What is the role of the ECB?

The ECB, together with national central banks from 17 countries that adopted the euro, forms the Eurosystem, which is the central banking system for the euro. The ECB coordinates the works of the Eurosystem.

What is the ECB doing to help Ireland at the moment?

The Governing Council of the ECB has taken unprecedented steps to support Irish people in their effort to put their country back on sound footing. We provide some 140 billion euro of liquidity to Irish banking sector, at very low interest rates. We also provide our expertise in the programme of Irish authorities and the EU / IMF. Finally, in line with our main objective, we ensure price stability in the euro area, which is a precondition for sustainable growth and jobs creation.

Why can’t we have the money interest free?

Everything has its price – money too. The interest rate is price of money. It is steered by the central banks so that the price of money counteracts possible inflationary risks – to ensure price stability, and that money keeps its value over time.

With Ireland, Greece, and Portugal bailed out, how secure is the future of the Euro?

The euro is a remarkable success, and some troubles in a few member states can not change this – Greece and Ireland have received financial aid to repair their economies and public finance, and Portugal has applied for it. The term bailout, which normally refers to a situation in which government rescues a company, usually taking over its management and / or ownership, is not accurate in this case: Greece and Ireland have been offered loans, so that they can relatively cheaply refinance themselves outside markets, and gain time for introducing the necessary reforms.

Why can’t we just print more money?

It is the role of central bank to ensure that there is just enough money in the economy – not too much and not too little – to reflect the value created by the economy. If there were more money printed than necessary, people could loose trust in it, and prices would go up, both causing inflation.

Our first task was to meet Wiktor from the ECB. We needed our passports etc. to obtain access to the building, and got security badges to wear while in there. For that hour, we felt really, really important.
Wictor showed us around the building, and took us to the top floor which had an amazing view over the city! He also showed us the main meeting room where the various interest rates on loans are set or discussed. After this tour, we sat with Wiktor for coffee and had a chat. He told us what his role is in the ECB, and discussed Ireland’s current position, why we are in this position, and most importantly, the reality of the situation! Working with the media, he has first-hand knowledge of how the media can play a huge part in determining a public’s opinion, and he sees this a lot in Ireland. He sees the media take a story he has communicated, and exaggerate it and place a negative spin on it, after all, drama sells. This doesn’t come as a shock to us, we are all aware of the media and it tendency to exaggerate – but the one thing we might not think about is the effect it is having on the public. For example, another part of our task in Frankfurt was to get German opinion on giving us money, and this question was met with, and it came as a surprise to us, positivity. The Germans saw Ireland as a neighbour and thus felt ok helping out. Another said as long as we don’t make the same mistake again it would be fine. Some, didn’t know what we were talking about and didn’t seem to care. So instead of what we thought would be a herd of angry Germans, there were peaceful, friendly folk. And after talking to Wiktor; we realise that our country is not in the worst position. We have more resources than the other countries forced to ask for the IMF’s help, and we are making progress to get out of it. So if there was one thing Wiktor wanted us to communicate to the people: it’s that the IMF help is not a BAILOUT, it’s a LOAN.

We arrived in Vienna and went straight to our hostel, Wombats to drop our stuff and hit straight for our meeting with the Vienna Gaels. The city looked beautiful, every building and street was so clean and well kept. It was obvious we had left Eastern Europe behind us.

We met two girls from the Vienna Gaels team in an Irish bar, Flannagans. Unfortunately, the girls did not have training that evening, so instead met us to chat about the team and what they do. They told us of the training schedule they hold, usually training once or twice a week, and of the various match trips they undertake, visiting and playing against other European GAA teams. They commented on the advantages of playing for Vienna Gaels, the main aspect being the social side of it. They have met a lot of friends in the city through playing for the team, and it was obvious when the rest of the team joined us in the pub that there is a good friendship built up between the girls. But there is one thing which makes the Vienna Gaels stand out from other European GAA teams, diversity. Generally, European GAA teams are made up of mostly Irish players, but the Vienna Gaels are made of roughly half Irish, half not. They have Austrians playing for them, Canadians, you get the picture. This is a nice little reflection; an Irish sport, bringing a wide range of cultures together, in a foreign country. After a few drinks, we went our separate ways and we went to bed for the night. A decent nights rest before the next adventure : Frankfurt.

The twist : We’re only in the city for four hours.

First off, WHAT A CUTE CITY!! Everything from the beautifully carved buildings, looming castle on the hilltop, small cobbled lanes, its such a pity we were not there for the night, I would have loved to have seen the city lit up by all those pretty lanterns! This task was made all the more challenging by the fact that we had only gotten the train ride’s worth of sleep, about three hours in total. But once we landed and loaded ourselves with caffeine we were ready to go work! Let’s take their jobs!!

