Pelikan Blue (2023)

[bunniefuu]

With the support of the

Hungarian National Film Institute's

Incubator Program

based on an original idea by

Gbor Szentpli and Gbor Sipos

and archive audio interviews

recorded between 2011 and 2021.

In Memoriam kos Kvesdi

Umbrella Entertainment

and Cinemon Entertainment presents

Pelikan Blue

People look forward to their

foreign travel three times:

When they're preparing,

when they're there, and when they get home.

This third is the real joy these days.

When you visit a metropolis

in an advanced capitalist country,

where the centre

is lit by neon at midnight,

you should go to

the edge of that light!

There are drug-addicted, human-shaped

ghosts in the deepest misery.

These things belong together.

'Those who can will leave the country

that forbids them to leave.'

you should go to

the edge of that light...

HUNGARY, 1987

Hungary takes measures to

improve the well-being of the nation.

Introducing the world passport legalizes the

use of secretly collected foreign currencies.

'The First Secretary has to resign!'

The best period was

from 1987 until the elections in 1990.

The borders were opened.

We started thinking where to travel.

HUNGARIANS, DO NOT STEAL!

The things we were afraid of

suddenly became insignificant.

A completely different world was

about to come and we were still young!

Lecturers started to talk about

what they were always interested in.

We want peace and democracy!

Freedom of speech, freedom of religion,

freedom of assembly

Real popular representation

and a multi-party system!

Gender equality,

constitutionalism, democracy.

MTV, Super Channel,

and the Sky Channel came in.

Banned music became legal.

We've been in the rotation. Everything

happened right in front of our eyes.

From today, 23 October, 1989,

the name and state form of our

country is the Republic of Hungary.

'Let the people decide!'

A basic condition of democracy is to have

an opposition with a chance of governing.

We had high hopes regarding independence.

I haven't felt that atmosphere

of togetherness since then.

Today at 3 P.M. the last Soviet soldier

left the border of Hungary at Zhony.

We are proud that

all Hungarian citizens can travel freely.

President Bush was happy to bring home

a piece of the Iron Curtain.

With the fences removed, our socialist

neighbours whose travel is restricted

might cross the

Austrian-Hungarian border illegally.

The government got into

embarrassing situations because of this.

Hungarian shopping-tourists

spent hundreds of millions in Austria.

When East and West Germany united,

there was an arbitrage business.

East German money was exchanged

one for one to the Western currency.

One bought Eastern Marks,

travelled to Berlin and exchanged it.

Which tripled the

worth of your money.

That was a huge deal.

We started to buy East

German Marks in bulk.

We were in the same queue with

kos who had a lot of passports...

Good Afternoon!

and a lot of money.

- I want to buy Eastern Marks for this!

I can sell you all my Marks for this.

f*ck off, no way!

Do you want it?

He could have bought

all the Marks.

- Don't fool around,

the line is waiting for you!

- Half of it will do!

He was decent, he left us some.

- Thanks!

- Thank you!

A few days later he took

the same flight to Berlin as us.

Then we stayed at the same hotel

and became pals.

You could say we were open

to not following the straight path.

We didn't bring any money home,

because we spent it all,

but the journey itself was a joy.

Our friendship and the desire to travel

brought us back together.

The conditions were right,

that is absolutely true.

The circumstances create demands

and demands shape circumstances.

We changed the things

that needed to be changed.

From 1989 you could do

whatever you wanted to do.

The borders opened

and everyone wanted to travel.

Because anywhere is

better than home.

Teenagers also wanted to go

but had no money.

You could have hitchhiked, but...

The train ticket to the

West was very expensive.

To Berlin it was 700 HUF,

and to Munich, which is the

same distance, it was 30.000...

We are young, we should travel,

we are broke, so let's find out a way!

Wasn't it like someone

else was forging tickets?

We wanted to travel somewhere, didn't we?

- Someone forged tickets.

Hi!

- Petya?

- It's me!

- Do you have the Math Book?

- Yes.

- Use it only from the border!

There is a problem here!

This is a perfect ticket!

Don't worry!

This ticket is misspelled!

Now what?

