Agree. Very thought-provoking, especially the second story. And humbling.
Btw, things have changed in the Central Europe since that time. Whenever I am in the US, as soon as I mention Poland, Czech and Slovak Republic, and Hungary, almost without exception I see people beginning to feel uncomfortable, or even suspicious, lifting their eyebrows, etc..
Just FYI: These countries are now an integral part of the European Union and NATO. There are no cross-border controls when traveling let's say from Poland to Germany, just like there no controls when traveling from New Jersey to New York State. Government's squeeze put on the press is now near or equal zero. Euro is the second (Poland, Czech) or the only (Slovakia) currency accepted countrywise. In fact, economies of these countries have become so productive that they are now workhorses of the whole European Union, with GDP and living standard rising remarkably every year. Many tourists visiting CE countries without knowledge about these changes are surprised or even shocked that the reality is many times much, much better than the picture they had created in their minds before arrival..
For unbiased info on the CE region visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland#Present_day_Polandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovakia#Economyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czech_Republic#EconomyEnjoy!
