Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Language options on an ATM show solidarity among smaller ethnic groups.
Europe Spreads East
On May 1, 2004, eight formerly communist nations joined the European
Union…and suddenly the EU grew by 75 million people. In 2007 and 2013, three
more additions boosted the population by another 35 million. In just a few short
years, the geographical center of Europe shifted from Brussels to Prague.
Eastern Europe is changing fast. Freedom is old news, communism is a distant
memory, and they have long settled into the grind of capitalism. In the 1990s, so-
cieties once forced to espouse Soviet economics embraced the capitalist work ethic
with gusto—as if making up for lost time. While adjusting from the security of a to-
talitarian system to the insecurity of freedom, my friends there reported that young-
er and better-educated people jumped at this opportunity to get ahead—working
longer hours, having fewer children, and buying more cars. On the other hand,
older people missed the job security and sense of safety while walking down the
streets that they remember from the “good old days.” And many less-educated
young people who see the new system working against them joined angry and racist
