Before getting to the actual notes of the trip, let me give some background. My co-workers and I were hired by the Department of Defense to teach the children of military personnel on bases located abroad. There were DoDDS (Dept. of Defense Dependents Schools) on most military bases in both Europe and the Pacific as well as other locations. We four on this venture were assigned to an Army base in Germany. For the upcoming school year, a couple (Milt and Evelyn) were re-assigned to a base in Izmir, Turkey. Whereas their household goods were shipped to Izmir, they had to get their two cars there. They had asked John to drive one of them while they drove the other. John asked that I go along to help him with the drive. I'm sure it was Evelyn who agreed, since Milt was quite sure a woman would never be able to handle the task of driving a car.

So, at the end of the school year off we go, caravaning from Germany through Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece. The trip TO Izmir was a piece of cake compared to the return trip.

Here are my notes:

Sun. 1 Aug. Met Milt and Evelyn in Munich at the Bahnhof at3:30 in the afternoon. Left my car there. Milt drove one car and John the other from Munich via Salzburg Autobahn.The last Esso station** closest to the Austrian border was Bad Reichenhall. Drove south from Salzburg to Radstadt, then south on Bundstrasse 99 toward Spittal. Stayed overnight in Leoben, Austria in a nice fremdenzimmer. Good food, and each room had a fireplace. Autobahn was not completely finished - we were on and off. There were two very long tunnels with tolls. One way: Dm26, 180 Aschilling

Mon. 2 Aug. Left at 8am. Got to Yugoslavia border at Klagenfurt at 11 am. Had no trouble getting visa. No picture was required, nor was there a fee. Bought gas coupons at the border, which was cheaper than at the gas stations in Yugoslavia. We paid $28 for 100 liters (approx. 23 gallons). Only Super was available. Took us from 11:30 until 8pm to get halfway between the Austrian border and Belgrade. There was no autobahn, and many trucks slowed us down. Stayed overnight at a campground in Slavonski Brod (in what is now Croatia). Fairly nice, for Yugoslavia. Restaurant was close, sort of a truck-stop type. Bungalows were available at the campsite, but we pitched a tent.

Tues. 3 Aug. Traveled all day. Got to Belgrade at 11am. Ate lunch at the American Club around the corner from the U.S. embassy. The embassy was very easy to find. Left at 12:30, driving to our next overnight location, a campground located 25 or so k's south of Nis, Yugoslavia (in what is now Serbia). A very nice park, though the bathrooms and restaurant weren't the best.

Wed. 4 Aug. Drove through Skopje,Yugoslavia (what is now Macedonia), then into Greece. Southern Yugoslavia was very pretty, very mountainous; much like Route Napolean in France. Stayed in an excellent campground on the Aegean Sea. Excellent bath facilities, electrical outlets, etc. in Asprovalta, Greece.

Thurs.5 Aug. Finally got to the Turkish border. Very unorganized. No picture taking allowed at the border point. Turkish roads are very bad - passed many Turkish Army kaserns. Traveled down the west coast of lower Turkey. Crossed on ferry at Eceabat; 1/2-hour ride that crosses to Canakkale. Adding these notes to my computer some years later, I still remember how good peanut butter and jelly on crackers tasted at this point in our trip while we awaited the ferry. Stayed at a campsite 5 miles out of Canakkale. Not so nice. There were better ones up the road, we found out the next morning. After crossing the ferry, we were on Asian ground, making our European car insurance invalid.

Fri. 6 Aug. Left the campground at 9:30 am and rolled into Izmir at 2:30. The road traveled the west coast of Turkey. Izmir: The American hotel is called the Kordon. East to find: followed signs to Centrum. Once back onto the waterfront, the hotel was on the left, two blocks east of the large statue/monument. Hotel had shopping facilities. Eating American food was excellent. We were not allowed into the base exchange and shopping facilities with our EUCOM ID card. We did get into the snack bar.

Sat.,Sun. 7-8 Aug. Upon returning to Germany, John and I had two options:

1. to take a roundabout trip from Izmir to Athens by going first south to Kusadasi, Turkey, and from there by boat to the Greek Island of Samos. From there, another boat to Athens which would be taken overnight. However, there would be no boats leaving for Athens on Saturday.

2. to fly, a 1-hour flight from Izmir to Istanbul. From there , a train back through Bulgaria and Yugoslavia into Austria and Germany. We chose this.

We got our plane tickets at the Izmir THY, Turkish Airlines booking agency which provided us transportation to the Halaayan Means Airport, approx. 1/2-hr away. After getting to Istanbul, we took a taxi into the town center to the train station, a very dirty crowded station, a clear indication of what was to come on our 38 1/2-hr train trip. The train, using the famous Orient Express route, goes through Bulgaria and through what is today Serbia and Croatia. We had a very harrowing experience at the Bulgarian border where we were instructed by guards to get off the train. We two were among three or four other people of various nationalities, but we were the only two Americans. We were told to leave our luggage on the train, which we found had been searched while we were gone. We were taken into an "inquiry room," but were never asked anything in particular. We felt it was possibly just their form of harassment, for what reason we did not know. We still remember the sound of the train "getting ready for takeoff" and facing the notion that we may not make it back on or ever see our luggage again. But, at the last minute we were allowed on.

At each stop along the route we would pick up a few more migrant workers going to work in Germany, each with their chickens and/or watermelons. The train became severely overcrowded, and the reservations we had received in Istanbul were never really ackowledged. We remember walking the first evening after dark through the open-door mail car, a harrowing experience, looking for a place to sit. It was here we saw just how crowded the train really was. I don't remember our sleeping arrangements these two nights, it was definitely while sitting up as sleeping quarters were not even a remote possibility. Food? Not much.

Mon. 9 Aug. We were estatic pulling into Munich, where my unscathed car sat waiting to take us back home. Cost of the train from Istanbul to Munich: $50 each.

**Notes: Americans employed by the U.S. govt and drivng in Europe were given coupons for gas, at a reduced rate from the economy prices. However, it was only Esso (Exxon) stations that would accept the coupons. So, often we'd have to drive out of our way a bit to find an Esso station.