Russland
26.07
From Aqtau I crosse the border to Orenburg …
27.07 / 28.07 move on to Samara, which lies at the Volga …
29.07 / 30.07 / 31.07 over Penza to ..
01.08 Tambow and ..
02.08 Woronesch
As I read in the Internet, all these cities belonged to the fortress belt in the southern part of the then Russian Empire to ward off the Tatars.
The cities have flair. Samara is located on the Volga, has sandy beaches and as well as the other cities architecturally and culturally a lot to offer. In Samara is the “Stalin bunker”, which should serve as a backup headquarters, if Moscow had been conquered.
The bunker was dug secretly in 1942, never been used and was not disclosed to the public until 1990. Unfortunately, this museum is not open, so I visit others.
These days a cold weather front has moved across the area. At temperatures between eight and fifteen degrees, rain and wind, driving is not much fun. Partly I spend the rainy days waiting in the hostel or hotel.
The area through which I drive is dotted with sunflower fields, often natural gas fields are to be seen.
As you notice, I’m pretty short with writing. There is much to tell, but I am a little tired, tired of traveling. After so many miles and impressions my brain is full. I feel like I have left ages ago. I am also looking forward to coming home again.
From Vienna to the Ukrainian border, it is fewer kilometers than to Switzerland.
As someone who was born only a few kilometers from the Iron Curtain, I was also influenced by it during my childhood. The West that was “we”, with the better life, and in the East, these were “the others” socially worse off.
I have noticed that this mental border or barrier – east and west – is still very much anchored, especially among Austrians and Germans.
I would like to know how the West is portrayed in the news. For example, there were protests recently in Moscow.
The point was that opposition politicians were not allowed to a vote. As a result, about 3,000 people went on the streets to demonstrate. Over 1,000 people were arrested.
In the Austrian media, I read, that this was not reported in the Russian media.
However, I have seen a tv show where the demonstration was thematized. However, the program did not seem like an objective account of events. Often images from the US and $ banknotes were faded in, as well as secret video footage of politicians. I wonder if the truth was reported here, or conspiracy theories were scattered.
Ukraine
03.08 / 04.08 Charkiev
05.08 Kiev
06.08 Rzesow
07.08 coming home
The last 2,000 km from Charkiev home are just driving and sleeping. The border crossing from the Ukraine to the EU takes 4 hours and then I skipped the lines. I thought it was easier to “get home”.
The last 8 weeks were another big adventure. My horizon has widened again, my world view has been corrected a bit more, clichés and ideas have been reduced by real experiences.
Again, I met a lot of interesting people, went through ordeals and had fantastic events. It was a great challenge for man and material.
I have been home for a few days now. I settled in again, and was not idle either. My bike is clean again. I cleaned it for days. Spare parts are ordered and on the way, partly already arrived and have been replaced. I could also use parts of my first motorcycle.
My radiator leaks somewhere. I can investigate this problem when I put the bike back together.
I would like to finish my trip with a story, that not only made me think, but others too.
It was in Dushanbe at the hostel, where people from different European countries sat together. There was a British couple who traveled by car. They had problems with the car. Some part was broken and they could not continue. A local person approached them. However, they did not speak Russian and the other person did not speak English.
This is how the woman defended herself with her hands and feet. “Please leave, please leave us alone! What do you want from us? Go away! …”
After some time, they found someone who spoke English and could translate.
What the local person said was, “I’m a mechanic, I can help you, this is my wife and my kids. Our home is not far from here. We can bring the car to our place, you can stay with us. We don’t want no money.”
We all, who sat together, agreed, that we all first would think the same thing: What do you want from me?
Our first thought is not that someone offers us help and support, but that someone wants something from us.
Is not it sad that our society has developed in a direction, where one first thinks “bad” of other people?
Finally to mention, that this british lady felt very ashamed.
