Ich bin ein...

From Belgium, the plan was to head into Germany, Berlin specifically. Unfortunately, try as I might, I could not find a direct route from Brussels to Berlin. Thus came unplanned stop #2. I caught a train from Brussels to Cologne. Why Cologne you ask? Well, uh, ...it cost less? I had wanted to go to the Black Forest, but connections were less frequent and given the extremely high price of train travel in Germany, I didn't think I could pull it off.

I decided to stay for two nights in Cologne because at this point in the trip I was getting quite tired of the one night stops. It made it difficult to get enough sleep, plus you had to deal with the hassle of check in/out and luggage storage/retrieval every day. It turned out though, there wasn't much in Cologne to do for two full days. Though a fairly large city area, the architecture was underwhelming and the history less than inspiring. There was however, an amazing cathedral there, referred to as the Dom. Since I arrived on Sunday I was able to attend mass and the choir service afterwards. Despite not understanding the homily or the hymns we sang, taking time out from the constant motion and reflecting with believers from another part of the world was a very renewing experience.

Other highlights were doing laundry at a combination laundromat/lounge/snowboarding store and meeting someone from my recent home town of Chicago. Chatting with Jim confirmed what me and other friends have said about Chicago, that it really is a small town. Despite the fact that we lived in separate areas we knew many of the same hangouts and watering holes and spent quite a bit of time in the same circles back home. It did make me a bit homesick for the times my roommates and I knocked back pints at the Inner Town Pub or The Club Foot, complaining about our students. Then I went to Berlin.

Belgium and Beyond

From Paris I caught a bus, which was about 20% the price of the train. I thought it was a great deal until we started to leave Paris and it became apparent that the driver didn't know how to get out of the city. It's always a bad sign when a passenger has to get out of their seat and give the driver directions.
Once on the motor way, we had relatively few incidents and arrived close to on time. I couldn't get a room in Brussels for the first night, so I flipped the stops and headed to Antwerp. This proved to be a great decision as it was the home of the second best hostel I stayed in and had an amazing vibe. It was such a cool place that I knew I would stay another night as soon as I stepped out of the metro. The place I stayed was called De Heksenketel, and was the most chaotic yet charming hostel I have seen. It was really a pub with two dorm rooms on the floors above. Half the bathrooms were outside, and there was Flemish folk music playing until 4 in the bar, but the folks staying there were super nice and enjoyed playing new card games. The owner was also incredibly accommodating. Even though I didn't have a reservation for the second night, he worked it out for me to stay despite it being totally booked, by making room for me in his employees' quarters.
As for the town itself, it was one of the most aesthetically pleasing places that I visited, with cobblestones, a river view and little car traffic. The big landmark was the cathedral of our lady located in the center of the city and featuring several Rubens paintings. There was also the Grote Markt, lined by guild halls and centered on the Brabo fountain. Perhaps most important were the culinary selections. The traditional foods included amazing french fries, Brilliant chocolate, the best beer in the world and of course, Belgian waffles. With all these options readily available, I found it hard to believe the Belgian folks weren't each the size of a small Corolla. I definitely put on a pound or two while I was there.
Beyond the food and the surroundings, I found Antwerp to simply have a very laid back and open way about it. It was a good break after the massiveness of Paris. Great for meeting people, and perfect for a stroll around on your own, and exploring used record stores.
After my second night, I went back to Brussels. I only had the evening there, since I stayed back in Antwerp for as long as I could. It worked out well though, as there wasn't a whole lot to see in Brussels. The biggest draws were the Grote Markt square, similar to the one in Antwerp, but on a much grander scale, with incredibly opulent guild halls, and the Mannequin Pis, which is as weird as it sounds. What else did I do while I was there? More fries and chocolate of course.
All in all, Belgium was one of my favorite stops. The food, culture and surroundings all made for an amazing place. I'd like to get back there at some point soon.

