Across the Iron Curtain in a yellow MG Midget sports car (317)

Cold War Conversations Podcast

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 11 November 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Andrew McNeile decided to travel through Eastern Europe in a yellow MG Midget Sports car, a car that's going to stand out no matter where you are! He recalls his adventures travelling through East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia He talks about the warmth and friendliness of people, challenges with petrol quality, and an accidental visit to a nudist beach. Peter Ryan is your host today and I’m delighted to welcome Andrew McNeile to our Cold War Conversation… The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Love history? Check out Into History at this link https://intohistory.com/coldwarpod Episode cover photo by kind permission of Oxyman https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MG_Midget_Orange_S.jpg 0:00 Introduction and overview of the episode's guest, Andrew Nielle 0:31 Andrew's journey through Eastern Europe in a yellow MG midget sports car 4:21 Reaction of Andrew's family and friends to his travel plans 7:13 Planned itinerary for the journey through Eastern Europe and Turkey 10:01 Describing the border crossing experience into the East Bloc from Germany 16:05 Reflections on the separation between East and West Germany and the construction of the Berlin Wall 24:25 Unexpected nudist beach experience in Romania 28:12 The challenges of travelling by car in Eastern Europe 32:19 Favourite country visited during the road trip: Czechoslovakia 35:57 Relief of returning to the West and impressions on Soviet rule 37:11 Closing remarks Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	Timothy Shalame is Bob Dylan and a complete unknown.
0:09.4	If anyone who's going to hold your attention on the state, you have to kind of be a freak.
0:13.9	Critics agree it's outstanding on every level. Five stars.
0:19.1	Shalemay is a revelation.
0:21.7	What do you want to be?
0:23.4	Whatever it is, they don't want me to be.
0:26.1	Now nominated for the Golden Globes for Best Picture,
0:28.6	best actor and best supporting actor, Edward Norton,
0:30.4	a complete unknown.
0:32.1	Ladies and gentlemen, Bob Bill!
0:35.3	In cinemas, January 17, rated 15. This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:48.8	Andrew McNeeler decided to travel through Eastern Europe in a yellow M.G. Midget sports car, a car that's going to stand out no matter where you are.
0:58.8	He recalls his adventures travelling through East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Yugoslavia.
1:07.4	He talks about the warmth and friendliness of people, the challenges with petrol quality in Eastern Europe and an accidental visit to a nudist beach.
1:16.8	Peter Ryan is your host today and I'm delighted to welcome Andrew McNeeler to our Cold War conversation.
1:25.3	We were friends at university who decided to do this trip.
1:30.2	Both of us had seen quite a bit of Western Europe.
1:34.8	You know, we'd been on exchanges, we'd been over to France, we'd been over to Germany.
1:38.7	So we knew quite a bit.
1:39.7	We'd go on holiday to Spain, to Portugal, and all the rest of it.
1:43.2	So we knew Western Europe quite well.
	...

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