“Travels to a Different Time” : 11August1973: Bled, Yugoslavia: Travelling on the Cheap; A Russian Sprat Man

Often I am asked how you can afford to stay in Europe for three months every year. The main reason may be that since my sister works for Overseas National Airways out of Kennedy Airport in New York I get to travel for free. Of course you never quite know where you may end up as it is a charter airline. The other main reason is that I live on the cheap. I packed a tent this year and camping is even cheaper than youth hostel tyranny. You meet a few like-minded tourists and lots of locals most often recognized in communist countries by the men wearing track suits. And I make my own meals whenever I can. I am a canned Russian sprat and bread man with lots of grapes. I will treat myself with a hot meal in a restaurant occasionally. And if possible, I will auto-stop which is what they call hitchhiking in Europe. I am not a EURAIL pass man. Too conventional.

So today made scrambled eggs with bread and honey for breakfast.  Went to the lake for a couple of hours for a swim and left when I felt I was beginning to burn. I met Lynn and we decided to call Overseas National Airways in Frankfurt to obtain info about return flights to North America. We went to the tourist agency to see where we could make a call and they said go to the post office which we agreed we will do tomorrow. I went to the supermarket to buy some ingredients for macaroni and cheese. After that I headed back to the youth hostel dropped off my supplies and walked to the castle but did not enter as they were charging an admission fee. I walked down from the castle and listened to a concert and headed back to make my macaroni and cheese for dinner. I added chopped up green peppers and tomatoes to it. Talked with the Belgian couple and some Irish girls. I watched an American show McCloud and then hit the sack.