Francophone Extravaganza

While I was in England, both my cousin and my friend from Bath, who had studied in Switzerland, told me I had to visit Lucerne. Never one to turn down free advice, I canceled my plan to head to Bern (the capital city) after Basel, and made my way slightly further east to Lucerne. I have to say, they were right. Even though the hostel was quite a ways outside the city and it took me half a day to find it, it was one of the most picturesque stops on my tour. There was a river running through the heart of the town and a walled "old town" with walls and gates still left from some time ago. There were also several footbridges stretching across the river, offering splendid views of both the architecture and sunset. Since I only had one night there, I spent most of my time taking in the sights, and snapping pictures. It was also where I picked up the obligatory swiss army knife.
Bright and early the next morning, I was on a train and heading to Geneva. This was one of my more tense arrivals as I was supposed to stay with friends of a friend, but had not yet made contact. I decided to try a hostel instead when I got there, but unfortunately they were booked. At this point I was sweating a bit, but decided to check my e-mail one more time at the hostel, and thankfully, I had an e-mail awaiting me from my hosts-to-be. It all worked out and the family I stayed with were wonderful people. I somehow didn't get a picture of them, but I do have one of their cat...
There wasn't a lot to see in Geneva proper. Things I did see included Jon Calvin's old church, huge chess boards and Lac Lemon. I spent my full day in semi-nearby Montreux checking out Chateau de Chillion. A castle with lots of history and an unsurpassed view. Pictures of all these things can of course be seen if you follow the links to panoramio and picasa on the right.
Switzerland was a nice place to be at this point in the trip. Its famed organization and precision allowed me to have a tight schedule and quick stops without much of a problem. It was also fairly laid back, which along with all the scenery made it a pretty relaxing stop. The people, though friendly, were not particularly outgoing. There's a bit more of a reserved nature there, and it takes time to get to know the folks. If my experience is any indication though, the time is very worthwhile.
From Geneva I caught the TGV to Paris. With my schedule and budget, I didn't have the opportunity to explore France, but I at least wanted to make a stop in the capital. Especially after all the historical study I did during my time at NU. My plan was to spend a minimal time at the landmarks, and try to really get a feel for the urban fabric of the town. Spending time on the famed boulevards, and in the cafes was the priority. As they say though, "the best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry." I didn't realize the sheer magnitude of the city, and much like London was hustling from place to place nearly non-stop. From museums to monuments and all the metro stations in between, I saw them. I think sticking to these places also gave me a bit of a stilted view of the city as it seemed like the place was constantly crawling with tourists. I even started seeing the same tourists over again. Even smaller neighborhoods like Montmartre were full of Non-Parisians and the shops and restaurants that would cater to them.
Paris was one the site of my most random moment on the trip. I was making my way to the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, and ran into a graduate student who I had taken a seminar with back at NU and was married to one my TAs. We hadn't seen each other in quite some time, adding to the surprise. We caught up a bit and discussed education plans etc. It was a bit of home in the middle of a European capital.
Highlights included the Centre Pompidou, views from Montmartre, the new French architecture museum, a scooter ride during evening rush hour and of course the Eiffel tower.
Disappointment: The cathedral of Notre Dame. It was in a horrible state of disrepair, with tools, building materials and other objects laying all over.
Next to Berlin, Paris is the city I would most like to return to. Despite the frequently snooty conduct of most of the Parisians and hordes of visitors, I would like an opportunity to actually adhere to my original plan for experiencing the city.