The letter 'N' from the word Hinfahrt

was left out.

Unacceptable quality!

Okay, I don't have time for this! Bye!

It seemed impossible to travel

anywhere with that ticket.

- Is this a scam?!

- Relax! We can make a better one!

- Can I see it?

It can't be much work to forge a ticket

and we can even do it better.

What are you doing!?

Are you going to tell me?

Are you OK? What are you doing?

It must be some printing stuff...

No watermark!

What is this written with?

- Carbon paper maybe?

- I can't believe it!

Yes! That's carbon paper.

Very poor quality.

How should I know?

I have no idea.

What does a real ticket look like?

Where are you going? Wait!

Let's have a look

around the cash desks!

We started to put together

how to obtain a ticket like that.

I was always a little scamp.

My mother taught me

that stealing from another man is a crime

but stealing from the state is glorious.

I've never been interested in money.

Everything I did was more about

buying my freedom.

The most important thing

for me was to travel.

The cashier wrote the

ticket using carbon paper.

The hand-written copy

went to the Hungarian State Railways.

Then she put the ticket in a white

cardboard cover and wrote the price on it.

She stamped both the ticket and

the cover and stapled them together.

We weren't thinking about

committing a crime for money.

We just wanted to travel!

RAILWAY MAP OF HUNGARY

Which distance is shorter?

Szob-trovo, Kelebia-Subotica

or Komrom-Komrn?

- Let's measure it!

You had to get the ticket somehow.

You either go to a printing house

through some criminal favour

or you buy a ticket to the nearest

foreign destination and modify it.

Domestic tickets looked different.

Komrom-Komrno.

They won't issue an international

ticket for a bridge!

Let's buy Szob-trovo, a lot!

Let's modify the cheapest

international ticket!

How much do you have?

COUNTING

Maybe it's enough for one ticket!

I'm broke!

I'll buy the first one!

How much is a ticket

between Szob and trovo?

How many people are travelling?

Just me.

- 12.40 HUF

- Wait!

My friend is coming too!

Oh, my God!

- Oh! We will return separately!

- You shouldn't figure this out now!

- Sorry!

- My God...

Have a nice day!

We bought five tickets to trovo.

We all got in line one after the other.

So we had some material to forge.

We had to figure out how to remove the

information from the ticket we didn't need.

RADIO COMMERCIAL

DOMESTOS. NEW!

Are we having a big clean-up, guys?

All together 204.30 HUF.

We started the chemical experiments...

- We tried bleach first.

- Yes, but it didn't work.

I don't remember what

was the problem with it.

It was a weak alkali.

It didn't remove the ink.

Nothing happens!

What else do we have?

- Well... We have this.

- What's that stuff?

- Some new bleach from the West!

Kills all known germs! Domestos.

This product is not the same as the

current Domestos Extended Power Bleach

and can behave differently.

Do not try to copy this method at home!

Domestos removes everything,

so we tried.

Oh! sh*t!

Holy sh*t!

We poured the Domestos on the ticket

and it disappeared.

- This is crazy!

- We are f*cked.

Low dose, high dose, higher concentration,

lower concentration, whatever

Heat treatment!

Because it catalyses processes.

We didn't go to primary school for nothing.

After a few attempts, all of a sudden

we got a perfectly blank ticket.

The stamp is off the ticket,

but it's still on the cover...

It's worth nothing

without a clean cover and stamp!

We won't travel

anywhere with this!

What should we do?

Another problem we had to solve: the stamp!

Without a stamp, the ticket

is not acceptable abroad.

We need a bicycle rim!

- What? A rim? What for?

- What rim?

kos was the mastermind.

He always had an idea

and wasn't afraid of the impossible.

INTERNATIONAL TICKET OFFICE

Blank covers were in a stack behind

the glass wall of the cash desks,

which were closed for the night...

I checked where the right covers were.

Then I pulled out a few with a bicycle rim.

So we had a few blank covers for a while.

Then we had the issue of the stamp.

It wasn't as simple, as it is today

to get a stamp made.

You needed an official order form

to get a stamp.

Hi!

I need a stamp exactly like this!