First off, we strolled down the main square of the city. It was packed with stalls filled with the most unique souvenirs, hand made jewellery, chickens, puppets, it was so hard to pull ourselves away and do the task! But the time limit on the trip meant we couldn’t dwadle too long around the stalls. First stop was the Irish bar ‘The Dubliner’ to ask for a bar job. Like most Irish bars around the world, there were no Irish in it. At first they were really confused by the task… but once we managed to communicate what we were doing they were happy to accommodate us. So they let Michelle work for a while in the bar, she pulled a pint, cleaned some tables, spoke to the fellow workers there, and got a taste of what it would be like to work in a Slovakian bar. Unfortunately, the language barrier was the only thing from keeping her staying there.

Trish was also very successful in her employment search, managing to get a job in a hostel. She even wrangled a staff shirt out of it, although it did previously belong to a guy called Jesus. But she wore it with pride She got to work behind the desk, and walked through the procedure of checking someone in, showing them to their room, making beds, she fitted in quite well here.. We wouldn’t be surprised if she returned! And the shirt : SEXY!

We want to thank the two establishments involved; it was such a laugh to work in both places, albeit such a short employment period But goes to show : it might be daunting to up and leave to another country, but there are opportunities there. It’s up to you whether you choose to avail of them or not. Over and out!

We arrived in Budapest in the late evening. Our hostel was central, clean, and the staff really friendly, although we spent little time there! Once we had our bags dropped, we strolled around the streets, got something to eat (the restaurant served us outside with BLANKETS! Honestly, why don’t restaurants in Ireland do this?!) and went to meet the Budapest students for a drink. We were really grateful to them for agreeing to meet up, and for showing us the city, because what we have learned so far is how difficult it is to get to see the real personality behond a city without someone to introduce you to it!

When asked about the media censorship, one student commented that as part of his radio studies, all recordings prepared by the students have to be sent to a state body every month. He felt that the students should be free to say what they want, and does not see why the government should intervene in the college’s work. And as these interviews were done on the street, we had the opportunity to involve a few passers-by in the task. One local in particular spoke of a ‘circle’ in the media, that they are not allowed see. His companion commented on the situation, telling us of the power that the government hold when it came to shutting down various media producers. He also spoke of the vagueness of the laws that are being enforced, commenting that no-one really knew what these laws were. The media censorship is obviously in strong existence in the country, but what the censorship is, and why it exists, is for the most part unknown to the citizens.

As for the social aspects of the night; Budapest gets the thumbs up Cheap, lively, and from what we have seen somewhat alternative. And we would not have seen this side to the city if it weren’t for the four guys, so lads… sound!

On to Slovakia, who needs sleep… waste of time

We had our passports taken for an hour, uncertain as to where they were taking them as they had NO english, had police come in to tear apart the compartment looking for drugs, had an older stocky guy come in to ‘fix’ a seat and took two previously planted bokes from behind the headrest, we didn’t ask any questions. AND to top it all off, I was fined €6 for having my legs on a seat (for a brief moment we thought he had said 600!) while all around fags were hanging out of every man’s gob in a clearly no smoking area. But again, didn’t ask any questions. It was worth paying the €6 to get rid of him!

We didn’t arrive in Belgrade until 9PM, and had to rush to meet the lovely Luca, who waited patiently for our arrival. She directed us to a funky restaurant/bar, The Supermarket, where we chatted with her and her friends over a few drinks and some really nice food. She filled us in on Serbia’s attempts to join the EU, what criteria’s they would need to meet, and the progress they are making at the moment. It was a really nice little meet-up and we want to thank her for taking time out of her evening to meet with us, and for being so friendly and welcoming!

After that, we met up with the others staying in the hostel, along with our German friend from the train, and a new companion we picked up along the way, for drinks in the Blow Up Bar, a dark, smoky hip-hop venue, where we had a few quiet drinks and exchanged stories with the other travellers. It was nice to hear the variety of trips the different people were on, what they wanted from the travels, what they gained so far etc. We did get a premature glimpse of a task (meant for Frankfurt) when we asked Mattius (our German friend) what he thought of the bailouts for Ireland, and he responded calmly, saying he believes as neighbour countries we should help each other out in times of need and doesn’t mind giving money to us! Angry Germans? Naaaaaaah!