Pricey old England

After Bath I made my way across the south of Britain to an old classmate's place in Brighton. I was based there while I was checking out London. I was really grateful at that point in the trip for a break from hostels, especially since the big-city hostels are often massive and rather impersonal. It was also nice to catch up with an old friend. The fact that she liked to cook was an added bonus :-)
There is so much I could say about the city itself. It was the closest I've seen to New York in terms of scale, activity and wealth. It was absolutely massive and you really had to budget time to even scratch the surface. There were enough museums alone to keep you occupied for an entire trip. I only had four days however, so I had to be selective. The museums I did see were some of the best in Europe though. The British museum had an indescribable wealth of artifacts, most amazing of which was the Rosetta stone. Something like that was incredible to see after years of reading about it in school and library books. The Tate modern was also a tremendous experience. Even the floor was part of the art. The war cabinet rooms and bunker were also very interesting and steeped in history. It provided a palpable sense of what members of that generation had to deal with every day. I spent the last day out in Cambridge at the university. It was a very beautiful place, despite the pouring rain, with immaculate lawns and historic buildings everywhere you looked. I was able to go to an evening vespers service at one of the chapels sung by one of the boys choirs there, a very neat experience in itself.
I also made time for all the usual sites. Buckingham palace, tower bridge, Westminster abbey, Big Ben, Hyde Park, real Fish and chips and a walk along the Thames. Unfortunately I wasn't able to go into the palace or tower of London since they cost a staggering 14 pounds each. At $2.14 per it made this and just about everything else there very expensive. Even just the trains set me back over 20 pounds a day. Despite the financial hemorrhaging though, I was really glad I finally made it. Hopefully there will be another trip there in the future.
After London I had an appointment with Easy Jet (one of the few British things that doesn't cost that much) to fly me to Basel Switzerland. I was to arrive just in time for the U.S. v. Switzerland Soccer friendly. It was an adventure surrounded in mishap, including not getting the tickets until the day of the game, discovering the seats were behind a security barrier, and sitting in the pouring rain. We won however, 1-0, so that of course made it all worth it. I was a bit lucky to be there since American wins in Europe come about as often as Halley's comet.
Basel itself was a nice town, but not spectacular. The city hall had some interesting frescoes and there was a pretty center. More notably was my thankfulness for the famous Swiss precision that helped me get to the game on time, and the fact that it was the first and only place I have seen Cadillac taxi cabs.

Ireland continued...

I had two more stops over in Ireland. First I took a bus to the West coast for a visit in Galway. Second was a stop south, in Cork.
Unfortunately there is not much to say about the city of Galway itself. It was a university town with lots of bars, clubs etc, and not exactly the vibrant cultural center my guide book made it out to be. Fortunately though, it was near two of Ireland's most famous natural landmarks, the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of More. I only had time for one, and since the islands had cliffs on them, I took the ferry across and rented a bike on the biggest island, Inishmore. The views were absolutely breathtaking and well worth the trip. Aside from the natural rock formations and sea views, there were ruins all over of different churches and such. There was also an old Celtic fort which was supposedly from Roman times. It was built only as a crescent with the back side of the fort being the high point on the cliffs.
I inched out over the edge on my belly and took a video clip with my camera:





Not much, but I tried.
Other highlights were miles of stone walls, rolling green hills, talking to old farmers who didn't really speak English and Teampall Bheanain, purportedly the smallest church in the world. All in all, very cool. There are of course pictures on Picasa. If I were to do it over I would have skipped Dublin, spent the extra time out here, and stayed in a smaller town such as Doolin. More time for scenery and less drunken tourists.
After another bus ride I stopped down in Cork. I had a quick turnaround there since I had to fly out the next day to Bristol. I had enough time to get a feel for the town though, and what I saw, I liked. It seemed fairly untouched by all the tourist hordes of other cities. There was much more of a natural feel about its streets, shops and people. They hadn't been converted into junk shops and things like that. It had managed to reap the benefits of the thriving Celtic economy and retain its soul. Highlights included the very cool municipal art museum which was hosting exhibits on maps as art and other fine contemporary works. Also, it was the only spot on my trip where I was able to find Murphy's stout (in my opinion, better than Guinness).
There was also a very neat Gothic church and some more fine scenery.
From there was a stop in lovely Bath England. My cousin, Becky, and her husband, Sean have been living there for a few years now and just had a baby! I got to be the first one of my immediate family to see little Isla, and I even helped assemble a crib. I think I'm already her favorite second cousin.

In town there a couple very neat attractions. One was the Bath Abby, a stunning Anglican church, with amazing vaulted ceilings and angels climbing up and down the ladder to heaven on the facade. There was also the famous Roman baths, which had been excavated and had quite detailed and interesting displays. The gardens in Bath were beautiful as well. Apparently they have been retired from the national British competition for city gardens, for winning too many times. They are right on the river with a perfect scenic backdrop. Perhaps that's too much of a natural advantage.

This stop was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was great to get out of the hostels for a little bit and reconnect with family I hadn't seen in a while. Becky and Sean were amazing hosts even though they were dealing with a big new adjustment of their own. They fed me well and even let me do laundry, what could be better. :-)

A wee bit o' the Emerald Isle...

