One of my classic teenage memories is the night in the autumn half term of 1993 when I stayed up late with my friend Jude plotting a socialist revolution. Not that I had much of an idea of what socialism was or what a revolution entailed, but that didn't matter. Spurred on by Levellers song lyrics and enlightened by 6 weeks studying A-Level Economics, I knew all that any 16-year-old wannabe revolutionary needed to know - that I hated "the system".
A lot has changed since then (eight years on I now work for The Church of England) but that socialist revolution thing never quite happened. With the benefit of hindsight and a degree in Sociology & Politics, I can now see that maybe our plans for 'The Jude and Andy Show', an intellectual radio programme that would be the catalyst for the overthrow of global capitalism, were a little unrealistic. But though I've not plotted any more political revolutions since then, I've remained intrigued (though not convinced) by talk of socialism, particularly in the context of consumer capitalism and globalisation. So in August 2001 I took a 3-week trip to get a glimpse into the post-Communist experience of some of the countries of Eastern Europe. Here are some extracts from my journal:
Berlin (Germany), 1st August 2001
I'm sitting in a café in the Turkish quarter of East Berlin. The surrounding streets are an excavation site, the buildings dabbed with incomprehensible graffiti. Its 10.00 am in the morning and other than the sporadic noise of construction work, the area is quiet. There do not seem to be many locals - the only people out and about are a bizarre mix of construction workers, backpackers, the occasional German Goth accompanied by ugly dog, and the occasional overweight middle-aged German man accompanied by beer can. Soon however, the area will be swarming with backpackers - 20 something's from all over the western world, but especially America - who, once they've recovered from last night's hangover will pass by on their way to the city centre for a whistle-stop tour of the historic sites: Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Cathedrals, Churches, Museums, and the site of Hitler's bunker. Photo opportunities galore - plus a chance to buy an 'authentic' piece of the Berlin wall. Few will stay in Berlin for more than a couple of days - far too many other European cities to visit - places to tick off on the 'Doing Europe in 1 month - Been there' list. Too many obligatory picture-postcard photos to take elsewhere…
And I too am a partaker in this tourist circus. Yesterday afternoon, I did Berlin to my satisfaction in 4 and a half hours - thanks to a Walking Tour of the city in English courtesy of 'Insider Tours': "in depth, witty, academic, hip and great fun" - all for only 15 DM. In the morning I'd attempted to get off the tourist trail by visiting the former house of Socialist playwright Bertolt Brecht, only to find the German-language guided tour incomprehensible and the house quite dull. I then visited the cemetery which, according to my Lonely Planet Guidebook, contained the tomb of Hegel (famous philosopher); but I got bored trying to find it and gave up, resigning myself to having to do a guided tour in the afternoon.
Krakow (Poland), 3rd August 2001
A day of lots of activity so far. Walked round the whole of the old town - stopping off to look at various old churches and climbing the old town hall tower. It was good to just wander around and absorb the atmosphere without bothering myself with the details of going into museums etc. Found it amusing / insightful (depending on how pretentious I'm feeling) to take photos capturing the bizarre mix of old-town-meets-corporate-consumer-culture that is Krakow. Lots of McDonalds and Pizza Huts alongside traditional old buildings…
Stary Smokovec, Tatra Mountains (Slovakia), 6th August 2001
Arrived here last night. The journey here from Krakow was stupidly time-consuming considering the short distance; but I enjoyed it. Krakow was experiencing a downpour when I left, and as the train journeyed through southern Poland on the way to the Slovak border, I was able to witness firsthand the scenes of flooded areas I had viewed on the big screen in Krakow's Market Square two days earlier. Sharing my carriage on the journey from Krakow to Plavec was a young Slovak man who spoke good english. He talked me through the pronunciation of basic Slovak words in my phrasebook, and talked a little about the transition (from Communism) in his country since 1989 - things may have improved politically but not really economically and some people in his country wish things had remained unchanged. The journey from Plavec to Poprad Tatry was a scenic one and my first glimpse of 'real life' in eastern europe outside of big cities - picturesque traditional villages set into the hillside, and 'typical' East European cars (skodas etc).
Since arriving in Stary Smokovec (which, it appears is nothing but a tourist resort - I don't think there are any normal houses or anything), my first observation was the ridiculous cheapness, even compared to Krakow: A good hotel room for £6, a full meal for under £2, and a beer for 25p! If that was my observation, my immediate reaction was guilt - guilt for swanning in, expecting people to speak English (which they do) and paying only a pittance. Not quite sure what to make of that…
This is going to be a good place to relax. I'm booked for 3 nights but may well stay longer. There are beautiful mountains all around where I'll be able to escape from the tourists, but I've set aside today as a lazy day. So, after a futile search for a laundry this morning and lunch consisting of cheeseburger and beer from a snack-stall where the cashier called me 'Johnny' (presumably because he thought I was American), I've ended up in a café. From the outside it looked like any other mediocre European café-bar, complete with coca-cola umbrellas. But inside there are sofas and plants and it kind of feels like RSVP in Sheffield. Only difference is the music - it's certainly recognisable but its like entering a timewarp of English-language music 1985-1995. As I was entering, the radio was playing 'Chain Reaction' (by Diana Ross?), followed by Kylie's 'I should be so lucky', and then the 'classic' early 90s dance tune 'let me be your fantasy'. More current music is played but its generally of the europop meets dodgy rock variety (they've just played some Roxette). It makes me smile and, irony apart, it's nice to be able to hear something in my own language; but the global dominance of UK/US music is slightly disconcerting.