The city at first, seemed a little daunting. The first few people we encountered did not have one word of english. Trying to communicate and ask which bus to get into Sofia ended up with flailing arms and dramatic hand gestures, eventually figuring out we needed the 384 bus. That took a while:) BUT the one thing about being in a situation with such a language barrier, you realise how universal a smile is. As cheesy as that sounds, it is true! After finding our way onto the bus, all it took was to approach one guy asking for information, and he got off at our stop, told us where to go, what to see, and another friendly Bulgarian girl (having overheard the conversation) pointed us towards a Starbucks with free wifi. Zero effort. The locals here are really, so friendly.

Hostel Mostel was lovely. The great thing about staying in hostels is the variety of people you encounter, and most seem to hold the same happy-go-lucky, approachable demeanor. Some strange characters too, but you’ll have that! And with the hostel you get free breakfast, beer, and pasta. Worth pointing out if anyone needs a hostel in Sofia soon : we recommend this one!

We didn’t really know what to expect from the meeting that had been arranged. We thought maybe a short Q&A type session, but, I can’t even begin to explain the day. Is there a more powerful word than friendly? If not there should be.

We were welcomed by the staff and volunteers with a beautiful planted Bulgarian flower, gift bags, AND a full guided tour by the junior volunteers. They took us to all the most beautiful sites in the city, and some deadly exhibitions, but it wasn’t just the tour and gifts (although we were so happy with all of those) it was the people we met that made this day so fantastic. We hope that someday they will come visit us and we can repay the favor, they have our details, the offer is ALWAYS there

The photos will tell the story of the sites we visited, and show the group in full. And because of the fun we were having, and confusion on our part, we missed the overnight train to Belgrade. There was a few moments of panic, where we had our friends and hostel peeps ringing stations and checking websites to find an alternative; but there was none. But spending a second night in Sofia was greatly welcomed by us anyway. We spent it with Yulian (sorry if we got the spelling wrong!) in a lovely Sofian restaurant.

Video will be up soon, off to Serbia tomorrow, and we’re actually really sad to leave this place! On both our parts, we will definitely be back!

Our one night stay in Greece was, amazing. Upon arriving, when getting tickets from the airport to the city we were met with a cold, indifferent attitude from the staff. But this was absolutely no reflection on the Greek people, everyone we met from this point on was incredible friendly and willing to chat, and some, recorded.

On the train into Athens, we asked a young Greek guy, Tim (his abbreviation of a longer Greek name I can’t remember at this present moment) which stop to get off at. We ended up spending the whole of the journey talking to him, chatting about the bailout, about how he felt with regards to the current economic state in his country, etc. He seemed disappointed, but acceptant. Didn’t agree with the IMF, ‘The IMF should cease to exist’ but explained that they were in this position because they were having a really good time, and no-one told them to stop.

The city itself was beautiful, the hostel we had booked was in the Plaka area, very central, surrounded by cute restaurants and little shops. Luckily, we knew (well, Trish knew) a Greek native who showed us around, explained to us the crisis the country is attempting to deal with. There are a lot of strikes, a lot of anger, and a lot of uncertainty. So there is an underlying feeling of instability when talking to the locals. They don’t know what is going to happen, they just seem to be waiting to find out.

We attempted to go see the Acropolis at sunrise, but when we got up at half six it was really cloudy, so we failed the personal task! It was the WEATHER, not laziness, we swear

At the moment, we are in Sofia, getting a feel for the city and the people. And so far, are impressed. We’ll leave you at that, until the next update!

ALSO : check out our video! http://www.youtube.com/talktoeu

Instead of spending our first night in Athens, as planned, we spent our first night in Amsterdam instead. Amazingly, one of our friends living in Paris was visiting Amsterdam last night too, so we spent the night with her, walking around the little canals, checking out the bars, and introducing Trish the Red Light District, a must for any Amsterdam virgin! The girls parading the windows weren’t up for interviews, although Trish did try!

One thing we noticed during this little adventure was how kind and helpful the Dutch are! From the station stewards, hotel receptionists, to the random people we asked for directions on the street; every native we encountered was more than willing to help, which was a delightful little aspect of the adventure. We didnt have our luggage either last night, and got used to it, hauling the bags around now is paaaainful, but there dropped in the hostel and we are in flying form and ready for our tasks later on today! Trish has a six pack of Tayto Crisps in her handbag to test out on the locals… Their reactions should be interesting 

Until then friends!

The reality of the situation has finally hit home, the next two weeks are going to be crazy, and challenging, but we’re prepared! Ready for the tasks, the long train journeys, the early starts, and the early nights… Cocoa and Complan

The awesome techy guys have kitted us out with everything we need, so be prepared for two weeks of constant twitter updates, embarrassing photos, and even more embarrassing videos!

We’ll keep ye posted on every leg of the journey, don’t miss us too much!