I wrote bits about my stop in Belfast already and hit the main highlights. It was a small and manageable place, which made it an ideal first stop. The hostel I stayed at was a great place as well. Because it was smaller and it wasn't overrun with the hordes of tourist that other places deal with, it was much more accessible. It was amazing to see how much progress has been made in the struggle to bring peace to a region that has been so torn apart. It was one of the most encouraging stops on my tour for that reason. I spoke with folks on the catholic side of things and a Brit while I was there and it was interesting to hear their perspective on it all. Surprisingly, the Republicans (Catholics) are quite amiable to British individuals, and it is the loyalists who are more hostile since they feel "sold out" by the peace process. The British guy I met and spent time with felt much more comfortable in the Catholic parts of town and even rented a room from a Catholic guy. Strange how politics can turn things on their heads sometimes.
Highlights and sight include the aforementioned stops on the black taxi tour, a hike around Belfast "castle" and Cave Hill, and a few pints at the famous Irish pubs. The "castle" proved to be a big house, but it was pretty. Cave Hill was situated above the "castle" and provided some really nice views of the city and the port. As for the pubs, I learned that Magner's cider is much better than Strongbow. Also, I think Murphy's is better than Guinness. Pictures of all of the above are on Picasa, in the appropriately named album: "Belfast."
Dublin was the next stop, and, unfortunately, disappointing. It was a good thing I only stayed one night there. There wasn't much in the way of culture or tradition, just hordes of tourists. The Temple Bar area, which is the center of town, was crowded with lots of middle aged folks trying to re-live their youthful indiscretions. You had to go quite a ways from the center to even find an authentic pub. I trekked a ways out to a place called the Stag's Head. Apparently James Joyce's old hangout. I paid my respects with a pint of Guinness and some writing.
There were some highlights. I enjoyed Christ Church and St. Patrick's Cathedral. The former contained a bit of macabre with the famous mummified cat and rat. The campus of Trinity College was beautiful as well, and housed the ancient Book of Kells. I also took a tour of the Guinness Store house. It was Brilliant! There are pics of these stops as well.

Back in the USSR...

OK, not quite, but who doesn't appreciate a good Beatles reference every now and again? I am back in Sofia for the time being though. It's much as I left it (grumpy people, bad service and cheap pizza) but much colder. Not Chicago cold mind you, but cold. I suppose that was bound to happen.
A few of our Swiss friends are leaving to go back home, so there has been much in the way of going away dinners/get togethers etc. Other than that I have been flaking/resting up and getting back to the reading I told myself I would finish several months ago.
It has been quite a drastic change, going from living out of a backpack and sleeping in different places every couple nights, to a rather static existence once again. It has given me time to try and process a lot of the experiences and insights that I gained while out on the road. Surprisingly though, it's actually been tougher to do without busy days.
I'll be posting chunks of my trip over the next week or two. Impressions, pictures, specifics about places, favorite moments etc.
Initial things I've come to realize:
Placing yourself in so many different contexts allows you to see yourself from all kinds of different angles that you never would have imagined. Experiencing different cultures often lets you see qualities that you posses, or would like to posses as a person. The same with the constant interactions that you are having with strangers from all over the world. Allain De Botton in his book Architecture of Happiness, makes an intriguing argument that man's concept of aesthetic beauty is derived out of our ideals. Thus, architectural styles are implicitly or, often explicitly, intended to convey themes such as strength, honesty and dependability. I think, in some ways, this thought process can be applied to meta systems. As we experience different cultures and even personalities, we appreciate elements that embody qualities we strive for. That could be the laid back evenings in Roman cafes with friends or the incredible organization of German trains. It goes deeper than a simple appreciation, however. Beyond saying "I wish Amtrak didn't suck," it gives us an incredibly multi-faceted mirror for self reflection and introspection. If you are open and willing to be self critical, experiences abroad can be life changing indeed.
Second, even though I took 815 pictures, it wasn't nearly enough. I didn't get enough pictures of the people I met and stayed with along the way. In some cases this was due to the fact that photos are such an inadequate medium for capturing experience. I found that I often just wanted to capture the thoughts of different times and file them away, thus not having to worry about the lighting, iso settings, framing etc. Other times I just flaked out. I'll be posting any pictures that go along with my blog posts on Picasa. So check in there when you get a chance.

