The real question is, where on earth am I doing it!
This all started because I have a conference in Berlin. My conference is for Urban Land Institute (ULI). I was selected as one of 30 people from around the world to be a part of an annual program called Healthy Leaders. We all met the first time in March, in Washington DC. Since then, we meet online every other week doing small group projects, presentations, listening to speakers, learning from each other, and more. Our focus is the intersection of health, equity, and the built environment. Our fall meeting, the second and last time we’ll meet officially as a group, is happening in Berlin. So initially, I booked a flight to Berlin, and back. Six days, and very practical and focused, just as the Germans want you to be.
And then…I started looking at a map. And Prague is SO CLOSE to Berlin.
Over the span of about 2 months, I changed my flight to fly into Prague…and then Budapest…and then Bucharest. Mark had to work, so wouldn’t be able to come with. When I realized that, I became intrigued with the idea of doing this alone. I travel in the States by myself all the time (and Canada I guess, but does Canada count? No, no it does not) but I’ve never done something like this alone. So I’m doing it, and it will be an adventure!
Of the other 29 in my group, about ½ are only going to Berlin, with no additional travel plans. Of the rest of us, some are touring other parts of Germany, some are going to Vienna, and some are going to Prague. I’m traveling before the conference, but some of them are traveling once it is done. I might overlap in Prague with one person, so maybe I’ll see someone I know before getting to Germany. Though this is technically a solo trip, I’ve booked tons of tours, so my poor little introverted heart is probably going to be sick of being around people by the time I get to Berlin.
Things to get used to:
Dates. In most of Europe, they list the day of the month, and then the month. So September 10th, where I’d normally write 9.10, is written 10.9. I screwed up one reservation (there is a material difference between September 10th and October 9th in case you were wondering) but I caught my error and I think I’ve got everything mapped out correctly now. And if not, it’ll just be part of the adventure.
Times. What I know as “military time” is just how they tell time – so you don’t say 8:00 p.m., you say 20:00. We’ll see if it starts to feel more natural, but right now I still need to stop and do the math. I screwed that up once so far, with a 17:30 meeting that I meant to be at 7:30. So far I just say “I’m from America!” and they laugh and reschedule me for the right time.
Money. Oiye.
- In Romania, I’ll use the Leu (which means lion, but there are no wild lions in Romania.) Romania is a part of the EU, but hasn’t adopted the Euro yet.
- In Hungary, I’ll use the Forint. Euros are accepted in some (but not all) tourist establishments, but the exchange rate is apparently terrible for Euros in part because the financial system is irritated by being forced to eventually convert – plus, Euros aren’t accepted in smaller places, or places out of the Budapest.
- In Slovakia, they use the Euro.
- In the Czech Republic, I’ll use the Koruna. They are also part of the EU, but have also not adopted the Euro yet.
- In Poland, I’ll use the Zloty. Again, they’re in the EU but haven’t adopted the Euro. In the major cities you can probably get away with it, but I’ll be in a smaller town.
- In Berlin, I’ll use the Euro.
- In most places I can also use a credit card, but it will depend on where I’m at – just like in the states, street vendors might not accept them, smaller establishments might not like them, and there may be additional costs to use them.
Language.
I try to learn some phrases every where I go. My experience has been that locals are far more willing to be kind and helpful if you at least make an effort. So I tried, and failed. There are too many languages, and they are too hard!
I know some German from high school, which is completely worthless because basically everyone in Berlin will speak English.
The same will likely be true in Prague; English is very commonly spoken there are well.
Budapest and Bucharest, it will be hit and miss, and even those that speak English likely won’t speak it as fluently. I’ve written down some basic phrases for each (Hello, Thank you, Please, Goodbye, Do you speak English, Coffee, and Bathroom), and have a few apps on my phone, so I’ll be ok. Romanian is the hardest of the Romantic Languages, which include: Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Portuguese, French, and Romanian. I was able to pick up, and remember, some very very basic Romanian, partly from trying to learn some very basic Spanish and French previously. I’m comfortable that with google translate, I’ll be able to come close enough to menu pronunciations to order food.
Hungarian, however, chewed me up and spit me out. It is a Uralic language, and has 14 vowels. 14. We only have five, and a sometimes Y! “Sz” is pronounced as “s” and “s” is pronounced as “sh.” I just couldn’t. I did try, and so will hopefully be able to say the very basic phrases, but even that is questionable – the podcast I found to help me was by an Australian instructor. So I, with my American accent, will be trying to pronounce Hungarian words with an Australian accent. What could go wrong? (I could wind up in jail, that’s what – but I’ll do my best to not insult anyone’s mother, and I have also been practicing how to say “I’m sorry” in each language.)
What about Russia?
F*ck Russia.
Now, from a more practical standpoint, I won’t be close, but this is certainly the closest I’ve ever been to a war. How lucky am I, for that to be true, compared to so many people throughout the world?
Their war shouldn’t impact me from a physical standpoint at all, but if I do happen to get killed by Russians, please avenge my death. Slava Ukraini!
So, here we go! First leg is an 8+ hour flight to Amsterdam. La revedere! (Romanian) Viszontlátásra! (friggin Hungarian) Ahoj! (Czech) Do widzenia! (Polish) Auf Wiedersehen! (German)
