On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul

Jason Goodwin has produced a wonderfully inventive travel book, one in which Istanbul is the ultimate goal. Wanting to have some sort of experience of what was it was like to visit such a distant goal in the past, as well as to tour Central Europe, he and two friends walk there! They journey on foot (only very rarely accepting short rides) from the northern Polish port city of Gdansk all the way through the rest of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria into Turkey. An incredible journey, he describes it vividly, with worries about bandits, wolves, bears, the weather, hostile customs officials, dogs, and most of all finding food and a place to sleep at night. They meet an interesting and diverse group of people along the road, many of whom befriend them, taking them into their homes, sharing part of their lives with the travelers. Perhaps somewhat dated, published as it was in the early 1990s, Goodwin does provide an interesting portrait of Central Europe. The book spends quite a bit of time in Poland, a land shaped by the rise and fall of empires, shaped by the northern crusades of the Teutonic Knights, the Hanseatic League, of various powers that had over the centuries coveted and eventually gobbled sections or all of Poland, the broad flat plains of the country providing little obstacle to invading armies. Indeed Goodwin finds that the Poles often go to great pains to make it clear that they are distinctly Polish; though often that is simply making it clear that they are not German. As part of the country was once part of Germany, their concern is perhaps understandable. Though Goodwin's journey never takes him into Germany, he often encountered German cultural influence and odd outposts of Germans, even well into Romania. German settlers had been invited by many rulers in Central Europe, and for centuries German merchants, craftsmen, and guilds dominated town life, the towns in essence becoming German, the main language in Gdansk or Cracow or Buda German. Many of these Germans though Goodwin finds have left, those few remaining either thinking of leaving, stubbornly clinging to old ways in isolated Saxon settlements, or slowly assimilating with the larger majority. Hungary Goodwin finds is seemingly more stable and prosperous than the others he went through on his trip, particularly when contrasted with Romania. Though a third the size of Poland, its people took pride in regional names and differences, making the country seem larger than it was. One area that was interesting was Silvasvarod, noted for the famed Lippizaner horses it supplies to the Viennese Riding School. Much of the book is spent in Romania, particularly in the region of Transylvania, an area once part of Hungary, its loss still keenly felt by many in Hungary as well as the substantial Hungarian minority in Transylvania itself. Goodwin found a number of people who held strong opinions on the matter, and it appears to remain a bone of contention with ma

In this day and age when everything has been discovered, and every person on this small world has been touched by the conquests of another country or the speed of technology, there comes a long the travel log of Jason Goodwin.The written details are enough to put you on the path with Goodwin and his two close friends. From the lands they visit, to the hardships they encounter, you really feel as if you're on the path to Instanbul with them! And yet somehow, he still has room to focus on the people of these regions, during a hard and confusing time in eastern Europe. While people struggle to find their identites and find the freedoms they may have missed, these three British travelers are welcomed in to their homes and barns, as if they were long lost friends. Goodwin notes all aspects of these people they visit, and doesn't sugar coat a thing!The sheer amazement of walking from Poland to Turkey, in a time when they could easily fly over it without so much of a glance or concern, truely opens the history of the iron curtain to all of us. Again, these countries Goodwin and his companions walked through, no longer exsist as he saw them. But with this novel, the split second time of change for the Eastern Block, is immortalized.

The tale of three (and later just two) British friends who walk from Gdansk, Poland, to Istanbul, Turkey, Goodwin's writing is crisp and vivid with detail and excellent metaphors; his sense of humor and self-deprecation also shine through. This book shines best in its description of the people and places Goodwin meets on the road; you feel as though you are there. His descriptions of the failings of Eastern European cigarettes are reason enough to read the book.The book is also fascinating in Goodwin's capture of a pivotal period (just after the fall of the Iron Curtain), and he reveals a fascinating landscape that goes beyond the "now you've got democracy, eveything's better" to show people who are scared by the West, unfamiliar with democracy, and cynical about change.The momentum Goodwin builds in his masterful narrative of adventures with strangers, friendships made and broken, towns described, etc., is regularly hobbled by his lengthy discussions of local history; though informative and well-written, these historical essays seem ponderous when injected in the middle of his intriguing road stories, and therefore, seem out-of-place.And those looking for a book on adventures in Turkey and Istanbul should be warned that very little of the book occurs on the Golden Horn; most of the book is dedicated to Poland and Transylvania. This was my only other disappointment; after thousands of miles across Eastern Europe, filled with vivid description, Goodwin steps into Turkey and then the book is over, giving you the impression that he was anxious to get the manuscript to the editor.But overall, this is an excellent road book, and Goodwin is a real talent. I found him very endearing, and I am wondering if he and his co-walker/girlfriend, Kate, are still together! I'd love to get in touch with Goodwin.