I'm still alive

I am on the last portion of the current leg of the trip. Padova Italy currently, Venice tonight, Sicily Wed- Sun and Rome Sun night through Wed. Then back to good 'ol Sofia.
There's been a lot going on and a lot to talk about. It's been difficult to post since the cafe computers are very expensive and none will let me upload photos. I will be recapping various stops on this journey. Hopefully not all of my readers will have completely forgotten about this blog's existence. Until then.

First days in Ireland

I'm just in to Dublin today from Belfast. I had a three hour bus ride this afternoon. There are already stark differences. Belfast, even though it was a more working class and gritty town had a definite character and personality. Dublin thus far, doesn't. There are pretty areas near the center, and lots of pubs etc, but there's just not a sense of the people or anything else. Perhaps my thoughts are a bit premature since I've only been around the center so far, I'll have to write more after I see St. Patrick's and Christ church tomorrow.
Before leaving this morning a Dutch guy and I took a Black taxi tour. It took us around the city and gave us a look at the many different murals and tributes to heroes in the struggles. We also saw Sinn Fein headquarters, got to write on the peace wall and got a general history lesson about the different players in the conflict. It was a great way to wrap up after meeting many very cool people and a great hostel experience. Other than the Dutch guy, there were German, French, Aussie and Welsh folk and a Gent from West Yorkshire who was an English hippie and a professed moosist. You'll have to ask if you want an explanation.
I'm on to Gallway tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully I'll have more stories.
I'm trying to figure out a way to put pictures up as well. I don't have my laptop and these places generally frown on hooking things up to their pc's. I'll see what I can do.

Got to looove the Plov....

10 points to anyone who can get the Seinfeld reference in the post title....

I did go to Plovdiv this past weekend, or as our guidebook somewhat humorously named it "The Plov." It was a very cool city that apparently is a rival to Sofia for the cultural center of Bulgaria. The city has an "old town" section, and given that it is a contemporary with Troy, it's real old. There are a lot of ruins that date back to the Thracian times, cobblestone streets etc. It was well worth the trip out there.

Unfortunately, I can't post the pictures, since they are on my laptop some 2000 miles away. I landed in Belfast today via Rome and am beginning the first big excursion on this trip. Starting her in Northern Ireland, I'm heading through the Republic, Bath and London in the UK, Switzerland, Paris, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic Austria, and then Sicily. I'm going to try and keep posting at cafes like I am now. It'll all depend on availability etc however.

Some quick impressions of Belfast: It's a pretty gritty town save the center where there's a really neat Botanic garden and Queen's University . There are apparently some very old historic pubs etc that I'll be sure to check out as well. People seem to be friendly. The whole driving/walking on the left side is a surprising mind bender. Over/under on time it would take me to get in an accident: 5 min.

Things

Let's talk about famous jinxes for minute. There's the famous "curse of the Bambino," which kept the Red Sox from being world champions after selling Babe Ruth and Famously broken by a hobbled Curt Schilling and co. There's the "curse of the Billy Goat," still keeping the Chicago Cubs from the championship after they kicked a billy goat out of the stands during the world series against my Detroit Tigers.
Then there's the time I said "Hey, there's not a problem with bugs or roaches in the apartment." Then it got colder out. It's kind of like the swallows returning to Capistrano, but a lot grosser.

Just when I was getting used to the cat urine....

I'm heading to Plovdiv for the weekend. I have lots of updates when I get back.

Weekend fun continued...

On Sunday we went to our hosts' newly acquired property just outside of Pernik. It's a small green space in the (very) rolling hills outside of the town. There's a tiny and ancient "bungalow" on the property as well. Our hosts were very proud of the new plot and took us out to do some grilling. We did it true campfire style over a wood fire. There was lots of Kebabcheta and Kuftetta for all, plus the obligatory tomato/onion/fetta salad. We also grilled 4 kilos of peppers. Thank goodness those were for later.

Yesterday evening, we went to a friend of a friend's birthday dinner at a restaurant in the center. It was supposedly a "Bulgarian Tavern," though I'm told real Bulgarians wouldn't be caught dead in a restaurant serving Bulgarian food. I (being a fan of Bulgarian food and wine) enjoyed it, with one exception. There was a "band" of 4 people who came to sing happy birthday to the honoree. This was all fine until the table next to us decided to pay them some ungodly sum of money. We're not sure how much, but it was enough to keep them there for over an hour. The rest of dinner consisted of us shouting back and forth. Add to this that there was French, English, Bulgarian and Italian all being spoken at the same time and it was a bit much on the ears. You can check out the band in the clip below.