8th August 2001
Last night I had a weird 'local' meal - garlic soup was good but the main course of dumplings in a gooseberry and chocolate sauce (apparently a local speciality) was a little strange.
Now it's a beautiful day and I'm sitting on a rock on the edge of the Mountain Lake of Skalnate Pleso. Above me is the 2632m summit of Lomnickystit but I can't be bothered paying something in the region of £10 to ascend by cable car when you're only allowed to stay up the top for 10 minutes. I'd rather sit here and think and rest.
The Tatra Mountains are, it seems, where the whole of Slovakia goes on holiday. In the café earlier it was bizarre to see that the locals here think nothing of drinking beer at 9.30 in the morning. There are hardly any 'westerners' here but the cramped trains still have a familiar feel: Teenage girls writing text messages telling their friends how boring the family holiday is, young Slovak boys in replica Man Utd kits, and grown-ups wearing T-shirts and baseball caps daubed with meaningless English slogans like 'STAR', 'GO AHEAD!', and 'ACTION'.
Budapest (Hungary), 10th August 2001
Its Friday I think, Friday evening. I'm on the edge of a lake in Budapest City Park. I'm at that stage of the trip where everything is a bit of a blur. This is the 4th place I've stayed in and I've lost count of how many beautiful churches, synagogues, castles, towers, squares, rivers, lakes, bridges etc I've seen and photographed. I've lost count of the number of restaurants and cafés I've sat in and watched the world go by. I've lost count of the number of times I've thanked God that I can be here.
I feel rested and relaxed and, though I've not really satisfied my aspirations for an authentic eastern Europe experience (to see what life here's really like beyond the tourist gloss), I feel I've had enough. I feel lonely; I miss the normality and continuity of home. This is great being away but it isn't reality. I need relationship. Eating alone in nice restaurants with good ambience etc is brilliant every now and again. But doing it day after day, week after week, just isn't good. Guess its good to be homesick - to have something back home that's worth missing.
I think its going to rain.
(5 minutes later)
To take shelter from the rain I've wandered into a marquee / café with a Hungarian jazz band full of 40-somethings plus. Some of them are dancing away and it's quite amusing really. But its good to see people having a good time.
(12th August 2001, Faith Church, Budapest - apparently the largest and fastest growing church in Europe)
Having felt homesick for the past few days, I'm home now - worshipping God, with His people. More than Sheffield, this is home: being with God and his family. As a Christian I believe that my citizenship and my home is in heaven, and that whenever the people of God gather together we get a foretaste of heaven.
Prague (Czech Republic), 18th August 2001
I arrived in Prague on an early morning 4 days ago, tired after a sleepless journey on the night train from Bratislava. The painful blisters on my feet meant that I wasn't really up for walking around so I bought an all-day tram pass, jumped on the first tram I saw, and stayed on to the end of the line. When I got off, I wandered around a little bit, taking in the sights of what appeared to be a student neighbourhood. Then I caught the tram back again the way I'd come, passing through the city centre and staying on till I'd reached the end of the line in the opposite direction. This time I got the chance to wander around a slightly more run-down version of the housing estate near where I live in Sheffield, bordered by a big out-of-town shopping centre. I then went back and caught another tram in another direction…
The next day I got ill and since then have done little other than sleep. Today, the last day of my trip, is the first day I've felt up to venturing out into the centre of Prague and doing the sightseeing thing. It's all very nice and incredibly pretty but its absolutely heaving with tourists. Could be any other western capital city really.
The Journey Home, 19th August 2001
Whilst mentally reviewing the trip, I've been mulling over in my mind the conversation I had last night in an Italian restaurant with an American college student about globalisation. It was the 3rd time in the trip that the subject had come up in conversation. The first was on the Budapest 'Hammer & Sickle' walking tour with the American girl who'd been at Genoa, and the 2nd was in Prague with the Dutch cultural studies student who was re-visiting the site of the protest against the World Trade Organisation he'd attended. What was different about this 3rd conversation was that it was with someone who offered an alternative opinion to the standard anti-corporate no logo-esque viewpoint, and yet had what appeared to be a well-informed and genuine interest in international development. His argument, essentially, was that globalisation and economic reform in developing nations along the lines suggested by the World Bank et al actually works in the interests of the poorest countries in the world. He also made the point that the objections to the McDonaldization of Eastern Europe generally come, not from east-europeans themselves, but from western travellers who (selfishly) would rather that those countries remain primitive, quaint and under-developed. He was basically arguing the pro 'democracy' spiel that if east-europeans want to eat Big Macs and drink coke rather than their traditional dishes, it is their democratic right to buy into the American dream. It was challenging to speak to him because I realised that I need to become better informed about global issues (he was very well schooled in international development theory), but also interesting and intriguing to get a glimpse into his world view. His understanding of the world appeared to be underpinned a bizarre concoction of pro-globalisation Americanism and quasi-Buddhist spirituality. Bizarre really.
