METU students at the Austrian customs gate on their way to England to improve their English

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After graduating from Preparatory School, we had to attend the Fridaybridge training camp in Wisbech, England, for practice. We sent a 2.5-pound postage stamp to the camp management and received an "Acceptance" card. Back then, there were no visa requirements like there are today. With the "Acceptance" card sent to our address by post, we traveled by bus to the port of Östend in Belgium and from there by ferry to the cities specified in Acceptance. Our first close friendship began with this trip, as a busload of preparatory school students. Because the journey was long and we couldn't afford a hotel, we slept on the bus, crossing Yugoslavia and Austria, and arriving in Munich, Germany. We were hungry for pickles, so we wanted to sleep. The driver took us to the Dormitory for the Powerless, where we would pay 1 DM per person because it was cheap... The administrators were surprised to see us, who weren't exactly Guşuz(!), but they gave us separate rooms with a shared bathroom... We took a bath, had a comfortable sleep, and prayed to the West German government... At that time, Germany was divided into East and West. Only Bulgaria charged 10 TL for a transit visa... After Bulgaria, we passed through Yugoslavia, Austria, Germany, and Belgium (without any problems, visa-free).... Our return was to Ankara by plane and/or train, also visa-free. (Notes by Hüseyin Kabahasanoğlu)

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Students, Education

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https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115147
https://bellek.metu.edu.tr/handle/11511/115147

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METU Bellek, Multimedia