CONFESSIONS OF A GLOBAL GYPSY

By Dr. Chandana (Chandi) Jayawardena DPhil
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – World Hospitality Discussion board
[email protected]

After an pleasant keep in Austria, we have been able to proceed our six week-long winter Journey to 16 nations. Vienna is an ideal hub to go to cities of nations adjoining landlocked Austria. As we speak, it’s bordered by eight different nations – the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. As the subsequent step of our journey, we deliberate to journey to Hungary after which Czechoslovakia, or Czecho-Slovakia

HUNGARY

Having organized to journey to Hungary with a journey company in Vienna, we wakened early morning to satisfy the Austrian driver/tour information who got here in a small van to choose us up. He was pleasant and so have been the opposite passengers, 4 British academics working in Saudi Arabia. After an hour of journey from Vienna, we reached the Austria-Hungary border. There was a small problem there. Hungarian visa officers required our pictures, however their photograph machines have been out of order. We have been allowed to hurry again to the Austrian facet of the border to take pictures for Hungarian entry visas. After that, the journey was with none additional setbacks.

Hungary is one other landlocked nation in Central Europe. The territory of present-day Hungary has for hundreds of years been a crossroads for varied peoples, together with Celts, Romans, Germanic tribes, Huns, West Slavs and the Avars. The muse of the Hungarian state was established within the late ninth century. By the twelfth century, Hungary grew to become a regional energy, reaching its cultural and political peak within the fifteenth century. After that it was partially occupied by the Ottoman Empire for over 150 years. Hungary got here beneath Habsburg rule on the flip of the 18th century, later becoming a member of with the Austrian Empire to type Austria-Hungary, a serious energy into the early twentieth century.

The Austro-Hungary Empire collapsed after World Struggle I, and after World Struggle II, Hungary grew to become a satellite tv for pc state of the Soviet Union. Following the failed 1956 revolution, Hungary grew to become a relatively freer, although nonetheless repressive, member of the Jap Bloc. Just a few years after our go to in 1985, the elimination of Hungary’s border fence with Austria accelerated the collapse of the Jap Bloc and the Soviet Union. That was part of a broad wave of revolutions in varied communist nations of Central and Jap Europe.

Győr

En-route to Budapest, the capital metropolis of Hungary, we visited a small metropolis with a inhabitants of 70,000, Győr. Despite the small measurement, it’s the sixth largest metropolis within the nation and it is usually the primary metropolis of Northwest Hungary. As it’s midway between Vienna and Budapest, and located on one of many necessary roads of Central Europe, it appeared to have some motion of vacationers. In 1985, the whole inhabitants of Hungary was round 10.5 million and at this time it has gone down under 10 million. Twenty % of Hungarians or in 1985, over two million lived in Budapest.

Budapest

We reached Budapest by mid-morning and couldn’t imagine our eyes. Based mostly on our first impressions and experiences in just a few key cities within the Jap Bloc nations in 1985, our expectations weren’t excessive. Budapest was clear, stunning, grand and pleasant. “No marvel that some name it the Paris of the East”, I informed my spouse.

The historical past of Budapest is the historical past of three cities: Óbuda (previous Buda), Buda the excessive metropolis discovered on the banks of the left financial institution, and Pest, discovered on the suitable financial institution. The historical past of Budapest started when an early Celtic settlement remodeled into the Roman city of Aquincum. The Hungarians arrived within the territory within the late ninth century, however the space was pillaged by the Mongols within the mid-Thirteenth century. Re-established Buda grew to become one of many centres of Renaissance humanist tradition by the fifteenth century.

After the reconquest of Buda in late seventeenth century, after a 150 yr lengthy Ottoman rule, the area entered a brand new age of prosperity, in 1873, with the unification of Buda, Óbuda and Pest the identify ‘Budapest’ given to the brand new capital of Hungary. Budapest additionally grew to become the co-capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Bisected by the Danube River, Budapest’s cityscape is studded with architectural landmarks Buda’s medieval Fort Hill and grand neoclassical buildings alongside Pest’s Andrássy Avenue to the Nineteenth-century Chain Bridge are spectacular. Turkish and Roman affect on Hungarian tradition explains the recognition of mineral spas, together with at thermal Lake Hévíz.

We visited many of the key vacationer points of interest in Budapest and close by areas, together with Matthias Church, Buda Fort constructed within the Thirteenth century, Fisherman’s Bastion, which is an architectural icon of town, and one among Europe’s oldest and most beloved coffee-houses, Café Gerbeaud. Our lunch at a small restaurant included goulash soup which was a lot hotter than the variations I had tasted earlier than, and used to organize after I was an government chef. I additionally made a brief go to to the perfect five-star worldwide resort within the metropolis, Budapest InterContinential. On our approach again to Vienna, we stopped once more in Győr for refreshments.

