Program 410a: Marrying an American; Flatlands; Sightseeing Communist History

Learn about the best places to visit in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to get a feel for what Communist-era life was like behind the Iron Curtain, now a quarter century in the past. Join us as we explore the allure of a flatlands road trip, where the unobstructed view makes the sky seem closer. And hear what kind of cross-cultural issues emerge when Europeans marry Americans.

• David Tordi, tour guide and musician, based in Orvieto, Italy
• Roy Nicholls, tour guide and historian, based in the Dorset region of southern England
• Travel writer Robert Reid
• George Farkas, Katerina Svobodova, and Beata McCommas, tour guides raised in former Warsaw Pact communist countries of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.

• David Tordi points out that Aiken, South Carolina is a sister, or "twin" city with Orvieto, Italy.
• Robert Reid wrote "How to Fall in Love with Flatlands" for Transitions Abroad in 2014.
• Robert Reid's website includes his recommendations for five great American roadtrip books, which includes Ian Frazier's "Great Plains." Robert also notes the literary value of John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley," and William Least Heat Moon's "Blue Highways." 
• Robert suggests hugging the contours of the earth along U.S. Route 14, and in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
• Memento Park (also known as Statue Park), near Budapest, shows the large Soviet style statues daily from 10am to dusk. 
• The House of Terror museum in Budapest includes files that were collected on Hungarian citizens.
• In Prague, the Memorial to the Victims of Communism  is a series of statues of "disappearing men."
• The Museum of Communism is open daily in Prague.
• Wenceslas Square in Prague has hosted many important events in the history of the Czech Republic. 
• The European Solidarity Centre in Gdansk, Poland comes highly rated on Trip Advisor.
• Prague-based tour guide Katerina Svobodova's website.