Visions of the Cold War

So if you read the headlines these days, you would have never known the cold war is over. Russia is now back to their old tricks and the Castro brothers are seeking a new alliance with them. All things come full circle, right?

Anyhow, I’ve always been fascinated by Eastern Europe. Unlike WWI and WWII, I can clearly remember the days of the DDR, Gorbachev, and the Iron Curtain. These vivid memories makes travel to the former Soviet satellite countries so much more interesting. We haven’t seen much but we have been to the former East Germany, Czech Republic, and most recently Croatia. Before I head back to the US, I hope to at least go to Poland and Hungary (Jen, however, said I can count her out for these trips).

What struck me about each of these countries is how much they now embrace capitalism. I’m convinced the only reason they keep the old Soviet area crap around is that it attracts tourists from the West who are willing to pay big money for the Commie experience. Now they’ve had a chance to prosper under capitalism, it’s clear there is no going back.

Another thing that I found is that the people in these areas are much more reserved and stoic. Our friend Lena is from the Ukraine and she stated the reason for this is that under the Soviet thumb, the people were urged not to show emotion. No crying, no smiling, no public displays of affection. How depressing. While many folks rushed to a new economic system, many did not embrace the notion of free expression unfortunately. I understand this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different than what I’m accustomed to. We’ll see what happens with the newer generations. Maybe there’s a smile to be found in the future.

Here are some pix from our travels behind the old iron curtain, Comrade:

Architectural mural depicting the citizens of Prague welcoming their Soviet Liberators (June 07)

Croatian (formerly Yugoslavia) countryside (Oct 08)

Now I'm not an expert in the Croation language but I'm pretty sure this reads, "You are now leaving the American sector..."

Julia checking out a record player and wine that were both manufactured by the State at the DDR Museum in Berlin (Feb 07)

On a different note, I am glad the election is finally over. Now that Obama has been elected, the Europeans love America again. Imagine that! It happened almost overnight. Regardless, politics gives me a headache. That’s all I have to say about that for now.