I just passed a railroad crossing on the road. About a year ago it was restored. They dug up the road before and after and put some concrete between the rails and covered them with some special rubbery looking sheets and adding new asphalt to the road. After that is was very easy to drive over the crossing, I hardly felt anything in the car while passing it with 50 km per hour, which is the city speed limit in Tallinn.
But now, one year later, you feel like your car is falling apart after you try to cross it driving only 30 km per hour. Although it is still much much better than a few years ago, where it seemed like the rails had just been put on road, when you had to put your car to a full stop and then slowly climb over each rail…
But how come it is that when they in the Baltic countries repair something then it surely breaks down shortly after. When driving in Sweden and Denmark, and passing a railroad crossing there is very little disruption in the car even when passing in much higher speed than 50 km… and I have not seen anybody doing repair work on the crossing for many years.
This is the same with everything on the east side of the Baltic Sea. House repairs, newly build houses, road repairs etc. etc., one year later everything looks like it is falling apart.
It is like everything over here is about making fast money only. Quality and thoroughness is totally unknown concepts here.
Still many Baltic workers go to work in Scandinavia, and sadly they bring along their utterly lack of craftsmanship only concentrating of doing things fast and get their pay.
Those I have talked with who have used Baltic workers all agree that it is merely for the cheap pay and definitely not the quality.
This is one of the basic differences between east and west. When Soviet Union feel, no one seemed to care about anything but to make fast money. All infrastructure and buildings were left on their own accord for ten years, making everything deteriorate. Then EU came along, and the Baltic countries became part of that. Then a big chest of money was given to build up the infrastructure and restore buildings.
However the work is being done by the same workers, who restored the railroad crossing near my office here in Tallinn, so I cannot help wonder if those vast EU amounts spent, is worth it. I have already seen several recent EU financed roads start to crumble again.
If we do not want to see our tax money spent needlessly, EU better do something to raise the craftsmanship and quality of work in the new EU member states, than to just simply keep the flow of money available. Of course a better craftsmanship will also raise the salaries, but as food and gasoline are almost on western level anyway, the salaries will also come, hopefully with the much-needed quality and thoroughness in works too…
I just come from a visit to the hair-salon where I paid EUR 4,75 for a haircut… a year ago it was only EUR 2,25… but of course I am looking better than ever…
