Central meets East
It was poring rain, 6am, and the taxi that we ordered the night before is not here. I run into the hotel lobby, wake up the sleeping concierge and ask for another taxi. I make the train on time, but now I am told that my train ticket is not valid on this train.
I am in Central Europe. Or Easter Europe. And people argue where we are all the time. Since Slovakia and Hungary are now part of the EU, some feel more in the West, others more in the East. So they might be Central. I believe that all depends more on perspective than on geography. Or does it depend on mentality? My Czech friend Honza would argue so.
After a short visit to Budapest, where I was hanging out with my old buddies Honza and Peti, I went for 2 days to Bratislava. Full schedule. The plan: A solo exhibition of my photography. The venue: The Slovak National Museum. The date: Not clear yet, but most probably September 2008.
In two days we - Maros Borsky, my host and I - met with the head of the Goethe Institute, representatives of the American embassy, curators at the Slovak National Museum etc. On Monday I gave a slide show presentation, showing my photographs from New York, to which a few friends from my EUJS past came. Nice surprise, but the actual highlight was a chocolate place where I had the best chocolate drink ever. Alone for this experience it is worth coming back.
... and now I am on my way back to Budapest from where I fly to Germany. And my train ticket is apparently not valid on this train. The conductor explains me in lenght in a mixture of Hungarian, German, English and Slovak that I have to pay an adjustment rate. I understand him but first pretend not to. He brings in a translator (another guest on this train who speaks German and has the same problem with her ticket). I agree to pay, but he does not want Hungarian Forint, he wants Euros. Ten to be precise. And I want a receipt for the 10 Euros. The conductor looks at me. No, I am not a typical Western tourist on the train. I know Eastern Europe and the homo sovieticus. "5 Euros, no receipt. OK?" Since I won't be reimbursed for this 'adjustment fee' I agree. He shakes my hand.
I guess, sometimes we are closer to the East than to the West, even if geography tells us differently.
I am in Central Europe. Or Easter Europe. And people argue where we are all the time. Since Slovakia and Hungary are now part of the EU, some feel more in the West, others more in the East. So they might be Central. I believe that all depends more on perspective than on geography. Or does it depend on mentality? My Czech friend Honza would argue so.
After a short visit to Budapest, where I was hanging out with my old buddies Honza and Peti, I went for 2 days to Bratislava. Full schedule. The plan: A solo exhibition of my photography. The venue: The Slovak National Museum. The date: Not clear yet, but most probably September 2008.
In two days we - Maros Borsky, my host and I - met with the head of the Goethe Institute, representatives of the American embassy, curators at the Slovak National Museum etc. On Monday I gave a slide show presentation, showing my photographs from New York, to which a few friends from my EUJS past came. Nice surprise, but the actual highlight was a chocolate place where I had the best chocolate drink ever. Alone for this experience it is worth coming back.
... and now I am on my way back to Budapest from where I fly to Germany. And my train ticket is apparently not valid on this train. The conductor explains me in lenght in a mixture of Hungarian, German, English and Slovak that I have to pay an adjustment rate. I understand him but first pretend not to. He brings in a translator (another guest on this train who speaks German and has the same problem with her ticket). I agree to pay, but he does not want Hungarian Forint, he wants Euros. Ten to be precise. And I want a receipt for the 10 Euros. The conductor looks at me. No, I am not a typical Western tourist on the train. I know Eastern Europe and the homo sovieticus. "5 Euros, no receipt. OK?" Since I won't be reimbursed for this 'adjustment fee' I agree. He shakes my hand.
I guess, sometimes we are closer to the East than to the West, even if geography tells us differently.
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