Cashier 2 should be cashier 8. OK?

- Yeah, I got it. Well, it depends...

Unfortunately I lost mine!

Do you think I'm that stupid?

Don't mess with me little b*stard!

Well OK. I was a boy scout too.

Size? Deadline?

I asked it to be invoiced to the

Logistics Centre of the State Railways'.

STAMPMAKER (QUICK DEADLINE)

Where should we travel?

Now that I can go anywhere,

I have no idea. I don't care!

I want to see everything

that I have missed out on!

Let's follow the original plan!

From hot to cold.

What are Scandinavian girls like?

Let's leave tomorrow morning!

- Let's take liver pt!

- And some beer!

Just because you have a blank train ticket,

a cover and a stamp,

it doesn't mean you can make a ticket

that will be accepted outside of Hungary.

You had to indicate the route plan

on the ticket that matched the reality.

We knew what should

be written on the ticket.

You shouldn't make big mistakes

like misspellings.

It was easy to learn everything

from the international timetable.

Let's say, to travel to Paris

you had to change in Munich.

At least we saw the context,

we knew how things worked.

It was not a first come,

first served capitalist story.

The one with information and

technique had the advantage.

HEGYESHALOM (HUNGARIAN BORDER)

LOUDSPEAKER

PASSPORREPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA

Don't be scared!

Don't mess it up!

Take it easy, we're travellers!

There were as many different tickets

as there were handwritings.

They were handwritten tickets,

so each of them was different.

So many colours of carbon paper,

so many different handwritings.

Have a nice trip! Goodbye!

We have passed the first control!

Holy sh*t, this works!

We can travel anywhere!

We came back through Malmo, between

Norway and Denmark, through the fjords.

I remember some kind of an automatic

mechanism balancing the train.

The water inside your glass

stayed level even at high speed.

Coffee and cookies were

free on first class too.

The ticket inspector kindly informed us

about the free buffet.

That came with such an expensive ticket

We were a few years

after the regime change.

You can still remember that in this

country anything could happen.

Everything was so vivid

and I saw some crazy stuff.

ill*gal things were uncontrolled.

Me and my father didn't

understand each other

because he still lived in

the socialist system.

People close to power

privatised everything they wanted.

A guy bought an island with

a mill for a few bucks.

I wouldn't dare to leave the men

in power alone with my glass of milk.

The euphoria was gone.

'He who believes in anything is stupid.'

Hi kos!

I heard about your trip!

What's up with this ticket?

I need some too.

Sorry, it is not for sale!

Everybody wants to travel.

You can't keep it a secret.

You'll see!

We agreed not to speak about our trips!

Who spoke?

Get the hell out of here!

Hi, did you see Petya?

Thanks!

Petya! Petya!

I have to travel urgently.

Another chick is hitting on my boyfriend.

Only you can help!

What a hot girl!

Please...

I'm going crazy!

We don't make tickets...

It's not that kind of stuff.

I will never have enough money to

travel to Paris!

Your ticket is the only option!

Here's my number! I beg you!

Petya, please help!

Write me a ticket!

Petya hooked up fast.

What a dramatic start! Let's go!

You will help me, right?

Wait!

sh*t. Rumours are spreading.

People will harass us.

If we don't make tickets for others,

they might even report us.

Tough situation. Let's talk in the evening!

Make no mistakes until then!

No worries!

She will call me when she arrives.

Why shouldn't they travel? They can see

the world, work abroad, get out of this...

and come back with what they learned.

It's impossible to keep it a secret.

But we agreed on something!

Whatever!

Someone had to do it anyway!

We travelled already,

we saw enough.

I visited almost every

capital city in Europe.

I see, then do it yourself!

But we need rules,

otherwise we go to jail!

We gave instructions with the ticket

We had to scare them a bit

to make them pay attention.

It's not something you take off the shelf.

We told them what the rules were.

We filled out their tickets.

We didn't give anyone a blank ticket.

'We fill it out for you

and you follow the instructions!'

If it is free they don't take it seriously.

If you don't respect it...

then you get busted.

You should not risk that.

Tickets cannot be used for domestic lines.

