Planning a trip into the lost lands of Hungary requires crossing physical, psychological, geopolitical, and national borders. There is no way around them. That is to be expected because borders are the Treaty of Trianon’s lasting legacy. Without the borders that define the frontiers of Hungary today, there would be no such thing as the lost lands of Historic Hungary. The Trianon borders are lines in the sand that the victorious powers drew to sever Hungary from its hinterlands. They have been a source of consternation ever since their demarcation. This was particularly true during the interwar period. Erasing the Trianon borders was the top priority of the Hungarian government and led to its disastrous involvement in World War II. Since 1946 the Trianon borders have been locked into place. Barring an unforeseen geopolitical event, Hungary’s borders will not change. Static quo is the status quo.
Splitting the difference – Old map of the Hungary-Romania Border
Serious Intentions – A Measure of Trust
To cross from one nation to another requires crossover appeal. This is easy enough with a passport, but as anyone who has crossed a border before knows, there are always complications and limitations. In Hungary and its neighboring nations there is also the weight of history. An unseen force that weighs heavily on everyone and everything that passes through border control. Nowhere is that truer than at my first crossing which will take place at the most historically contentious Trianon border. The Hungary -Romania border is both an obstacle and opportunity. Obstacle because the barrier that separates the two countries is largely invisible to the naked eye. There is little to no difference in the landscape. Opportunity because this is the place where the effect of Trianon can be most tangibly felt.
Border control on the Hungary-Romania border raises the travel equivalent of an eternally Shakespearian question, “To get through or not to get through?” This is one of those instances where my future is in a stranger’s hands. And that future is in the hands of someone representing a land with a different language, laws, and customs from my own. I have looked into the eyes of many border officials trying to convince them without using words that I can be trusted. In those moments, I learned that trust matters almost as much as a passport. I have a great deal of respect for border officers in Eastern Europe. Anyone dealing with them should as well. Border officers have a great deal of power. That is matched by their level of responsibility. They are serving their country on the front lines. Acting as bureaucratic sentries to ensure that those who enter their country will do it no harm. This explains their seriousness. Anyone who finds border officials off putting should keep in mind that it could be worse. The only other alternative is soldiers.
Imposing Peace – Map of Austria-Hungary with post-Trianon national borders (Credit: William Robert Shepherd)
Delayed Response – Balkan Ghosts
The times I have crossed the Hungary-Romania border, I experienced professional border officers who dutifully went about their work in a relatively efficient manner. I say “relatively” because there always seems to be some sort of minor delay. These did not detain me for long. The vagaries of bureaucracy on the border are one of the enduring mysteries of travel. Another unsolved mystery is how officers on each side feel about their counterparts. The Hungary-Romania border was a point of contention right from the start. There was mutual mistrust and outright hostility on both sides. The same issue reared its ugly head when both countries were led by communist governments.
Despite the professions of camaraderie by Eastern Bloc nations, the situation was extremely adversarial. Amazingly, it was worse during the 1970’s and 80’s than during the interwar period. Crossing into Ceausescu’s Romania was notoriously difficult. This was made worse by the dictator’s oppression of Romania’s large ethnic Hungarian population. In Balkan Ghosts, Robert Kaplan’s famous book on the region, he mentions that the Romanian border during this period was one of the worst to cross. That is saying something, since Kaplan has traveled across much of the developing world. One Hungarian woman told me how she and her husband used to carry food products that were in demand to bribe the border officers when traveling to Romania. Thankfully communism collapsed and relations have improved dramatically.
On prior trips, I have been on buses and trains crossing the Hungary-Romania border. For citizens of either country, the crossing is little more than a formality. As a matter of fact, checking my passport held up one bus because I was the only person onboard not from a European Union member state. The border officers were just doing their due diligence. That did not seem to matter for my fellow passengers, a few of whom stared daggers at me because of the delay. There is nothing like being part of a whispering campaign onboard a bus filled with people speaking unintelligible languages. Compared to the way things were during the Ceausescu era, my wait was nothing more than an amusing anecdote. That experience was only 25 years removed from when Romanian border guards shot at anyone trying to escape into Hungary. Now an identity card will get a citizen from Hungary or Romania across the border in an expedited manner. This radical transformation in border control has become so commonplace that few take notice. Worrying about delays rather than death is cause for celebration.
Ease of access – Crossing the Hungary – Romania border
Opening Up – Ease of Access
It is interesting to note that border officers from Hungary and Romania have a symbiotic relationship with each other. Since both countries are members of the European Union, they work in tandem to inform one another about travelers and goods passing through their side of the border. Conversely, the officers can act in a passive-aggressive manner to make life difficult for the other country’s citizens and goods funneling through the border. Thankfully, with Romania due to join the Schengen Zone in 2024, crossing the border will be easier than it has ever been. Traveling to the lost lands will be a matter of passing a road sign that says “Romania.” The border posts will become relics of an age when mistrust and tension run high. Those days are almost over, but history still haunts this border. I feel trepidation while contemplating where to make my first crossing into the lost lands.
Click here for: The Land Before Transylvania – Crossing Into Crisana (The Lost Lands #3)
Europe Between East And West 