Landolf Scherzer:
Immer geradeaus. Zu Fuß durch Europas Osten
The research was supposed to go differently. 5,000 kilometers by tractor and camper through seven Eastern European countries. The background material for the research: historical, geographic, ethnologic, and other books and articles. The camper and tractor were lost, so I covered at least four countries on foot. That is why the only experiences are those of walking, sight, and sound. Back home, I briefly added the history of the Yugoslav wars and recent Romanian history. Otherwise, it is nothing but pure experience. It has advantages and disadvantages.
What began as a disappointment turned out to be a stroke of good luck. How else could he have had so many encounters along the way? There was the Hungarian security guard, the Croatian cemetery caretaker, the Romanian soccer coach, the hospitable Roma, and all the border crossers from the army of those who follow the work wherever it goes. He would come across strange examples of globalization, Eastern European improvisational talent, absurd EU projects, and the latest technology next to the most primitive conditions. He gets to know hate for one’s neighbors, an enterprising spirit, immense kindness - and, not least, his own limits.
Immer geradeaus. Zu Fuß durch Europas Osten
Hardcover, 250 pages
Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2010
ISBN: 978-3-351-02715-5
About the author: Landolf Scherzer was born in Dresden in 1941. He studied journalism in Leipzig from 1962-65. Until 1975, he worked as an editor for the Freies Wort regional newspaper in Suhl. He lives in Thuringia as a freelance author.
The research was supposed to go differently. 5,000 kilometers by tractor and camper through seven Eastern European countries. The background material for the research: historical, geographic, ethnologic, and other books and articles. The camper and tractor were lost, so I covered at least four countries on foot. That is why the only experiences are those of walking, sight, and sound. Back home, I briefly added the history of the Yugoslav wars and recent Romanian history. Otherwise, it is nothing but pure experience. It has advantages and disadvantages.
What began as a disappointment turned out to be a stroke of good luck. How else could he have had so many encounters along the way? There was the Hungarian security guard, the Croatian cemetery caretaker, the Romanian soccer coach, the hospitable Roma, and all the border crossers from the army of those who follow the work wherever it goes. He would come across strange examples of globalization, Eastern European improvisational talent, absurd EU projects, and the latest technology next to the most primitive conditions. He gets to know hate for one’s neighbors, an enterprising spirit, immense kindness - and, not least, his own limits.
Immer geradeaus. Zu Fuß durch Europas Osten
Hardcover, 250 pages
Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin 2010
ISBN: 978-3-351-02715-5
About the author: Landolf Scherzer was born in Dresden in 1941. He studied journalism in Leipzig from 1962-65. Until 1975, he worked as an editor for the Freies Wort regional newspaper in Suhl. He lives in Thuringia as a freelance author.