CZECOSLOVAKIA

In the direction of the tip of our keep in Austria, I deliberate a fast journey to Czechoslovakia. My spouse needed to skip that journey to spend the day along with her mom and our Austrian buddies, doing enjoyable issues in Vienna. I went alone to Czechoslovakia early within the morning with a gaggle of vacationers travelling in a coach. Studying from a foul expertise on the Bulgaria-Romania border, 10 days prior, I took the recommendation from the Austrian journey company, and armed myself with an extra visa for Czechoslovakia.

Czechoslovakia was an attention-grabbing nation with a inhabitants of 10 million divided amongst two primary ethnic teams – the Czech individuals and the Slovak individuals. Ethnic Czechs have been referred to as Bohemians in English till the early twentieth century, referring to the previous identify of their nation, Bohemia. Czechoslovakia was a sovereign state created after the World Struggle I, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, on the eve of World Struggle II, a serious territory of the nation grew to become a part of Germany, whereas the nation misplaced additional territories to Hungary and Poland.

After World Struggle II, the nation of Czechoslovakia was re-established, apart from Carpathian Ruthenia, which grew to become a part of the Ukrainian SSR (a republic of the Soviet Union). From 1948, Czechoslovakia was a part of the Jap Bloc. A interval of political liberalization in 1968, generally known as the Prague Spring, was violently ended when the Soviet Union, assisted by another Warsaw Pact nations, invaded Czechoslovakia.

4 years after my go to, in 1989, as Marxist–Leninist governments (and communism) have been ending throughout Central and Jap Europe, Czechoslovaks peacefully deposed their socialist authorities within the Velvet Revolution. Later, in 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully cut up into the 2 sovereign states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia as the results of nationalist tensions among the many Slovaks.

Bratislava

The tour coach reached Bratislava, by mid-morning. Bratislava in 1985, the second metropolis of Czechoslovakia and at this time the capital of Slovakia, is ready alongside the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian Mountains, criss-crossed with forested climbing and biking trails. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century previous city is thought for its vigorous bars and cafés. After we reached town, the coach left us and the motive force requested us to satisfy him in the identical spot in eight hours.

That was a difficult tour as nobody at info and tour desks spoke any English. My German was not ok to search out my approach. Bratislava and suburbs had a number of universities, and consequently there have been many pupil excursionist. I finally grew to become pleasant with a few college students from West Germany, who preferred to apply talking English, and a Czechoslovakian pupil. We created our personal metropolis itinerary for the day, with the assistance of her Slovak-English dictionary.

Bratislava Fort

We visited the picturesque Bratislava whose Previous City banks the Danube River. It’s comparatively a smaller metropolis with a inhabitants of round 350,000. It is among the greatest preserved medieval previous cities in Europe. Apart from the colorful medieval homes, spectacular church buildings, bell towers and delightful baroque palaces, essentially the most enchanting constructing is unquestionably the Bratislava Fort. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Fort overlooks previous city and the Danube.

My new buddies and I spent hours on the fort within the midst of heavy snowing. When blizzard eased, we walked rather a lot across the metropolis. We had lunch in a Slovak cellar sort restaurant. After lunch we continued our discovery tour by foot. It was moist and chilly, however enjoyable.

An Task in Switzerland

After I returned to Vienna, I acquired a name from Sri Lanka. It was my father-in-law who ran our household enterprise – Streamline Providers, a journey company and hospitality consulting firm. We additionally represented just a few well-known resort colleges in Europe for whom our firm recruited college students from Sri Lanka.

My father-in-law, Captain Wick chatted over the phone for a very long time. He mentioned, “Chandi, the HotelConsult Lodge Faculty contract you secured for us three years in the past has progressed nicely. When you find yourself in Switzerland, HotelConsult has invited you to test their services, meet our college students, have a luncheon assembly with the President of the college, and likewise ship a visitor lecture. Their primary campus is in Brig, which is simply a three-hour practice journey from Zürich which you could have deliberate to go to. Are you able to go there and spend a few days?”

I mentioned, “Sure, Captain!” and adjusted my journey plans instantly. My spouse and mother-in-law prompt that I am going to Switzerland alone on the enterprise journey whereas they went on to Munich to stick with our good Bavarian buddies in West Germany. We agreed to half for 3 days.

After leaving Vienna, the practice handed some stunning Austrian villages in addition to cities similar to Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Bludenz. Mr and Mrs. Schädler, an aged couple returning to their nation Liechtenstein, after every week in Vienna, grew to become pleasant with me, and have been impressed with my starvation for international travels. “In your approach to Zürich, why don’t you go to our nation?” Mrs. Schädler requested me. After I informed them that I don’t have a visa, Mr. Schädler was fast to encourage me saying “there are not any border controls between Liechtenstein and Switzerland and, the Swiss visa is legitimate in Liechtenstein.” I used to be tempted.

