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.