Today’s Flashback Friday comes from a blogger with a much different background than mine. Ele, who blogs in both Lithuanian and English, spent the beginning of her life in a country that was shut off from the rest of the world. In this post, Ele tells the story of how this made her the traveler she is today.
To have a better grasp of what travel means to me, let me give you a brief overview of what travel was like back in the USSR, that was one giant country that united a number of small countries against their will and the Iron Curtain fell with “the rotten capitalist West”. One could travel freely (finances and holidays permitting) within the USSR to explore the Baltic States beaches and Kola peninsular if they pleased. There was only one language required-the Russian language-and this important barrier did not exist back in those days. Workplaces issued tickets for their staff for annual holidays-camping, mountaineering, etc. Both my parents have travelled wide and far within the USSR and have had most amazing experiences they rave on even today. However, in 1990 Lithuania broke free from the Soviet Union. Times changed dramatically. Boarders re-appeared. Languages re-appeared. Currency re-appeared. I was 9 years old. My country moved on.
My first serious organised trip abroad was a school tour to Italy not long after our independent republic started functioning. It was a time when 10 USD was a normal wage in our country. No, not a hundred dollars, ten dollars. We hired a coach and drove all the way to Italy (with two art teachers and a number of parents required by law to escort school groups) with nights on a coach, trying to catch some sleep sitting uncomfortably when the music roared to keep one of the two drivers awake, provided with food from home, and the whole lot of us joined “life is life” chorus, quieting down only at the borders. Most kids spent their money in petrol stations on sweets and Coke before we even reached Italy, so we couldn’t see Pompeii (SO ANGRY) because part of our group was broke. Then, it was free for the EU members and we had to pay a hefty entrance fee. We were doing the traditional classical Italy plus Capri Island tour and we saw the Pope at Easter. I ate strawberries on a rocky beach of Lido di Jezolo and my mother, for the first time in her life, breathed the air of real freedom, real Europe. There are no words to describe this. Oh, and in Venice we had to wait for our teachers to get back. One of them did and told us that her colleagues were sort of arrested by a café staff because they couldn’t pay the bill, so she came to ask for money. They went for a coffee in St. Marc’s square and sat down in a café . I needn’t tell you that travel guides were in their early days as far as we knew them, need I? So, as you can see, my foreign travel experience was marked with ups and downs. However, it didn’t put us off from going on package tours to the Czech Republic or France. We didn‘t know, coulnd‘t know, that there was another way until I got a job as a teacher of English in 2004.
I worked with some foreigners, native English speakers. One of them was Julia, from the USA. She, like a modern day Columbus, opened a whole new world of travel for me. First of all, she put up a sign-up sheet in the staff room for those who wanted to go to Tallinn, Estonia, for an extended weekend. All we had to do was to give her the money for coach tickets and the hostel of her choice. Then, when she put up another sign-up sheet for Krakow, Poland, some time later, I signed up myself again and my Mom. There were only three of us but the trip was a success! Then, I asked Julia for some guidance, because things seemed so easy! First, she told me about a credit card. No, not a debit card, you silly thing. A credit card that you can use to book hotels abroad. Ooooohhh….my eyes popped wide open….really???? And there are guides like In Your Pocket (cost cheap and easily available at our newsagent’s) to help you plan the sights. Then, you use that credit card to book coach or plane tickets. And the world’s your oyster!
I think you can count well enough to notice that until I turned ripe 23 years old I had never travelled independently. Now, how sad is that?I’m sure there were possibilities to do so, but I had never thought of them seriously, all the travel thing seemed to be so daunting! My Mom was even more sad, having wasted so much time and health when she could have travelled because it was so affordable and easy. We tried to catch up by going to Berlin, Oslo, Stockholm, Malta…She retired two years ago and she still feels bitter about the opportunities lost just because we didn’t know!!!
What makes me a traveller I am today is the drive to use every single opportunity my finances and general state of health allow to see and experience the world. I cannot understand people who don’t like travelling. I think my nation has been devoid of great world cultural heritage for too long and it would be a crime to ignore it for any longer.
Author Bio: Ele Pranaityte is a traveller, travel blogger, tourist guide in Vilnius, Lithuania. She writes her blog at www.kootvela.blogspot.com and you can follow her @Kootvela on Twitter.
Thank you for agreeing to guest blog for you. I hope people will like my little memoirs.
Ele recently posted..Varšuvos sukilimo muziejus
No problem, Ele! Thanks for the great post.
What a wonderful post by Ele. It was fascinating to read about how travel was back then, and how easy we really have it nowadays.
This post also reminded me how we must truly live life during our youth. So many people wait until retirement to do what they really want to do, when in reality, it is not as enjoyable as doing it when young/fully energized! Don’t delay your dreams, people!
- Maria Alexandra
nomadic translator recently posted..My student loan debt depression: Desperation, coping and solutions
You are so right. Nowadays travel is cheap and easy and many people are not interested in travel at all. It’s a shame, actually. Having been limited in movement, I want to travel a lot as long as I can because health is the thing that doesn’t get better with time.
Ele recently posted..Trys Vilniaus muziejai ir visi-geri (Sakote, taip nebūna? Būna, būna!)