The Land Before Transylvania – Crossing Into Crisana (The Lost Lands #3)

In January an academic conference on the Treaty of Trianon was held in Budapest. Though the 100^th anniversary of the treaty’s signing occurred in 2020, Trianon is still of such intense interest among Hungarians that the topic never fails to draw an audience. Of the nine presentations given at the conference, five were on relations between Hungary and Romania. This was not a coincidence. I have talked with many Hungarians about Trianon and heard a range of opinions. There is a sense of resignation in every Hungarian I have spoken to about it.  One told me it was the second worst thing to happen in world history, ranking only behind the Holocaust.

Another Hungarian told me she didn’t care about Trianon. That same woman mentioned that her surname came from a village in Eastern Transylvania where her family originated from. I looked up the village on a map and discovered that it was right on the pre-Trianon border between Austria-Hungary and Romania. One Hungarian told me the victorious powers were to blame for the treaty. They loathed Hungary and wanted to dismember the country. Every Hungarian seems to have an opinion about Trianon. The one place they most often mentioned while discussing Trianon was Transylvania. This is why I put Romania first on my itinerary for the lost lands beyond Hungary’s borders. 

The long view – Reformed Church & Ghenci village in Crisana (Credit: Ady Negrean)

Land of Confusion – Far From The Truth
Contrary to popular belief, Transylvania is not Dracula. Blood thirsty vampires do not lurk in the dark recesses of ominous castles. For centuries, vampires enjoyed legendary status among Transylvanian peasants. Bram Stoker took those legends and created a character that haunted the imagination of readers all over the world. Dracula and vampires are a distraction from the real ghosts of Transylvania. Those ghosts enter the room when Transylvania and Trianon are discussed. Hungarians and Romanians are haunted by the ghosts of Trianon. For Romanians, the ghosts are mostly friendly, For Hungarians, the ghosts are always tragic. As a foreigner, I find these extremes disconcerting. They remind me of a line in T.S. Eliot’s poem Ash Wednesday, “Wavering between the profit and the loss. In this brief transit where the dreams cross.” Dreams certainly cross the Hungary and Romania border. As do nightmares.

Listening to Hungarians talk about Transylvania can make you believe the region is right across the border in Romania. It is as though you could reach out and touch it. This is far from the truth. To get to Transylvania, one must first cross the Hungary-Romania border, then make their way across a land of confusion. This is the Crisana (Körösvidék) Region. I have yet to hear a single person call the region by that name. Transylvania literally translated means the “land beyond the forest.” Crisana should be known as the “land before Transylvania.” Crisana’s claim to urban fame is the beautiful city of Oradea (Nagyvarad). Though the landscape of Transylvania is nowhere in sight, Oradea is often wrongly placed in the region.

Splitting the difference – Crișana Region in Hungary and Romania (Credit: The Blue Mapper)

Caught In The Middle – Splitting The Difference

I did a Google search for the question, “Is Oradea in Transylvania?” The second result yielded by the search came from that long-trusted source of knowledge Britannica. The listing said, “Oradea | Cities, Transylvania, Hungary.” I guess the best and brightest are not always correct. Travelers will also be wrong footed by the open-source travel guide Wikivoyage. The second sentence of its Oradea entry begins, “Despite the city being one of the largest and most important in Transylvania…” For all those who decry Wikipedia as a less than trustworthy source, they might want to think again. The first sentence of its entry on Oradea points the reader in the right direction, stating that Oradea is “located in the Crisana Region.” It is also one of the most beautiful cities in the lost lands.

For the pedants among us, let us state for the record that Crisana gets its name from the Cris (Koros) River and its three tributaries. One of those tributaries, the Crisul Repede runs through the heart of Oradea. The boundaries of Crisana stretch into eastern Hungary and include the country’s second largest city, Debrecen. Crisana is as much a land unto itself as Transylvania. While it lacks the spectacular natural beauty found in the latter, it does include a multitude of landscapes from pastoral flatlands, verdant forests, and foothills that roll away towards the mountains. All of this is lost on the traveler who is entranced by visions of Transylvania. That is a shame because Crisana rewards those who let their curiosity guide them. There could be worse things than the Romanian part of Crisana being placed in Transylvania, but hardly more absurd ones. It is a wild exaggeration. Just how wild can be shown with a thought experiment. 

