The first thing the traveler should know about the expansion of the European Union, which happened officially on Saturday, is that, contrary to widespread expectation, not much will actually change in the short term.
True, 10 countries, eight of them from the former East Bloc, are becoming members of the Union, and that certainly is a historic event, signaling the disappearance of the old, almost insurmountable barrier between East and West. But it does not mean that going from, say, Germany to Poland will be like going from Germany to France, where there are no border formalities, no passports to show, no customs declarations to fill out. The tourism boards of the new member states do promise that procedures will be streamlined - and the customs forms will be eliminated - but the borders will not vanish, and you\'ll know it.
Some confusion is unavoidable, Pietro Petrucci, a spokesman for the European Commission, told The Associated Press, referring to the new border-crossing situation and the fact that it might be different for different new member states. \"That\'s why the advice to take a passport is probably very reasonable,\" he added.
And yet, of course, things are changing, as the eight former East Bloc countries - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - have been making efforts to attract their share of Europe\'s considerable tourist trade. These eight are somewhere between what they used to be - that is, protected by tough visa requirements and saddled with dismal infrastructures - and what the older Union members like France, Spain or the Netherlands have been for decades. Cyprus and Malta, the two other new members, have a very different history and orientation.
One modest sign of change: Up until a few months ago, the major car rental agencies forbade customers to take their cars into the old East Bloc states, fearful of high levels of theft, poor roads and the frequency of accidents. This ban has been removed, except for luxury rental cars like a Mercedes-Benz or BMW.
What hasn\'t changed: For now, none of the new countries will be officially using the euro, so travelers will still have to change money every time they change countries in Eastern Europe, figuring out exchange rates for the Polish zloty or the Hungarian forint or the Latvian lat.
And yet, of course, living conditions for visitors are already far more modern, more international-class in virtually all the new member states than they were just a few years ago, though some countries, like Hungary and the Czech Republic, already have vastly more developed tourism than, say, the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
The tourism agencies of most of the new member countries report continuing plans and projects to appeal to travelers. Thermal spas are being constructed in Slovakia, golf courses in Slovenia, music festivals are being organized in Prague. Poland, by far the biggest of the new Union members, has passed new legislation requiring tourist guides and tour leaders to take a test to be licensed.
Almost every one of the eight countries now has at least one or two international-class hotels, replacing the Stalinist, leaky-toilet, service-free establishments of yesteryear. Many cities - Warsaw, Budapest and Prague, especially - already have nearly the full range of hotels and guest houses that you would expect in a city like Rome or Berlin. And they usually offer the choice of a refurbished grand old hotel, like the Bristol in Warsaw, or something new with health club, pool and Internet connections, like the new Warsaw Hyatt or Marriott.