Weekend fun

This weekend was not too eventful, but we did end up doing quite a bit. We kicked off Saturday by hitting the National museum of natural history. It contained a wealth of specimens. As you can see in the photo however, many of them were beyond old. This one was from 1923. There was an astounding array of different fish, birds, insects, mammals, reptiles etc. However, they were not in any discernible exhibits. They were labeled and arranged in row after row of glass cases. Check out my picture album if you are interested in seeing some of the displays. It was at once spectacular and shameful. There were all these instructive aides, but half of them were literally falling to pieces. We spoke to a woman there about the operation and funding of the museum. She said that the museum doesn't receive much funding from the government. It's mostly private donors, and doesn't add up to enough to truly take care of things. The woman only made 180 Lev (about 1.5 to $1) a month. It goes to explain why the archaeological museum cases (where they had them) were "locked" with zip ties.

Afterwards we took a trip to the south of the city near the "Palace of Culture." We were looking for an organic market, but it apparently closed early without warning. The "palace" turned out to be a really big conference center. It was a big concrete and glass building in a very 70's style. There was a huge grounds around the building though, and lots and lots of students relaxing after the first day of school. What's that you say? The first day of school was on a Saturday? Yes. There was a holiday on two Thursdays before. Pretty much everybody got the Friday off of work as well making it a 4 day weekend. So, everyone had to make up the lost day of work, by going in on the following Saturday, thus the kids also had to do something productive on Saturday, and they made it the first day of school. Weird..

One of Raia's coworkers started a tea house here in Sofia and they have really neat shows and art and such. We met up with some other folks before hand for a drink then made our way to the tea house for dinner and Jazz. It was a trio, keys, sax and drum, and they were quite good. I think my favorite was watching them pull off a version of Us3's cantaloop.

Back to the center

Today I'm heading back to the center to visit the natural history museum, the Palace of culture, an organic market and a jazz show. I'll have pictures and descriptions of all when I get back.

I don't have too much to report right now since I've been hanging around the block planning the next leg of my journey. I believe it's going to be beginning in Ireland with a stop in Bath to see my new second cousin and London for a Fullham match (though at 30+ GBP, I may have to sell a Kidney).

Staying around the house can be a bit tiresome. Though it is comforting to know that I can always see the Mythbusters blowing things up, subtitles and all. What's strange about all the Discovery channel shows here is that they're re-voice-overed, by a guy with a Brittish accent.

Something else I saw on Bulgarian television, and a bit more strange, was one of my favorite movies: Hamlet 2000. Now, that it is being broadcast is not strange, it's a great movie. The irony comes in when you consider the fact that it is dubbed in Bulgarian. That's right, Shakespeare... dubbed.

On the subject of irony, I realized that payback can indeed be cruel. I've discovered that my punishment for actually thinking portions of the movie "Borat" were funny, is that I must now go around totally clueless and making a fool of myself, something like this clip:

Flying Solo

So I've been trying to get out and explore the city more on my own. It's been a little (by a little, I mean a lot) intimidating to be moving about in a place where you can't even read the street signs (when they exist) because the S looks like a C and the V looks like a B. And that's just the beginning.

Once I got to the center, and a good map, I was alright. I enjoyed the morning just walking around and familiarizing myself with the streets and landmarks. In typical European fashion the streets don't even pretend to make sense. Makes one thankful for the good 'ole grid of Chicago. Instead of head north, south etc., directions are often something like these directions to a park for me to run in (mind you this is being interpreted to me): "Head down to the big street, then go past the store, then there's a street, then another street, perhaps another, then you turn down one of them or something. That's where the park is! ...sigh. Speaking of running. I've found, as many others have I'm sure, that running is a great way to explore new areas. Unfortunately I'm really out of shape. By the time I'm able to explore out of the quarter-mile radius or so, I'll know these half a dozen blocks really well.