Natural setting – Sunset in Crisana (Credit: Adrian Padurariu)

Farmer Harker – Dracula In Crisana
Imagine Bram Stoker’s Dracula inhabiting a gloomy manor house surrounded by farmland. Rather than wolves, docile horses and wandering cattle doze in the surrounding fields. The only battlements to be found are stalks of wheat and corn. Jonathan Harker has come to help Dracula sell his estate to a ginormous agricultural corporation that lives off massive subsidies from the European Union. Dracula’s devious plan involves getting back at Harker who he sees as all that is wrong with the EU. Dracula blames Harker and useful idiots like him for ending the era of the wooden plow. Rather than a shadowy coachman coming to pick up Harker upon his arrival at the railway station in Satu Mare, a couple of Securitate agents driving a horse drawn wagon cart show up to collect him.

Much to his detriment, Harker discovers that Dracula sucks less blood than the summertime mosquitoes. Harker spends his time writing scathing letters back to the love of his life in London. The fact that the Count’s estate is not in Transylvania drives him nearly mad. How can this be the land beyond the forest when he has yet to reach it? Harker never notices Dracula’s sinister intent as he becomes obsessed with the vagaries of animal husbandry. Harker saves himself from an even worse fate by chasing the Count off the property and into Transylvania with a John Deere tractor. Everyone lives happily ever after. Such is life in the lost lands. I cannot wait to see what comes next in the land beyond the Hungary-Romania border. 

Click here for: Stepping Over The Line – Hungary-Romania Border (The Lost Lands #4)

The Long Haul – An Exhausting Journey To Oradea (The Lost Cities #6)

If you ever want to amuse yourself with a slightly sadistic activity, I highly recommend the travel journey planning website Rome2Rio. Type in your points of departure and arrival, then wait for a couple of seconds as the website works its magic. The site will give you train, bus, and car options to any destination they desire. These can be a source of fascination, especially when transfers are involved. Any search between two places that cannot be reached with a non-stop service will result in numerous options, some of which are scarcely viable unless you are willing to endure extreme fatigue.

I found one particularly exhausting option while searching for the most efficient way to travel between Uzhhorod and Oradea for my Lost Cities beyond the Hungarian border itinerary. There is no non-stop train service between the two cities. The fun really began as I looked through the options that were offered. One that got my attention was “Train via Biharkeresztes” because it offered the shortest travel time. I did not have the slightest idea of where Biharkeresztes was located other than in Hungary. Clicking on the option revealed a nightmarish itinerary that made me want to book my tickets just to see if I was up to the challenge. 

On-time arrival – Train from Puspokladany arriving in Oradea (Credit: Boldizsar Sipos)

Beyond Midnight – Ready For Departure
My fascination with a potential journey via Biharkeresztes began when Rome2Rio showed that it would take eight hours. I sighed. While I expected a lengthy travel time due to the lack of a direct connection between Uzhhorod and Oradea, seeing an eight-hour journey listed as the first option, made me realize the difficulty of getting between the two cities in a timely manner. There was no getting around the fact that this leg of my itinerary would take most of a day. Little did I know that the time given did not include transfers and waiting at stations. When I investigated the option further, I saw that the entire trip would take 14 hours and 14 minutes. I was astonished to learn that the details revealed the trip would be even tougher than the amount of time it took. I would spend two-fifths of the time waiting in stations, part of it in the dead of night at a station in the Hungarian town of Puspokladany.

Public transport stations late at night and in the earliest hours of the morning are something I generally avoid while traveling in Eastern Europe. For that matter, I try to avoid them anywhere I travel in western Europe or America. A railway or bus station around midnight or thereafter is an invitation for trouble. While I have never noticed any violent criminal element in the evening at stations I have frequented in Eastern Europe, the possibility is always there. After the sun goes down, there is usually a noticeable increase of seedy characters that look ready to commit petty theft at stations. In my opinion, they are more of a danger to someone’s belongings than they are to passengers, but why tempt fate unless it is absolutely necessary. My late-night experiences at stations are limited so I am no authority on the matter. The most memorable of these turned out to be completely benign.

Awaiting arrivals – Puspokladany Train Station (Credit: Tony Fekete)

Nocturnal Travel – A Marathon Journey
I arrived not long before midnight on my first visit to Lviv in western Ukraine. I went into the main hall expecting it to be deserted. Instead, I found a large crowd awaiting arrivals or departures. The worst thing I encountered on that occasion were the taxi drivers. In Eastern Europe, it does not matter if it is morning, noon, or midnight, the taxi drivers are always prepared to fleece foreigners. They haunt arrival areas in railway and bus stations waiting to confront bleary eyed travelers. In Lviv, the taxi drivers were no real danger to anything other than my wallet. Despite coming through this experience unscathed, I am still reluctant to take my chances by hanging around in a public transport station late at night. Nonetheless, this is sometimes unavoidable. For example, the journey from Uzhhorod to Oradea.

