Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'Is it strong? Of course it is. I guarantee that you will be able to ride another
ten thousand kilometres at the very least. You can even jump up and down on the
frame and it won't break!'
One of the drunks took the challenge literally. He stood on the frame and began
to jump up and down. I pushed and sent him toppling to the floor. The welder
laughed.
I felt indebted to this tall stranger, yet when I offered him thanks and some
money he refused. 'No, it's I who thank you for giving me the chance to meet such
a traveller. There is one condition - that is, you must come to have a glass of vodka
with me.'
With the bike fixed, being merry was tolerable again! Back in his cottage, we
toasted the meeting. I never knew his name, but he was of Polish descent. He and
his father had been sent to Siberia during Stalin's reign. Briefly, he spoke of relat-
ives he had never met in Poland. Unlike most men who swore at the mere sight of
my bike, he congratulated me for having the will to do the trip.
'I was also a sportsman once,' he remarked, with nostalgia.
As abruptly as he had opened up, he slid the bottle back into its niche in the wall
and shook my hand. Our brief crossing of paths was over.
Back in the kindergarten, the workmen were warming up for a heavy night.
They sat around a table dishing out a mix of stale bread, tomato paste, salt and cold,
stodgy macaroni.
'Sit down! Come and sit down!' The master engineer beckoned. My presence
heralded the opening of a four-litre jar of
samagonka
, which is homemade vodka,
but usually with a higher alcohol content.
The men raised their glasses in excitement. It was difficult to guess their age.
With greasy stubble and leathery complexions, they wore their dank clothing like a
second skin. Apart from the boss, most appeared slim and square-shouldered.
A plate of tomato paste and macaroni and a glass of
samagonka
were shoved
before me as the feast got under way. While the others starting slurping, one man
was struggling to focus through a pair of crooked, cracked glasses. You could tell
that he was mulling over a question.
'There in Australia, the capital is Sydney, right? And you have a lot of deserts
and in some parts some mountains?' he asked solemnly, as if wanting to confirm
that his education was correct.
Before I could answer, the others butted in with a volley of questions.
'Do you have potatoes in Australia?'