Back to the city center. Much of the day was spent going in and out of churches built at various points in history. Two really stuck out. The first was the Church of St. George. The oldest building in Sofia, dating back to the 4th century. I stumbled upon this church by accident trying to take a shortcut. Legend has it that Constantine himself visited here. The second was Hagia Sophia church, the second oldest church in Sofia. This church is in the shadow of the much more grand Nevsky cathedral, and has a much more rich and intimate feel to it. It has gone through several buildings and conquerors and thus has excavations taking place in several spots inside. Mass was beginning when I came in and the liturgy was sung by an absolutely breathtaking choir. Made me wish I knew old Slavonic.

In one of the churches I saw the shrine in the picture. There was a perplexing but enlightening interplay that went on in my mind while I stood in front of these pictures. There was someone's uncle, another's sister, a beloved mother and perhaps a dear friend. I was staring at these very inhuman representations, struggling to make out the notes scrawled on them, but very little translation was needed. These were individuals who were loved and connected to other humans. When you're traveling, among other people whom you can't understand and you don't know, it is natural to other them in subtle ways. These people, the Bulgarians. It really is subconscious, and unintentional. Thankfully this experience allowed me to tune in to the shared natural experience and identity.

Now, if I can hold on to that when a vendor tries to rip me off...

On the lighter side. There are these little elevated huts that are perched next to many traffic intersections. A traffic officer would stay in these and operate the lights before they were on automatic switches.

I've been told that occasionally officers would mess with motorist by stopping them even when there was no traffic late at night. I suppose with a job like that, you would need a sense of humor.

My afternoon adventures included a stop at the local post office and the archeology museum. I was going by the post to try and mail a post card to my youngest brother. After going in the wrong department, twice, I managed to get in broken English, that I needed to go to the "small shop" in the Foyer. Small shop being one of the three Kiosks festooned with, uh, postcards. After attempting to underpay for the stamp, since I don't know the Bulgarian number words, I had to pick which of a dozen boxes to drop it in, all of them of course marked in Cyrillic. After another broken conversation, I determined that it was the little yellow box all the way at the other end of the hall was where it needed to go. I was glad to have escaped without triggering an international incident.

The Museum of Archeology was next on the list. The artifacts were extraordinarily accessible, as much of them were set in the main hall. Strangely though, it seemed as if much of it was strewn about hap-haphazardly. It was difficult to get a sense of the history or the context of the artifacts as it was more like a collection of stuff than an exhibition. I was tempted to make the "low budget version of western Europe" comparison that I did before, but you certainly wouldn't gather that from the website. More strikingly though, was the building itself and the way that it had been transformed. The museum is housed in the former Buyuk Mosque, a far grander building than the one active mosque still left in the city and itself, an article of antiquity. All the interior had been white washed. When you looked up at the dome you could see where the white had peeled away, that there were colorful Islamic frescoes that had simply been painted over. It was a stark reminder of the collective distaste for all things Ottoman, and by association, Turkish and Muslim.

Catching up

OK, I'm a bit behind since I got a late jump on things to start. So I'm going to mention some highlights from the last couple days and leave it at that.

Saturday, we went for a visit in Pernik to see Raia's grandparents. Pernik is a cool city with lots of ancient history. Though more recently it has been a center of lots of heavy industry and so is quite polluted. It had been about 5 years since Raia had seen Baba e Diado, so there was a bit of apprehension at first. When we got there I continued the smiling and nodding and they took another stab at making me explode with food. There were three different meats: Karnache, Kebabcheta and Kuftetta (These people don't kid around). I also was given some home-made Rakia. [Those of you who were at Nick and Katie's over Labor Day weekend are familiar with this potent drink. I think this was better though.] They seemed like very nice people, though I suppose I could be wrong since I had no idea what they were saying. [Look at the American... This guy went to a top ten university? No wonder they're having problems in Iraq! -- At least I didn't refer to them as Bosnians

Moving on... Then next day we did a walking tour of part of downtown Sofia. We saw some very cool stuff including some government buildings (parliament, various embassies etc.), Sofia University and several museums. Highlights of the downtown included Nevsky cathedral, the Czar Alexander monument and the public natural springs. Nevsky cathedral is one of the most famous sites in Bulgaria and a major tourist attraction. It was built in tribute to the soldiers of different nations who fought to help liberate Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. The Monument to Czar Alexander was built to honor him for liberating Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. ( I hope you're sensing a theme here. Ottoman rule, still to this day, is a rather sore subject. There's no love lost on the part of the BGs, if you want to get someones temper going, mention the Turks.) The springs were odd, but in a cool way. We turned a corner out of a shopping mall and there were all kinds of people filling up containers to take home, right in the middle of down town. The water was really warm and quite tasty. The other neat stop was the Russian church