If I was to take the timeliest train option that Rome2Rio provided me, I would find myself waiting in a railway station late at night. The marathon journey begins at Uzhhorod in the late afternoon. That time of departure is never a good sign if you are traveling across three countries with three different languages while navigating two border crossings. This would surely be enough to induce plenty of stress. That might help me stay awake during what would be a long day’s journey deep into the night. One positive would be gaining an hour after crossing into a different time zone from Ukraine to Hungary. One negative would be losing that same hour after crossing from Hungary into Romania. Traveling is never easy in the remoter reaches of Eastern Europe. The toughest part comes when making a transfer at Puspokladany in eastern Hungary. The problem is that the train arrives there at 8:33 p.m. followed by a four and a half hour wait. I have made transfers at Puspokladany before. The station is in excellent condition and safe. Still, spending a considerable amount of time there long into the night is less than ideal.

Somewhere down the line – Beside the platform at Puspokladany (Credit: Tony Fekete)

On-Time Arrival – Before The Break of Dawn
The train from Puspokladany to Oradea does not leave until 1:01 a.m. This is a sleeper train traveling between Budapest and Brasov. I would be at risk of falling asleep on this train. There are worse things in travel than missing a long-awaited stop and waking up in Transylvania. One of them happens to be trying to stay awake all the way to Oradea where the train arrives at 4:17 a.m. That just might be late enough that all the miscreants and ne’er do wells have either passed out, stolen their quota of cigarettes, or gone to bed. I would be left searching for a bed of my own while wandering the streets of Oradea a couple of hours before dawn. Is there anything worse than those final hours of the early morning before dawn? I am not sure, but I intend to find out. This might not sound like fun, but it is an adventure.  

Click here for: Whisper To A Scream – The Door In Nagyvarad (The Lost Cities #7)

Time Management – A Race Against The Clock To Oradea (The Lost Cities #5)

There are the trips not taken, the routes not followed, and the timetables that cannot be worked out. I rarely write about my stillborn sojourns. It is painful to recall aborted plans that started with hope and ended in hopelessness. These chances not taken can be summed up as an inversion of the famous Sinatra lyric from My Way, “Regrets, I’ve had a few…too few to mention” into “Regrets, I’ve had many, too many to mention.” My way ended up being the wrong way.

What worries me the most about my itinerary for the lost cities beyond the borders of Hungary is that it will never come to fruition. That is why I have tried to trick myself into believing the itinerary is for armchair travel only. Nevertheless, my underlying and unspoken aspiration is to make this dream become reality. The reason it might not is a matter of time. As I plan this potential journey, I am becoming acutely aware just how much time plays a part in the choices I make while traveling in Eastern Europe.

Managing time – Oradea City Hall Tower

Road Weary – Crossing The Upper Tisza
There is Eastern Europe, and then there is far Eastern Europe. I define the latter as places in the region that are remote from the popular tourist routes. The westernmost stretch of the Ukraine-Romania border is one of them. I consider this to be the wildest of the wild east.  This is not just because of both countries’ association with some of the most volatile European history since the beginning of the 20^th century, it is also because a stretch of the border is naturally demarcated by the Upper Tisza River. When I learned this a decade ago, it astonished me. My image of the Tisza had been informed by numerous crossings of the river on the Great Hungarian Plain. I had always thought of the Tisza as a broad, languid river flowing through flat land as it heads south to feed the Danube. That was until I saw photos of the Upper Tisza along the Ukraine-Romania border that showed a narrower, faster flowing river. The photos led me to daydream about one day crossing this natural border.

While developing my Lost Cities itinerary, I thought that there might be an opportunity to cross the Upper Tisza when I traveled from Uzhhorod to Oradea. That was until I looked closely at a map and noticed that the Ukraine-Romania border was to the southeast of Uzhhorod, whereas Oradea was directly to the south. Trying to find a way to cross the Upper Tisza between Oradea and Uzhhorod would require a detour. On the map, this detour did not look that difficult, but railways in the area are few. Roads are often the only option. I have been on enough to-lane highways in Ukraine and Romania to know that traveling on them is time consuming due to their narrowness and condition. Despite these drawbacks, I researched a potential trip routed through the small city of Satu Mare in northwestern Romania.

