM

Perhaps there will be more comments as more thinking people become aware of Rick Steves' call for each of us to be deeper travelers. I wonder about Louise's comments perhaps hinting at her irritation at being asked to actually care about the lives of people in other lands and other cultures. If that is too much to consider, don't, but don't suggest that there is something wrong with those of us who do.

Posted by: Dianne - Jul 19, 2009 9:21 PM

I love reading this blog. I love the perspective and challenge to think. I think that is the point of the travel as a political act blog. You don't have to agree with Rick but if it makes you think, see things froma different perspective, examine life a little more closely, and challenge what you have always believed to be true, then that is the point. We don't have to come away from these entries learning the same lessons. However, they open your eyes to what goes on in the world and puts human flesh and emotions on experiences and travel. And in dealing with things like war and govt, it's not the pretty picture of travel that many choose to read or want to think about. As for why this isn't as popoular, I think many are turned off by Rick's politics. I don't agree with Rick on a lot of stuff but I still like to read. Also, note that his travels on to these places were a while back whereas jackie's, zoe's, ad rick's now are current. I assume that these entries were written some time ago and then posted now. Enjoyable nonetheless.

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