Prologue

“A simple and creative opening line…” is how a public address should begin. A deeper question is how to start a book? Maybe a Confucian approach would be best, just to begin. These are my adventures in Eastern Europe. I mean, Central Europe, well it is not that either. Only someone from Eastern Europe would say they are from Central Europe to avoid being from Eastern Europe. What is the difference? Together these experiences certainly changed my perspective. Life is no longer full of the infinite and grandiose pleasures of unchecked consumerism.

Rarely a place makes memories. There are many beautiful things and places the world over. If you could possibly remember something about each of them, you probably would forget a joke, a flower or a scent that made another smog-choked city any different than the next. Surely a stack of sticks and stones does not make a place worth visiting. The people you meet there are more important than any old building. Adventuring with someone tells you a lot about them. These are many of the experiences I have had traveling alone and with many people.

For those who remember these stories first hand, I hope that this book reminds of you of some of the adventures that we shared. Some of the details have been changed to tell a better story. Hopefully, any changes are minor and do not incriminate the guilty further. For all of the others who are just reading about them for the first time, maybe it will be good for a laugh or at least show you something from a different perspective.