The place to be – Satu Mare Railway Station in 1911
(Credit: Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag Meißen)

Clock Watching – Taking My Time
Bus travel in the remoter reaches of Eastern Europe is often the only means of transport. That is the case for anyone looking to get from Uzhhorod to Satu Mare. It requires two potentially exhausting bus rides. That is followed by a three-hour train journey between Satu Mare and Oradea. All this adds up to at least a twelve-hour journey. Timeliness is not the strong suit of public transport in Romania. Neither is a border crossing from a country at war, to one that is a member of the European Union. Specific travel times are rendered meaningless. The best that can be hoped for are rough estimates of arrival times. In this context, a couple of hours can easily double. For this potential journey, time was working against me.

Sitting in an armchair months or years away from an actual trip between Uzhhorod and Oradea, it is easy for me to delude myself into believing anything might be possible. Pushing the boundaries of endurance is appealing from a distance. I know from experience just how different reality can be, especially when bus travel is involved. I love riding on trains because I find even the worst ones to be more comfortable and relaxing than traveling on a bus. The trains I have been on in Ukraine and Romania are slower than buses, but they have everything else to recommend them. For instance, on a train I can stretch my legs while not worrying about the numerous near misses that occur on bad roads with drivers who love to risk everyone’s life. Furthermore, I do not have to sit in cramped quarters among fellow passengers whose clothes are permeated with the smell of cigarette smoke. Avoiding these annoyances makes the slower pace of train travel more tolerable.

There is also the historical accuracy that comes with train journeys to the lost cities on my itinerary. When Uzhhorod and Oradea were known as Ungvar and Nagyvarad in Austria-Hungary, those who traveled to them would have done so by train. Contemporary railway lines still follow much of the network laid down by the Hungarian National Railways network during the last half of the 19^th century. Taking trains offers me an opportunity to follow the exact same routes in many cases. I am seeing the same landscape, as citizens of the empire saw it over a century ago. It is possible on these journeys to relive a semblance of the past while traveling at the same speed as citizens of the empire did long before me.

A New Direction – Puspokladany Railway Station (Credit: Aspectomat)

Mental Sanity – A New Direction
My love for train travel led me to decide that my best bet for efficiency and mental sanity will be to travel in a straight shot south from Uzhhorod to Oradea. This will not be easy. Traveling through rural areas that have changed little since the days of Austria-Hungary takes patience. The one thing that has changed is national borders. This inevitably leads to delays. Add to that, the usual issues with poor infrastructure found in some of the poorer parts of Eastern Europe and my journey from Uzhhorod to Oradea will either be an adventure or a nightmare. In this case, probably both. I began researching more straightforward and expedient options for the journey. This led me in another bizarre direction, the town of Puspokladany in eastern Hungary.

Click here for: The Long Haul – An Exhausting Journey To Oradea (The Lost Cities #6)

Retro Rail Ride – From Budapest to Eisenstadt & Bratislava (The Lost Cities #2)

The borders changed, the bureaucrats changed, the demographics changed, the economies changed, the politics changed, the names changed, the official languages changed, the centuries changed and still Budapest remains, as it did at the turn of the 20th century, the hub for anyone looking to reach the lost cities just beyond the borders of Hungary. In the last half of the 19^th century, Hungarian National Railway’s network of lines was developed with Budapest as the epicenter. That remains largely true today for the cities which were once part of the Kingdom of Hungary. The old cliché “the more things change, the more they stay the same” still applies in this case. Those traveling to the lost cities are likely to find themselves starting in Budapest. That is where my own journey to the lost cities now begins.

Ready to roll – Dawn at Budapest Nyugati (Western Railway Station)

Border Complications – National Insecurities
The shortest distance between two points is said to be a straight line. The shortest distance between the early 20^th century and the lost cities of Oradea (Nagyvarad), Timisoara (Temesvar), Subotica (Szabadka), Pozsony (Bratislava), Kosice (Kaschau), Eisenstadt (Kismarton), and Ungvar (Uzhhorod) is at the three railway stations (Nyugati – western/Keleti – eastern/Deli – southern) in Budapest. Many things have changed, and some stayed the same since the early 20^th century regarding the lost cities. Rail connections are one of them. While Budapest is still the best place to begin any journey to all seven lost cities, national borders cause complications. These are a legacy from the aftermath of World War I when border control inhibited pre-existing rail routes. It took 84 years, accession to the European Union and Schengen Zone for borderless travel between Hungary, Austria and Slovakia. This is also slated to happen with Romania when it becomes part of the Schengen Zone in 2024. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Serbia and Ukraine. Borders are always complicating factors, the ones between Hungary and its neighbors still act as irritants for the traveler. The situation has improved, but it is still an obstacle the traveler must have overcome.