The practice reached the Swiss border metropolis Buchs round 3:00 pm. After I realized that Liechtenstein was solely 5 miles away, I modified my thoughts, and journey plans and obtained off the practice. After leaving my bag in a station locker, I took a bus to Liechtenstein.

LIECHTENSTEIN

Liechtenstein is a German-speaking, 61-square mile large principality between Austria and Switzerland. It’s recognized for its medieval castles, alpine landscapes and villages linked by a community of trails. In 1985, with a inhabitants of solely 26,000 (at this time, 39,000 inhabitants) Liechtenstein is among the smallest nations on the earth. It’s the identical measurement because the District of Columbia, within the USA. Liechtenstein is the world’s wealthiest nation. Based on the World Financial institution, its annual per-capita earnings is $175,813, rating Liechtenstein forward of Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Bermuda in 2022.

Vaduz

Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, sits on the Rhine River close to the Swiss border. It’s a cultural and monetary centre, house to Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, with galleries of contemporary and up to date artwork. The Postmuseum shows Liechtenstein’s well-known postage stamps. Though superb for tourism, the biggest resort within the metropolis had solely 41 rooms! The principle attraction is the Vaduz Fort.

Vaduz Fort

On a hillside overlooking the city, Vaduz Fort dates again to the twelfth century and is a royal household residence. The close by nationwide museum homes archaeological and cultural artifacts in a medieval constructing. After a short go to to Vaduz, I took a bus to return to Buchs in Switzerland. However I spotted that it was now getting too late to journey to Brig based on my unique plan earlier than my spur of the second determination to go to one other nation.

SWITZERLAND

Having travelled in Switzerland for research and leisure three years in the past, I used to be accustomed to half a dozen key cities on this stunning nation. Switzerland’s political construction is pretty distinctive on the earth. In whole, there are 26 cantons (states of the Swiss Confederation) with a mean inhabitants of 250,000 per canton. The first language in 19 cantons is German, six cantons are French and one canton is Italian. In 1985 the inhabitants of Switzerland was solely 6.5 million (at this time, almost 10 million).

Earlier than catching the final practice from Buchs, I referred to as HotelConsult to tell them about my slight change of journey plans. Then I referred to as my Ceylon Lodge Faculty batch mate and hostel mate for 3 years, Patrick Taylor (Patta) who was dwelling in Zug along with his Swiss spouse, Judy. They met, fell in love and obtained married when Patta was the primary Government Chef of Triton Lodge and Judy was a Tour Chief for a Swiss tour operator in Sri Lanka. They invited me to their house, which was half-hour south of Zürich by practice. They got here to the Zug railway station to choose me up.

Zug

As I arrived in Zug, when it was very darkish and chilly, and didn’t see a lot. Zug is the primary city and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Town is small and had a inhabitants of simply over 20,000. Its identify originates from the fishing vocabulary; within the Center Ages it referred to the suitable to tug up fishing nets and therefore to the suitable to fish. This city is well-known for its low taxes and affluence with stunning nature. The historic city of Zug a favorite vacation spot for individuals who are keen on discovering noteworthy landmarks.

I stayed in Patta and Judy’s home that night time. Judy rapidly ready a conventional Swiss meal together with Zürcher geschnetzeltes (meat reduce Zürich-style), a easy however very tasty dish consisting of veal cooked with mushrooms, cream, onions and wine. Patta ready rösti (a Swiss dish made with uncooked grated potatoes and butter).

Zürcher geschnetzeltes mit rösti

As Judy was beginning a brand new job subsequent day, she went to sleep early leaving Patta and I to catch up about our memorable faculty years. After dinner I had an extended chat with Patta until early hours within the morning. We talked about how our lives have modified since we first met 14 years in the past in Colombo. Judy had motivated Patta to arrange a small enterprise in Zug referred to as, Taylor Catering Providers. “Machang, I additionally make some earnings from a brand new pastime of mine, Patta informed me.

Their condo was stunning and had a set of huge summary work. Patta stunned me when he informed me that he’s the artist. Portray had been one thing he tried after settling in Switzerland. I by no means knew about my good friend’s inventive expertise after we have been faculty college students. These stunning work impressed me to strive summary portray myself. I did this for a few years after that, with just a few solo summary artwork exhibitions in 4 nations in South Asia, South America, the Caribbean and North America. Thanks for the motivation, Patta!

Patrick Taylor and I throughout a CHS journey in early Nineteen Seventies

Patta was fascinated with my journey file and future journey ambitions. “Machang, the place else are you travelling throughout this journey earlier than returning to your base in London?” he requested. I mentioned, “just some temporary stops in Zürich, Bern, Brig, Lax, Fiesch, Lausanne, Luzern, Munich, Paris, Amiens, Boulogne-Sur-Mer and Dover.” Patta laughed loud and mentioned, “The journey bug has actually bitten you, Chandana!”

The final lap of the six-week lengthy journey

To be continued subsequent Sunday…