shallit@ihlpf.UUCP (04/28/84)
#R:gargoyle:-11200:ihlpf:27800001:000:3288 ihlpf!mlrey Apr 27 12:52:00 1984 I've travelled in Eastern Europe, although not by bicycle, so I'll comment on visas, language, etc. relative to my experiences. First of all, my trip to Eastern Europe was confined to Prague and Budapest. I took a train from East Berlin to Prague, then from there to Budapest. As I recall, I arranged for a transit visa through East Germany on the spot at the train station. However, I believe that Czechoslovakia and Hungary require that you obtain visas before your trip begins - check a recent Fodor guide to be sure. Also, my wife and I had a hotel reservation before we went to Prague, as recommended by most of the travel books. When we arrived in Prague on the train we walked to the Cedok office to find out where our room was (note: Cedok is the state-run tourist agency. There are two main offices within walking distance from the train station - one is for nationals only, the other for foreigners. Naturally, we walked to the wrong one first.) We arrived at the agency about 4 P. M. and were directed to our hotel (about $35 per night including breakfast and dinner in 1979). However, many people were being turned away, and were told they would have to go 60 kilometers or so to find a room. We went back to the Cedok office the next morning for some information, and there were several women standing in front of the agency trying to rent rooms in their homes. If you don't plan to make reservations, it would probably be a good idea to arrive early in the day. Our registration with the police was taken care of by the hotel. Also, we found that many Czechs speak German (they even understood my limited German). We took a train from Prague to Budapest (which, by the way, was not nearly as comfortable as the Western European trains). When we arrived at the train station we were several hours late, which caused us some concern because we knew the state tourist agency was already closed. Fortunately, a woman in the train station asked if we wanted to rent a room in her home (for $4 per night including breakfast). We stayed with her and she gave us a lot of helpful hints abouting getting around Budapest. However, she was constantly trying to get us to exchange money on the "black market." We refused, but paid her for our room in dollars, so she was happy. Your visa will be checked when you leave the country to see if you've exchanged the required amount of western currency for forints at official exchange rates, so do exchange some money at a bank. We didn't exchange any money on the black market, but I've talked to others who have. You will have plenty of chances - we were approached by waiters, a grandmotherly-looking woman pushing a child in a stroller, people who approached us while we were looking at sites, etc. We went to the police station with our Hungarian host to register, because those were the instructions on our visa. However, we had to keep pushing her to get her to go with us. She didn't think it made any difference, and didn't want to bother with it. I've described some problems you might encounter so that you can be prepared. However, overall the trip was problem-free, the people were friendly, and the sights and experiences were interesting. ...!ihnp4!ihlpb!mlrey Mark Reynolds 312-979-5733