The complications of borders were expected after the Treaty of Trianon went into effect on June 4, 1920. The nations which had gained the lost cities were suspicious of Hungary’s future intentions toward them. Even with large numbers of Hungarians migrating out of the lost cities and into the newly constituted Republic of Hungary, there were still large numbers of Hungarians that were the cause of consternation for Romania (formed in 1866), Yugoslavia (formed in 1918), and Czechoslovakia (formed in 1918), Austria was a different matter altogether, but it too eyed Hungary warily. Better to make travel between these nations and Hungary more difficult. Borders were a form of security. Judging by the coming of another world war, they were not a very good one.

Awaiting arrivals – Eisenstadt Railway Station

Living On The Edge – Burgenland & Bratislava
As any traveler does before setting out on a journey, I am searching for the best route between my destinations. It makes sense to start in Budapest since it was the transport hub for the Hungarian half (Transleithania) of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From Budapest, the question is where to go first. That decision will go a long way in determining the route I will take to travel from one city to the next. I am not looking for the quickest route between the lost cities. I am searching for the one that will prove most intellectually satisfying. One of the most important elements of any journey is getting off to a good start. That might sound simplistic, but when it comes to travel my experience has been that the beginning of a journey van either set the traveler up for success or failure. With that in mind, I want to ease into this journey. Looking at the seven lost cities, Eisenstadt in Eastern Austria stands out as low hanging fruit ripe to be plucked with a leisurely rail ride.

Due to the starting and final destinations for this initial leg of the journey being in different countries, it will require multiple transfers and take almost four hours. I can think of worse things than riding the rails across western Hungary and then hopscotching between a couple of stations before arrival in the Austrian province of Burgenland. It only seems right that I should finish this first leg of the journey in what became a newly created ninth Austrian province in 1921. Along the way I will be passing through Sopron, known as the most loyal city in Hungary because it voted to stay part of the country during the messy aftermath of the post- World War I treaty making process.

Eisenstadt is a good first lost city to visit for logistical reasons. Of the seven lost cities, it is the furthest one to the west and in near proximity to Bratislava, which will be second on my itinerary.   Bratislava, known by Hungarians as Pozsony, has done better economically than any of the other lost cities. The reason can be summed up as location and size. Bratislava is just 30 kilometers from Vienna. It has become something of a bedroom community to the Austrian capital. Bratislava also became the capital of Slovakia in 1994. As the seat of government, the city had a self-reinforcing economy. Due to Slovakia’s lower taxes and cost of living (not the case anymore), businesses and people poured into the city. It was the largest city in the newly created country.  Bratislava continues its impressive growth today. The city’s Old Town is spectacular, and the surrounding area has much to recommend it.

Power & prosperity – Bratislava (Credit: Jorge Franganillo)

Lost & Found – The Eastern Frontier
From Bratislava I really have only one choice, head eastward. This is the direction that has captivated me ever since I first set foot in the region. As much as I love Budapest and Bratislava, nothing fires my imagination like heading ever deeper into Eastern Europe. This is the true heart of a region that has been greatly misunderstood by the western world. It is also a region that the Treaty of Trianon upended to a greater extent than anywhere else. The heartlands of historic Hungary can still be found in eastern Slovakia, sub-Carpathian Ukraine, and western Romania. These places are home to the lost cities that are the next stage in planning my itinerary.

Click here for: Eastern Questions – Plotting Paths To Kosice & Uzhhorod (The Lost Cities #3)

Losing Control – Opening The Hungary-Slovakia Border (Rendezvous With An Obscure Destiny #58c)

Soft borders are heaven, hard borders are a hassle. The former, defined by the Schengen Area in places like Hungary and Slovakia can now be done in the 1ablink of an eye. The latter, such as between Hungary and Romania are an obstacle course that can only be navigated with a passport and/or other required documents such as a visa. Once you have experienced the ease of crossing borders in any of the 27 countries in Europe that belong to the Schengen Area, you never want to experience another queue at a border. Border control feels retro in many parts of Eastern Europe. A time when suspicions were intense and crossing from one country in Eastern Europe to another was the ultimate stress test. For some individuals, crossing a border could be the difference between freedom and imprisonment, life or death. By comparison, current border control in Eastern Europe where nations are part of the Schengen Area can seem like a formality.