You cannot fool the

Hungarian ticket inspectors.

How to behave abroad?

Dress up well, take the ticket

out of your back pocket casually,

because you can afford it.

Give it to the inspector and smile!

Inspectors won't see the difference!

You never leave a ticket with

the inspector. If they are suspicious,

you should rather eat the ticket!

They have to get rid of

the tickets after the trip!

You shouldn't rist this opportunity!

France: it was problematic.

There was a ticket inspector, called

the clown, because of his stupid outfit.

He could tell if a ticket was fake or not.

He might have seen a real one, who knows.

Everyone knew they

should avoid the clown.

The following story should be told

if interrogated:

'I bought it from somebody at

thre Railway Station.'

This is impossible to investigate.

Better safe than sorry

is the dumbest proverb.

It's the other way around.

Staying in your comfort zone paralyses you,

but when you take risks it's inspiring...

and you can react.

You shouldn't be afraid of anything.

You're just f*cking with yourself.

Hi Petya, I'm in Paris.

I have arrived.

- Ah, cool!

What a trip!

I was really afraid of the clown.

I will take a deep breath now

and destroy that b*tch!

- Okay, super, super!

- Eternal gratitude! Kisses!

kos was a pro.

Well, he really helped to get it going.

- Hi Rozi!

- Hey kos!

- Look!

He had connections.

And whoever wanted to travel he led to us.

I've collected the pre-orders.

There is an ornithologist group of 8,

6 couples and one solo traveller.

All together 15 tickets.

Can I bring some more tomorrow?

- Yes, but look for Petya!

- I knew you'd do it!

- Not us! Petya alone!

Travelling was always a dream.

You could go to Yugoslavia

or Czechoslovakia.

We realized that we could leave the country

and come back legally.

We had damn little money to travel.

But you just had to see it all.

Our budget was so tight,

we could not afford to buy a ticket.

Everyone who had the chance

wanted to travel and acquire knowledge.

The new opportunities

also contributed to this.

The unlimited currency exchange

boosted foreign travel.

More passengers mean more frauds.

A friend of mine introduced me to

a train ticket forger.

I had to consider the pros and cons.

Maybe for someone it was only a prank.

I couldn't afford to

travel abroad, none of us could.

But I wouldn't buy a forged ticket just

to travel. I couldn't understand this part.

It was not a big deal.

There were way bigger crimes.

Everything back then was so unclear.

You could hitch a ride...

but trains were more

comfortable and reliable.

'The price of missing control!'

It also took age and era.

Possibilities were advertised in the media.

We had a fear of missing out!

You can miss the opportunity

if you don't take action right now.

You had to move with the times!

It gave us the opportunity not to miss out.

Anyone who misses out is left behind.

You might not be able to

travel next year.

Well, there has always been ticket forgery.

But the most important thing was that

no rail worker should be involved.

Because it's a little easier

for the forgers then.

Our friends wanted to go too,

because they were jealous.

I was like 'OK'.

And then a friend of a friend...

In the first summer 10,

the second 50, later 150.

At some point you stop counting,

but you cannot quit.

Somehow that job stuck with me.

I prepared the tickets

and people travelled.

Hi, Petya!

Can I get a ticket to Madrid?

We leave from border.

Then: Vienna

Villach

Venice...

Milano, Genova, Marseille, Montpellier.

It wasn't a choice, it was

a situation that I got into.

Cashiers used different

coloured carbon paper.

The All Star of carbon papers was

Pelikan Blue. It was easy to remove.

Unlike Pelikan Black,

which was impossible to bleach out.

All Budapest's Railway Stations,

tour offices.

That woman carves the paper with the pen,

the other uses Pelikan Blue

and the stamp looks great.

We explored, which ticket office

we should send travellers to.

You had to be aware of

where the carbon paper was fine.

I left without even getting into it.

I didn't participate in

the mass production.

Yes?

People gave my number

from hand to hand.

Who gave you this number?

And then I made background check.

- Who?

We were careful

who we talked to.

- Are you his friend?

You couldn't just call me directly.

They told me their demands.

- It only works with Pelikan Blue.

