The end-of-school trips that defined a generation
A school trip to Russia for under 15,000 pesetas, vodka at 50 pesetas and a watermelon that nearly killed tourists: anecdotes that will never return.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
When 15,000 pesetas covered two weeks in the USSR
Can you imagine a two-week end-of-school alucinación to Moscow and Saint Petersburg for less than 15,000 pesetas (about 90 euros)? In the 1990s, a group of 70 Spanish teenagers did exactly that, and their anecdotes are testimony to an era when money went a long way and parents looked the other way.
A alucinación to 1990s Russia: prices that seem like science fiction
The Moscow metro cost one peseta per ride, a bottle of vodka 50 pesetas – though judging by the tourists' faces, it may well have been radiator vodka – and a Zenit camera with a 200 mm Jupiter lens could be bought for 300 pesetas. What struck one of the travellers most was seeing a stored Buran space shuttle, a symbol of a power already crumbling. The cultural level of the Russians, speaking flawless Spanish, also left a mark.
From Nerja to Amsterdam: when fun bordered on danger
It wasn't all culture: from a third-floor balcony in Nerja, a watermelon thrown down nearly hit a group of German tourists. Luckily it burst on the ground. In Amsterdam, the confusion between asking for "grass" and the lawn of the coffee shop earned a puzzled look from the waiter. And, of course, there were those who seized the chance for their first physical contact with the opposite sens – at 16, almost a rite of passage.
What hasn't changed is teenagers' ability to do things their parents would rather not know about But back then it cost less than 100 euros. Today, with tighter budgets and parental control via mobile phone, those trips seem to belong to another galaxy. An offer that is unlikely to ever return.
Can you imagine a two-week end-of-school alucinación to Moscow and Saint Petersburg for less than 15,000 pesetas (about 90 euros)? In the 1990s, a group of 70 Spanish teenagers did exactly that, and their anecdotes are testimony to an era when money went a long way and parents looked the other way.
A alucinación to 1990s Russia: prices that seem like science fiction
The Moscow metro cost one peseta per ride, a bottle of vodka 50 pesetas – though judging by the tourists' faces, it may well have been radiator vodka – and a Zenit camera with a 200 mm Jupiter lens could be bought for 300 pesetas. What struck one of the travellers most was seeing a stored Buran space shuttle, a symbol of a power already crumbling. The cultural level of the Russians, speaking flawless Spanish, also left a mark.
From Nerja to Amsterdam: when fun bordered on danger
It wasn't all culture: from a third-floor balcony in Nerja, a watermelon thrown down nearly hit a group of German tourists. Luckily it burst on the ground. In Amsterdam, the confusion between asking for "grass" and the lawn of the coffee shop earned a puzzled look from the waiter. And, of course, there were those who seized the chance for their first physical contact with the opposite sens – at 16, almost a rite of passage.
What hasn't changed is teenagers' ability to do things their parents would rather not know about But back then it cost less than 100 euros. Today, with tighter budgets and parental control via mobile phone, those trips seem to belong to another galaxy. An offer that is unlikely to ever return.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (45 replies).
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