Couldn't Believe My Eyes!!
Lynne and I arrived back in Hungary today returning from her MS treatment. When we crossed the Austrian/Hungarian border we just stared in awe! Couldn't believe my eyes!
No passport control!
No border guards!
No LONG LINES!
Just dropped down to 60 KM per hour and crossed the border.
I couldn't believe my eyes! I think my jaw dropped and I was stunned!
Hey, we remember entering Hungary in 1989 with unpleasant border guards with machine guns. We were ordered out of the car and to open our suitcases as customs officials pawed through our things. It was in the days of communism.
We remember leaving Hungary driving across "No Man's Land" from Hungary into Austria weaving back and forth as the road followed a serpentine path with concrete barriers on either side. We remember noticing concrete barriers that were spring loaded ready to shoot up from the pavement to stop a car that may have tried to go past the border guards or be suspicious for some reason. Imagine driving along and have something made from steel and concrete suddenly come up in front of you to stop you or to make sure that you crashed into it. There was no way to escape this because of the concrete barriers on both sides of the road. Talk about having a weird feeling as we drove through "No Man's Land". Creepy! Better yet, scary!
Even after Hungary became "free" the border guards were obnoxious at best. The guns remained in the open and a continual show of force was always present. The lines were so, so long. Many people pushed their cars forward to save on fuel. The process could take one or two hours, maybe longer. Slowly, ever so slowly, these conditions began to improve.
But, this improvement was a stunner! I couldn't believe my eyes!
What happened? Hungary is a provisional member of the European Union. The borders within the EU have been removed. At least, the frustrating border crossings have been stopped. Now, Hungary has this privilege. Can you imagine how the Hungarians must feel? They can freely travel to the West? Wow!
I was so happy for the Hungarians today . . . and, I was happy for us! No long lines! No border guards hassling us.
Couldn't believe my eyes!!
Eric
No passport control!
No border guards!
No LONG LINES!
Just dropped down to 60 KM per hour and crossed the border.
I couldn't believe my eyes! I think my jaw dropped and I was stunned!
Hey, we remember entering Hungary in 1989 with unpleasant border guards with machine guns. We were ordered out of the car and to open our suitcases as customs officials pawed through our things. It was in the days of communism.
We remember leaving Hungary driving across "No Man's Land" from Hungary into Austria weaving back and forth as the road followed a serpentine path with concrete barriers on either side. We remember noticing concrete barriers that were spring loaded ready to shoot up from the pavement to stop a car that may have tried to go past the border guards or be suspicious for some reason. Imagine driving along and have something made from steel and concrete suddenly come up in front of you to stop you or to make sure that you crashed into it. There was no way to escape this because of the concrete barriers on both sides of the road. Talk about having a weird feeling as we drove through "No Man's Land". Creepy! Better yet, scary!
Even after Hungary became "free" the border guards were obnoxious at best. The guns remained in the open and a continual show of force was always present. The lines were so, so long. Many people pushed their cars forward to save on fuel. The process could take one or two hours, maybe longer. Slowly, ever so slowly, these conditions began to improve.
But, this improvement was a stunner! I couldn't believe my eyes!
What happened? Hungary is a provisional member of the European Union. The borders within the EU have been removed. At least, the frustrating border crossings have been stopped. Now, Hungary has this privilege. Can you imagine how the Hungarians must feel? They can freely travel to the West? Wow!
I was so happy for the Hungarians today . . . and, I was happy for us! No long lines! No border guards hassling us.
Couldn't believe my eyes!!
Eric
posted by Eric Murphy at 13.4.08
2 Comments:
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Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the MP3 e MP4, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://mp3-mp4-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.
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