Ahoj, Witam, Helló, Zdravo!

We chose the  Best of Eastern Europe tour  for the challenge of going to countries that were essentially off limits to the west during the Cold War.  My family roots are Hungarian, Czech and Polish.  Another reason for choosing this tour.

I remember being in Vienna in the late 1980’s and thinking how fun it would be to do a quick trip to Budapest to see Hungary and where my grandparents and other family members came from.  However, at that time, I couldn’t just hop a train, boat or bus and go to visit Budapest for a day or two like you can today.   Hungary was off limits, or at least, very difficult to enter the country as an American citizen.  What incredible change happened in this part of the world during the late 1980’s and early 90's.  The fall of the Berlin Wall, the break up of the Soviet Union and the demise of the Iron Curtain. Travel to this area of Europe became more accessible.

In 2019 we did our first Rick Steves tour and absolutely loved the experience.  We enjoyed the balance of guided tours with free time, not having to find hotels, organized transportation, and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow travelers with similar goals.  The Rick Steves' philosophy of "Europe through the back door" is ours, too.  We were so impressed with our Munich to Vienna tour, we had to go on another Rick Steves tour in 2020......... Jumping ahead to 2022....

With pandemic protocols in place, we were thrilled to see the Rick Steves tours start again in the ever changing landscape of the pandemic.  I purposely booked late September 2022 for our tour, one of the last Best of Eastern Europe tours for the year.  Surely Covid at that time would be a non event and things would be back to normal.  When we realized Covid was still part of the tour landscape, we had to deal with it.  The joy of travel outweighed any perceived inconveniences.  Oh yes, and Ukraine was invaded earlier in 2022, too.  How would that affect the tour?  We remained undaunted.  The world is not a perfect place and experiencing events from another perspective makes traveling more interesting and fulfilling.  

During the two years of waiting and thinking of the day when the tours would start again and our planned trip to the Best of Eastern Europe, my father suddenly passed away.  He was first generation American.  My grandparents were from Hungary and settled in Lorain, Ohio.   Lorain, Ohio had the largest community of Hungarians outside of Hungary due to the bustling steel, car and industrial scene that attracted many trades people from East (Central) Europe.  I grew up with Hungarian ethnicity.  As a kid I didn’t realize or fully appreciate what I was experiencing.   Visiting Grandma’s or Auntie’s house always meant dumplings, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa and accented English.  In many ways immigrants at the time assimilated into American society and buried their ethnic way of life.  I wish I had asked my Grandma to teach me Hungarian.  She never spoke in Hungarian, only English.  Looking back as an adult, those were precious times being exposed to some homeland traditions that died when my relatives passed on.    

As a result of my father’s passing, going to Eastern Europe became a mission to  remember and honor my family.  I wanted to see the land where they were born.  To experience their way of life and social mores.    The Best of Eastern Europe did not disappoint!