The Danube at Dawn
I am struck by the intersection of politics, geography, and history. People here have gone through tremendous political upheaval, and depending on their age, you can guess the details. Our tour guide in Bratislava, a beautiful and lively woman with 2 young children, remembers the story of a young family from town whose father escaped with his children across the river from (then) Czechoslovakia into Austria by a balloon (the children were afraid to swim--they made it across, but as she pointed out, others didn't).
We passed a town at night, just lights and streets straddling both sides of the river at a point no wider than the BU bridge. It had been a single town in Hungary for centuries, but when the lines were redrawn in 1918 it was split between Slovakia and Hungary. Everyone is quick to say the separation is not as important now as it had been, as both countries are part of the European Union, and passports are no longer need to visit family on the other side.
The Arosa Deck at dawn
Laurie Doyle, CRWA Board of Directors
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