[jacquesm]

Holy cow, that must have been quite the adventure. Back then the Iron Curtain was in full force and that alone must have given you plenty of challenges and then there is cycling in East-Block traffic for the better part of that trip.

Do you have pictures from that trip? I'd be very interested to see what you encountered back then (assuming you were allowed to make pictures).

[locallost]

Finland - Denmark - Sweden - Germany - Austria - Yugoslavia would be outside of the East Block. Slightly longer but not much.

edit: corrected by the author :-)

[timonoko]

Indeed. I was going to make full circle via Italy and France and Holland etc. But got a bad cut to my chin in Italy and took the train and ferry home with face taped up.

[jacquesm]

Ah, I figured the route would start with a ferry to Estonia.

[timonoko]

I had minor accident in Italy and I ended up in hospital and someone stole my camera.

Roads were bad, of course. But there was not much traffic, except lorries and army vehicles. Civilians used oxcarts and bicycles.

Funny thing is that my Communist Party Youth Club Card made things easier. But later in USA Visa application I had to lie about six times to the question "Were you or your relatives ever connected to a Communist or Nazi organization".

[jacquesm]

Why communists and Nazis would be equivalent is an interesting question all by itself. We've had a communist party (some vestige of which still remains today) here in NL.

I remember the ox carts (and more frequently, horse drawn carts) from only a bit over a decade ago in the poorer parts of Romania (anything outside the major cities). The 'Communist Party Youth Club Card' is probably a collectible now :)

Thank you for the unique story, pity the thief made of with your camera, stealing from a hospital has to be a moral low.