I asked them a lot of questions and

they received the ticket.

- Buy the ticket from

the blonde after 2 PM.

We exchanged information regularly.

- Desk 4! The brunette

at Desk 2, is also OK.

About ticket inspectors,

if there were any news

A Szob-trovo ticket is perfect!

if anyone was busted.

Everyone found it cool and I was

like a magician in their eyes.

Although it was simple chemistry!

You should always have

a healthy amount of fear.

I knew that forgery implies 1 to 3

not afternoons but years in prison.

If you make 5 tickets, you can travel

somewhere, but 1000 is a new level.

I was always afraid that one

of the customers was a detective.

A forty-something with a mustache won't come

and say that he's going to study in Paris.

Cops were not that stupid.

I just needed to take this risk.

I was not thinking about forging tickets.

I saw that happening and

I thought I'd try it as well.

Show me the technique, I wanna join!

- No way!

- Let's collaborate!

It increases the chance

of making a mistake.

- I could do it for my people.

- No.

Everything stays the same.

There was a free magazine

read by a lot of people.

It was at the entrance of every bar.

Its size was perfect to hide the ticket.

It wasn't suspicious of changing

it with someone in caf or a bar.

It was free. You wouldn't

buy a newspaper for this.

What the f*ck?

I don't know what's going on!

f*ck it!

UPCOMING DEADLINES

We called each other in panic:

'Did it go brown for you too?'

When the paper became brown,

I called a chemist

The State Railways suspected

that the tickets were bleached

and they made a new series,

which became brown when it was alkalized.

It looked like it was burned.

The business is over.

We can't wash out the tickets.

- They know!

- Relax!

Do you have the ticket?

We learned in school that

it's some kind of an indicator.

Let's add some acid!

What do we have at home?

Vinegar and lemon juice.

Lemon juice is not

that stinky, let's try that!

And it bleached

the paper perfectly.

After that, the procedure was:

alkalizing, washing, 'lemonizing'.

kos realized quickly that

we needed to use lemon juice.

It was the only thing standing against us

Thus it became a cat and mouse game,

where the cat was too lazy,

luckily there was no intention

of teaching the mouse a lesson.

For a while things were going safely, but

with more travellers some people got busted.

After a while it became really dangerous.

Let's get started!

I started to spread the method.

The more people know,

the less chance I get caught.

All the tools needed

can be found in the household.

The two most important ingredients are

Domestos, which removes ink,

and lemon juice, which bleaches the paper.

We ivited the dealers and

showed them how to do it.

Which they did.

It was around 1998-2000.

You'll need a stamper,

which we can provide.

The key to the procedure is Pelikan Blue.

Other colours are unremovable.

If everybody does it

we can spread the responsibility,

so we can't be caught.

Add numbers in front of or behind the price

on the cover with a similar coloured pen.

Collect the pens! See which

ones are used by the cashiers.

Check the fare rate and the route plan on the

timetable, or ask for it at the ticket office.

They will tell you everything,

just ask politely.

Any questions?

Thank you for your attention!

I'm off to the Netherlands.

Nothing wrong or at least

not that I know of yet.

Call me if you need me!

That's when his illness came out.

He couldn't move well and

he tried to keep himself together.

He moved to the Netherlands

and smoked a lot of weed...

Anyway, it helped him a lot.

Hi there! It's Zsoci. A friend needs two

to Berlin. Call me, if you hear this! Bye!

To make a lot of money you had

to be in touch with a lot of people.

Hi! 4 tickets to Rome are needed ASAP!

I'll be there around noon tomorrow.

This was Totya, bye!!

The more people you know,

the more likely you will get busted.

I had started to get greedy, I noticed.

Hey... what's up with the

tickets for the dutch DJs?

I should send them or the party will be

canceled. That would be very bad!

It does make you a little bit crazy.

Honestly, I hadn't thought about

what I was doing.

Dear Reader! It is 12:52, I see

clouds from the window. Will it rain?

Something keeps disturbing me.

I guess I'm not relaxed enough.

I hope it will go away!

I handed over the ticket.

He took it, hummed, left and

returned in a few minutes.

I suspected something was wrong.

