August 14, 2013
August 14, 2013
Today we start the long process of going home. This is the one part of international travelling I dislike. We are up early to take the train to the small Krakow airport. Four flights and a full day of travel, we arrive home safely.
We had a great trip but we are glad to be back. I am ready for free toilets and less pounding of the pavement. I don't know if my feet would have held out any longer. We will be driving everywhere we need to go for awhile.
And we will be glad to be just speaking English and navigating only one currency. Even after visiting Eastern Europe, it boggles my mind that an area of the world smaller than our home state of Arizona can harbor so many different currencies, languages, and cultures. It is something that Americans can't appreciate.
I had trepidation going to Russia and Eastern Europe, not knowing what vestiges of Socialism were remaining. I was pleased to see that in most cases they have shaken it off and are embracing capitalism wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I think they have shaken Socialism off too well. For the younger generation, it is already some period of ancient history. Those old enough to remember are happy to forget the pain and don't want to depress their children with the stories. As the old saying goes, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it." I can easily see this new generation getting lured again by the false hopes of Socialism in some not so distant future.
Today we start the long process of going home. This is the one part of international travelling I dislike. We are up early to take the train to the small Krakow airport. Four flights and a full day of travel, we arrive home safely.We had a great trip but we are glad to be back. I am ready for free toilets and less pounding of the pavement. I don't know if my feet would have held out any longer. We will be driving everywhere we need to go for awhile.
And we will be glad to be just speaking English and navigating only one currency. Even after visiting Eastern Europe, it boggles my mind that an area of the world smaller than our home state of Arizona can harbor so many different currencies, languages, and cultures. It is something that Americans can't appreciate.
I had trepidation going to Russia and Eastern Europe, not knowing what vestiges of Socialism were remaining. I was pleased to see that in most cases they have shaken it off and are embracing capitalism wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, I think they have shaken Socialism off too well. For the younger generation, it is already some period of ancient history. Those old enough to remember are happy to forget the pain and don't want to depress their children with the stories. As the old saying goes, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it." I can easily see this new generation getting lured again by the false hopes of Socialism in some not so distant future.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 10:59 AM
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