European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Road ski by Carol  associated press Oviet friends shared at us in amazement when we told them we planned to drive 2.000 Miles roundtrip from Moscow to Yalla. Why one of them asked can l you gel plane Nickels wet blankets we thought no sense of adventure. Out there along Highway m2 was the Chance to relax behind the wheel and see what me is like in the soviet Union s arming heartland. My companion. Celeslie Bohlen of the Washington Post and i attributed our friends astonishment to their own Lack Ole Prience in driving around their country. The vast majority of soviet citizens do not own cars. Bui we were wrong in that Assumption. That was proved to us by five encounters with Highway police patrols being hauled Oil to a crimean police Lalion a collision with a Black Lamb and our constant unsure Essul searches Lor Ood and lodging motoring in the soviet Union bears Little resemblance to a favorite american vacation pastime we Eloul on a Rainy saturday in a powder Blue. Soviet made Lada compact. With All we thought necessary a soviet Road alias the Moscow produced Motorist s guide 10 the soviet Union camping equipment and an emergency Supply of cheese and crackers. Four hours South of Moscow where Birch Groves give Way to rolling Green Fields on soil As dark As chocolate we realized we were not making Good Lime toward our midpoint objective of a Campground near Kharkov an Indus Nal cily in the Northeast Ukraine about 400 Miles South of Moscow. Trucks hauling everything irom cattle to Ami combines lumber along this winding potholed two Lane Highway churning Oul Clouds of oily Clack smoke blocking the rare car Driver s vision and opportunities to  darkness approached and no sign yet of our Campground we stopped to ask villagers trundling along the gravel shoulder about overnight spots. We got Only Blank stares and a wave of the hand indicating the Only place was the Side of the Road alter noticing that truck Drivers pulled up there for the night. We did too. We set up our Nylon dome Lent obscurely behind the lines bordering a stale Larm North of kursk there were no re5lau 9"ts of cafes Aton not in Many Miles and those we passed hours earlier had been closed. We settled Lor cheese and crackers Lor dinner and watched farmhands lumber by on horseback alter their saturday night Vodka outings we turned in Early Only to be roused at 1 am by blaring american Rock music and Bright lights we Leared the police the fam management or the Drunken motorcyclist we d asked Loi directions earlier bul discovered it was an Impromptu parly of truckers who had l noticed our Lenl behind the Trees we slipped Oul Eaily sunday under the Walch Lul gaze of a Hall dozen peasants waning 31 a nearby bus Slop and embarked on whal we knew would be a Long Day of driving the Lew calms along 1he Highway set no co fee and most were closed because it was a sunday we munched cheese and crackers Lor breakfast and drove Mlo Central Kharkov Lor an Early lunch of i Aren to ukrainian dumplings tilled Villi Vegel abcs. Meats and cheeses. Good Day. Comrade Domei our Dusl Highway patrolman greeted Celeslie us South of Kharkov we had failed to slow Down in a populated area the uninhabited distance Between signs announcing the limits of a nearby Village  and a line Neil Lime the Young Allicer warned with a a Olerand smile As he won Oil Why were you being hooligans " asked the patrolman 100 Miles later at the  Speed zone he shared unc Erlamity Al our car s  License plate which is yellow instead us White like those issued Lor  cais the code k 004 further announced that we were american correspondents unsure whal to do with us he Lei us Oil win a warning As did Page 14 the stars and stripes travel a react a  a Solo robot patrolman no. 3, South of Zaporozhye farther along the Highway. Now cautious when we entered populated  we had an uneventful drive through the Southern Ukraine until rain began to All and the Windshield wipers that had served us Well in Moscow refused to Budge. We groped our Way through Tho crimean mountains in the steady ram. Arriving Al our one booked hotel in Yalta Al Midnight How did you get irom the Airport at his hour demanded the clerk. Told we had driven irom Moscow she Shook her head and said. You Are powerful  the Day we had planned for rest and sightseeing was Laken up with a search for car repairs including the Windshield wipers. The repairs Lin atly were arranged by a Man slightly reeling from drink who mistook our car for a Ian. In re urn Lor our driving him Home he introduced us to his neighbor. Oleg the Mechanic. In this country you can t get a Driver s License unless you know How to repair the  Oleg reprimanded us As he went to work lining the Windshield wipers changing a spark plug repairing a punctured Hose and replacing a burned Oul Gasket but he would accept Only 10 rubles $15 for the parts. Of again for our trip Back to Moscow with whal we believed was an Early Start we opted Lor an Al Ornale drive through the mountains to take in the Castle Al the town of Bakhch Serai. Aller a treacherous drive Over the log enshrouded Cha Tyr Dag Cliffs and 3 cautious descent into a rain Lorest we were stopped by a police Roadblock the police were looking Lor us1 we had been driving Lor i to hours on a Road Hal is Oil limits to foreigners we we