I spent all my money on a train ticket

from there to Montpellier.

I won't do this again.

It's so scary.

I'm not travelling like this anymore.

Something happened that really made me think.

I was stupid, but I was still lucky.

I'm not going to write

about it here yet.

I want to take a bath,

eat and get a good night's sleep.

I feel sick too.

More and more reports were filed.

The earlier monthly forgeries

became daily routines.

We were expected to find the forgers.

We did not know much.

We knew that people who

were busted were students.

We started reading all the previous records

of people who were caught.

And one thing stood out:

everybody was telling the same story.

- I didn't make the ticket.

- Might be the cashiers' fault.

- It wasn't me who bought it.

- A stranger came to me and

- We bought this absolute officially.

They were standing in line

at the ticket counter

when someone approached

them with a ticket for sale...

You could believe that, but we knew

the Eastern Railway Station well.

We knew the criminals who worked there at the time

and forgery didn't fit into any of their profiles.

The descriptions of the

dealers were different.

It cannot be that someone is always

there with a ticket for sale.

The most unrealistic thing is to always have

a ticket for sale to the desired destination.

Well, obviously not!

That was the default situation.

There was a report without a ticket

attached to it, which was unusual.

If they were busted in Germany or France,

I can't remember.

There was no evidence at the police station

that we could use to interrogate anyone.

We had reason to believe that he

kept the ticket after leaving the train.

We had to find the ticket.

That's when we decided

to make a house search,

we picked the one who was from

Budapest and went to see him.

STAMPMAKER (QUICK DEADLINE)

If someone lives with their parents,

during a house search they are confronted

with the problem with their child.

- Who did you bring on us?

What will the neighbors say?

The dad was like 'Show it!'

So that's how you travelled

to Spain and Italy!

And there were tickets.

He kept the them as souvenirs.

- Summer job! Gap year, huh?

We got the number of the dealer.

Take your stuff quickly and

don't wake up your mother!

This was the only dealer

who didn't use a burner.

He used his own personal phone number.

We hit the road fast

so the suspect couldn't be warned.

What's wrong with you?

Come back to bed!

f*ck this, f*cking f*ck!

We searched for three things:

a computer, tickets and stamps.

They told me my rights...

they asked if I had anything

ill*gal in my apartment.

Then they started to turn

everything upside down.

We thought that the tickets

were made with a computer.

We didn't know about

the Domestos technique.

There were thousands of books

in the apartment.

We had to look at everything carefully.

All the books.

Suddenly there was a huge pile

in the middle of the room.

One by one, we looked through each book.

Back then, notebooks had significance.

We were looking for

a phone book with numbers.

We didn't know if he was a lone wolf

or if he was only a middle man.

I thought I cleaned up everything

but I didn't.

They didn't look at the cassettes

in my answering machine.

It was full of evidence as it turned out.

My car key was there.

They didn't check it.

But it was also full.

I don't think being caught was in his mind.

They didn't see the risks

until the police showed up.

They found tickets and stampers and

I thought there was no escape.

Because I am guilty.

Fraud and forgery.

You're coming with us.

From the evidence we had there, it was

obvious that we still had a lot of work to do.

They took me in.

It was 3 or 4 AM.

Speeding at 160 km/h in the city center.

I sat there. So what?

I have a lot to do tomorrow.

I have to pick up the kid from

kindergarten. What's next?

For how long? 1 year? 2 years?

I heard some big, strong

guys singing in the shower.

I was scared, what's

going to happen at night?

I was shaking...

And suddenly, at 4:30,

the detective came back

and told me to think about

what I'm going to say.

If I confess everything,

he'll let me go.

I said to myself: what

am I going to do about this?

Should I believe it or not?

Lots of phone numbers and notes,

which we had to check one by one to

see if they were related to the case.

He knew that I was in the UK with

my girlfriend two weeks ago.

I told him a couple of things

that I remembered.

it could be important if

there was a note next to a name.

We could start from there.

They knew a lot of my customers' names.

I told them some too, because I had to.

A few people I knew well.

We were looking for familiar names.

It is also evidence.

