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.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
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.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
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:
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:
Thursday, September 13, 2007
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.
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.
Monday, September 10, 2007
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.
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.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
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.
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
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
Saturday, September 8, 2007
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