The city was beautiful in the way cities are: monuments to cultural ideals, National treasures, the coming together of many different walks of life all in the context of man's attempt to tame his surroundings. What surprised me about it was the lack of evidence of the many layers of history. Aside from the Banya Bashi Mosque, which our friends didn't even bother pointing out as we walked by. There is no sign of the 4-5 hundred years of Ottoman rule, let alone the Thracian, Byzantine or post-San Stefano periods. It was something like a low budget version of Western European cities, which in some ways it is. One wonders if this is the result of more recent governments trying to westernize, or perhaps there was deliberate "cleansing" of these things by the communist state. More on that later hopefully.

Rila? Yes, Rila...

The second mountain sort of counts. We actually drove up most of it, then went for a long hike at the top. It was slightly inclines though. What drew us to this particular mountain was that it is where the famous Rila Monastery resides. It is a place that is steeped in spiritual and cultural tradition for the BGs. It has obtained almost mythical status for many. I was particularly drawn to the chapel, for its architecture and floor to ceiling frescoes of different saints and biblical scenes. Despite the somewhat controversial view points that the site may imbue, it definitely lends itself to a meditative state. I couldn't take pictures inside, but if you want to see what I could take click here.

Equally impressive was the hike around the national park surrounding the monastery. It had more breathtaking nature. Little brooks, a river, rock formations and lots of fresh air. It reminds me somewhat of the climate and variety of the Michigan outdoors, and it's been nice to get out and spend some time outside before it gets really cold.
One fun part of the hike was my discovery of the macro function on my camera. I played around with it a few times and got mixed results. I'm still working on perfecting that one.

First takes

Well, I've a bit of catching up to do. It took us a while to get the wireless router up and running here in Sofia (Bulgaria). In the mean time, I've been doing a lot of smiling and nodding and taking tons of pictures.

My schedule has looked something like this:

Day one: Climb a mountain

Day two: Climb a mountain

Awesome, but a bit tiring. Thankfully, the third day, we took a drive.

First a bit about the surroundings, and some first takes.

We're staying in a soviet era "block" that despite it's crumbling appearance is quite comfortable. Very well finished and furnished, and there's plenty of room. There's even a cat. Though he was a bit disconcerting at first on account of his resemblance to DJ Qualls on acid. It's all been very pleasant, though I don't think the people here like me very much. I'm fairly certain they are trying to feed me to death. :-) Unfortunately the food is very good, thus making it rather difficult to resist my own undoing.

In other matters... Number one thing I miss from the united states: Cat litter. They don't have it here. I'll leave the resulting odors to your imagination. You do get used to it though. Number one most annoying quirk: One must always wear something on their feet. It can get cold, but I prefer freedom for my feet.

Moving on... About those mountains. The Planina (mountain) we climbed on Thursday was Vitosha. Perfect for a day hike, it offered breathtaking views of Sofia and Pernik. It was a bit cold (about 0 C), but well worth it.

More about the other mountain later. Don't forget to click the link in the sidebar to see other pictures

Beginning Thoughts

A few thoughts to start this whole thing off: First, I've never done this whole "blog" thing before (accept for a half-hearted attempt at a Live journal back when I thought that was cool and indie). I had enough people asking me for updates on where I was/where I was going though, that I thought this would be a great way to keep everyone in the loop. We'll see if it's that much more successful than the ill-fated LJ.

On a philosophical note, at the beginning of this trip I had a very deep awareness of leaving the "comfort zone." It sank in right as we were taking off from O'Hare and could see the block I had been staying on for the few weeks before. It was, perhaps, more acute because this trip is something more than the 3-10 days that my two previous trips were, and I'm going to a place where I have no clue on the language etc. It's something that shouldn't come as a surprise since there is no end to the stories of other travelers who have had the same discomfort. It is something, however, that you don't truly understand until you experience it yourself.

Any way, I'll share any insights I stumble upon in the posts of the next few months. Stay tuned if that sounds like fun.