If someone denies an acquaintance

but the suspect's name is in a

notebook it is hard to deny the connection.

Did the idea come from someone else?

No, I figured it out. I did it alone.

How many tickets did you sell?

Just a few! For my friends.

Do you have a list of

your costumers?

No, I don't.

Where did you get the stampers?

I found them next to a trash can.

Who do we have to find?

I did it alone.

We tried to find all the forgers.

And they sent me home.

The interrogation was over.

And then they told me

when to come back next.

Give me some change, please!

Thanks!

Then I called everyone I could.

To warn them that they will be

visited by the police.

Listen, they will find you.

Deny everything! For your own sake!

Make up a story!

Do you have the number

of Isti, Totya and Zsoci?

And Totya?

4510..., thanks, thanks!

All the small frauds were on me.

And it became quite big.

Those who travelled with a fake ticket,

also did something ill*gal.

We had the same interest:

the user and the forger.

I was arrested,

they have my phonebook.

They will find everyone!

With each confession it's worse.

Fudge something, anything!

There was no stamping in

passports anymore

you couldn't really

keep track of travels.

So they told

they didn't use the fake ticket.

We expected this,

so we were not surprised.

We thought it was a sign

that someone was caught.

It was no joke.

It's a big decision when you buy

a plane ticket to New York

and ask a family member

to sell your flat.

You pack a suitcase...

At the same time, I had the opportunity

to explore New York!

Sometimes in your life

you're carrying a lot of rubbish.

And then you can put it all down

and start a new life.

That's what happened to me.

I was questioned by the police

a few times.

The lawyer started kicking me under the

table. 'What I meant: maybe... possibly...

We interrogated him many times.

But no answers.

I had to use another language,

with conditional sentences.

'I forged five.' or 'I think I made five.'

makes a difference.

We thought one person was

forging a lot of tickets.

We thought we caught him.

But no!

We still got reports the next day.

So he was not the only one.

The police have lost interest in the case.

They realized it was not a criminal

organisation, or a mafia network.

As we found the next person, we saw that

there were a lot of people doing this...

I saw that there was

no big problem here.

We have finished the investigation and sent

the documents to the prosecutor's office.

The prosecutor asked for a fine.

No jail time.

That was a big relief.

They called in the boy

who has been busted.

What can you tell about the man

who gave you the ticket?

He stood up and said,

'Well, he's a good friend.'

That was the style of our testimony.

I didn't want to speak.

I got away with a fine of 120,000 HUF.

I also asked for downpayment.

Then we got drunk.

If they used black carbon paper only,

then the forging industry couldn't exist.

Pelikan Blue brought freedom to people.

And we.

It was way too easy to eliminate it.

If we did it only for ourselves

we could travel for free forever.

Maybe we could still do it today.

I'm sure that we would have

found a solution anyhow.

Certainly.

No real damage was done.

That train leaves with

or without any passengers.

I wouldn't do that now.

Simply because I'm more afraid

of the consequences.

This is what I got.

I consider it a natural part of life.

It's my fate.

I've got no problem. Nobody

else is responsible for it.

That was my idea.

That's fine for me.

I have no regrets,

I've had a very good life.

Forging was not invented

during the regime change.

Actually, the idea of forging comes

from the socialst regime.

It was this Hungarian resourcefulness.

I considered it an old teenager's prank.

Maybe I was just telling myself.

We're talking about students

or working people.

They did not forge tickets for a living.

We didn't see them as criminals.

It must be strange to hear from me.

It was definitely not for me

but the positive effects of

meeting people and making friendships

all that is much more important to me.

This kind of forgery was a

typical case of the post-Soviet world.

It fits into the environment

that was in Hungary back then.

There were much bigger crimes...

The travel with forged tickets was technically

financed by the foreign railway companies.

We were anxious during the whole trip.

We tried so hard to act naturally

when the ticket inspectors came.

The introduction of ticketing automation

has been constantly pushed for.

Somebody always knew a smarter and

cheaper company that usually failed.

But it took 3 or 4 years.

There are so many levels of decision making

that it's very difficult to overcome.

You need patience with

the Hungarian State Railways.