Kenneth Straus

Yes, for sure

January 1972, Allen Smith and I went to Cracow Poland via NYC by plane to Munich Germany, by train to Prague and then by train to Cracow. We were delayed at the Czech border by not having the proper transit visa to Poland, and so we waited there several hours until we got permission to board on the next train. Arriving two days late in Cracow, we met up with Allen's family who were staying in the city for the year while his father did research on local administration in Poland. We spent an exciting month there under the new leadership, as Gomulka had been replaced by Gierek in 1970, and were able to talk to Allen's mom and dad about local administration as well as with his two sisters about everyday life, as they had become fluent in Polish. Our return trip, via Vienna, Munich, the Azores Islands, and NYC proved to be equally quagmirish. So, too, was our trip by car in December 1971 from Oberlin, to Harrisburg PA, to Washington DC and back, to secure birth certificates, passports, and Visas at the Polish Embassy in DC.