Passing through – Abandoned Slovenske Nove Mesto – Satoraljaujhely Border Control

Crossing Over – An Internal Iron Curtain
The very definition of what constitutes a hard border in Eastern Europe has undergone transformative change. For instance, the Hungary-Romania border was one of the toughest to cross when Nicolae Ceausescu led Romania during the later part of the communist period. Due to the large ethnic Hungarian minority in Romania, any Hungarian crossing the border was viewed with suspicious intent. Any Romanian crossing the border was viewed with only a little less suspicion. Other foreign nationals were targeted for onerous procedures. The border control officers were infested with Securitate agents, Romania’s dreaded secret police. People I know who passed though the border during this time often greased the skids with gifts for the officers. This was a best-case scenario for those looking to pass through what amounted to an internal iron curtain. Those crossing it risked their lives and livelihoods if the authorities deemed them guilty of nefarious activities.

Those terrible times ended abruptly on Christmas Day 1989 when Ceausescu and his wife Elena were executed by firing squad for crimes against the Romanian people. The border gate swung open. There were still problems on the border, but nothing like what had come before. Foreigners were free to visit while coercion by border officials largely subsided. Passport control became normalized. The situation seemed to be getting even better when Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007. They were due to join the Schengen Area after meeting requirements for such things as external border control and data protection. It was said to be just a matter of time before people and commerce would flow freely through open borders.  Sixteen years later both countries are still waiting.

Under control – Bors-Artand Border Crossing

Waiting Times – Watching The Clock
Speaking of waiting, the difference between crossing the Hungary-Romania border compared to the Hungary-Slovakia border is dramatic. This has economic consequences for both countries. For instance, it is problematic for the Romanian travel and tourism industry who have been hoping for years that ease of access would become the norm in getting even more travelers to Romania, which is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Unfortunately, those travelers crossing into Romania can expect delays. I know this from first-hand experience when in 2017 I spent time at the Artand-Bors crossing on my way to visit Oradea (Nagyvarad), an elegant city with eye catching architecture from the later 19^th and early 20^th century.

The wait at the border was irritating. It took about half an hour to get through. That seems like nothing, but on a day trip it means spending an hour waiting to clear the border. And on that day traffic was light. Another time on a bus, it took a bit longer. When I weighed making another crossing of the Hungary-Romania border to visit Oradea, versus crossing the Hungary-Slovakia border on an alternative day trip, my decision was based on how long I would have to spend in transit at the border. It was a choice between thirty seconds or thirty minutes twice in the same day. That was why I ultimately decided to journey north from Debrecen in eastern Hungary over the border to Borsa, Slovakia to visit a historic site. After visiting Borsa, I was soon crossing back into Hungary from Slovenske Nova Mesto to Satoraljaujlhely. This was when I came upon the remnants of border facilities that had been abandoned since both countries joined the Schengen Area in 2007.

Open border & open road – Crossing the border from Slovakia into Hungary

Expedited Entry – A Welcoming Atmosphere
I have seen a lot of junk yards, but never one in the middle of a road. The old border control post between Hungary and Slovakia had that look. The buildings were derelict. No one had manned the booths in over fifteen years. No one took them down either. The posts had become a monumental reminder of just how difficult it was to cross between the two countries. Making my way past the abandoned buildings I could not help but think how the relegation of these border facilities was astonishing. The abandoned buildings are a sort of open-air museum. The details of their decline are visible in the dilapidation. They tell the story of what happened both before and after 2007 when the Schengen Area came into effect. Hungary and Slovakia were enemies on many occasions throughout the 20^th century. Even today, there are still flare ups between the two because of issues with ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia. And yet the sides have come to trust one another enough to allow what in effect is an open border.

The abandoned border crossing is symbolic of that trust. There are no impediments to crossing the border now. Traffic flows between Hungary and Slovakia without hindrance. There can be no better place to reflect on the improvement of relations between the two countries. Very few are worried about Hungarians coming into Slovakia, and vice versa. Border control is no longer needed. To understand how incredible that is, consider what it must have been like when the posts were active. Anyone trying to enter either country would first have to convince a border control agent that they would do no harm. Even then, they could be subjected to long waits and suspicious questioning. Now the only hindrance is slowing down to weave one’s way along the road past the derelict border control buildings. This is a minor miracle, one that has become so common that few notice. That is until they try to cross the Hungary-Romania border.

Clicm here for: Prolonged Agony – A Frustrating Flight Path Over Hungary (Rendezvous with An Obscure Destiny #59)