Beer and bumper cars

So here I am being a lazy bum in Belgrade…watching the Olympics and chatting in the hostel common room all morning. Last night was Belgrade Beer Fest (apparently, it’s going on all week here), which was surprisingly fantastic.  I was expecting a hall or outdoor venue with a bunch of tents, lots of beer, and not much else.  However, what I found was a huge stage with Serbian bands, an amusement park with booming techno music, and mobs of people enjoying beer, food, music, and rides. 

I went with a group we got together at the hostel, and we really had a blast.  After sampling some Bavarian, Czech, and Serbian beer and chatting over the music, we hit the bumper cars, cheering and laughing when we hit one of our own group.  After a few of the braver souls had gone on some of the more adventurous rides (not for me though, with a full stomach!), we headed back to the main festival for some satisfying Serbian burgers (a “small” was as big as my head, and filled with lettuce, onions, tomatos, ketchup and mayo – so much for healthy food!).  Let me tell you though, the Serbians definitely know how to do their meat, and everything I’ve sampled so far has been juicy and delicious.  Not a good city for vegetarians, though!

It’s fantastic being somewhere cheap for once though!  A dinner or lunch can easily be bought for $2-3, and prices in general are pretty reasonable.  I’m looking forward to the last bits of the trip, though…Budapest, which should be amazing, then Croatia for the puppet festival, then home!  I’m glad I saved some of my favorite places and events for last, because now I’m just as excited about my last 2 weeks abroad as I am about finally getting home.

Sea breezes and strange places

Hello!  I’m currently in Belgrade (Beograd), Serbia, and feeling pleasantly surprised after the confusion and heat of Athens.  Everyone I’ve encountered here so far has been remarkably helpful and kind, and the hostel (and surrounding area) is very homey and funky.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, except that I knew I couldn’t read/speak any Serbian, but the tourist infrastructure seems really solid.  I’m definitely excited to explore now…

Athens was hot, dusty, and worth getting out of.  The Acropolis was magnificent, and seeing Medea performed in Greek in an ancient theatre (complete with plenty of audience commentary!) was a fantastic experience, but other that that there was not much to do or see in the 100 degree heat.  So what did I do?  Got out of there fast!  Three nights ago, my third night in Athens, I got to talking with an Aussie girl (a very cool lady and high school science teacher named Kat) who was also sick of it, so we found a place to stay in Aegina (an island 1 hour away from Pireaus port) and the next morning we were on a ferry.

Despite the motion sickness-inducing ride over, the island was a welcome respite, with cool sea breezes, crystal clear water, and lots of friendly, laid-back locals.  We stayed at the “Hotel Liberty”, owned by a man named Costas and his wife, and they were so sweet and kind.  When they heard I would need to leave at 6am to catch the ferry back to Athens for my flight, they told me “We will make you some toast and wrap it up on the counter for you, so you don’t miss breakfast!”  Low and behold the next morning there is not only “toast” (Two toasted ham and cheese sandwiches!) but also water and juice wrapped up in a little bag.  It definitely made the hectic journey to the airport much nicer! (My taxi actually broke down and I missed the ferry, so I had to take the next one…and arrived at my gate just at 10:15 for my 10:30 flight!!)

Now back to checking out Beograd…and definitely washing my clothes.  With all the hot weather I”ve been pretty smelly.

Wooden joints and sister time

Hello from Edinburgh! Finally I have computer access again, even if my email refuses to work properly on it. 

So.  Recap.  Venice was my favorite city in Italy…it was like a maze, with endless winding tiny streets that kept coming to the ‘dead end’ of a canal, and unbelievable mask shops around every corner, with artisans working away in the windows.  Leslie and I also took a boat ride out to Murano to see the famous glass blowers (not worth it…cheesy and hot!), but even more bizarrely, we managed to run into two of my friends from school who were studying near Florence this summer!  Dan and Sara were equally shocked I think, but it was nice to have a brief catch-up session with someone familiar, and I can’t wait to hear more about their adventures in the fall!  The best part of Venice, though, was getting up at 5 am to haul our butts to the San Marco square to see it sans tourists and heat.  It was really lovely, and the rising sun over the buildings was the perfect was to start our last day in Venice.

Rome was hot hot hot but obscenely epic.  Everywhere you go there are ancient monuments (some remarkably well preserved) and famous sites, and even though my long khaki shorts were somehow too whorish to allow me entrace to St. Peter’s Basilica, I still managed to experience the Sistine Chapel with a real art student (thanks, Les!).  Leslie and I also did our early morning trick again, visiting the Spanish Steps and Travi fountain before they were mobbed and the sun was out in full force.  We also did a great walking tour at night, and the next night discovered this great little puppeteer busking in Navora square.  Leslie especially adored him.

Then Totnes!  Which is beautiful and quaint and absolutely dead after 5 pm.  No matter though, because we were there to carve puppets!  It was a weeklong course with John Roberts, who is a very talented puppeteer and puppet maker, and apparently very well known and respected in England.  He was a phenomenal teacher, and very patient with me, given that I had never carved before.  It was wonderful too meeting other puppet-mad people, and all four girls, Fitz, Tinka, Chloe, and Sully worked in London doing puppet stuff (and got paid for it!).  With only six people in the course (including Leslie and myself), we each got plenty of attention, and now I have a puppet I’m carting around with me! 

He’s entirely made of wood, all carved by me…and I still can’t get over the fact that I made it.  The head looks like a head.  The hands look like hands.  The knees bend perfectly on their wooden joints.  All I need to do is string him and he’s a working puppet.  John even explained the Salzburg style of stringing to me, because he used to work with the Salzburg Marionette company (!!), so now my puppet will have that amazing articulated head I loved in those puppets!  I even own my own chisel now, so watch out because I will be carving my head off come fall.  Ah! 

And now I have 5 nights to explore the Edinburgh theatre festival before moving on.  Wish me luck!

tremendous heat and papermaking nooks

Leslie and I spent the day in Florence today, after conquering the Cinque Terre hike yesterday (which was BEAUTIFUL…but had so many stairs!).  Florence is like a giant oven, it’s so hot…but once the evening hit it started to cool down, and Leslie had some great spots to show me.  And the papermaking shops!  I was enchanted by these tiny, precise, beautiful things.  The patterns on the paper, the binding on the books…each spoke of such care and artistry, I was very impressed.  We also stopped at an amazing gelateria, that had dark chocolate gelato!  I was definitely in heaven. 

Also, in Cinque Terre we climbed down off the trail at one point to a stone beach…the water was so clear you could see every stone on the bottom, and the towns of Manarola and Corniglia were silouetted to the sides.  Then, swimming out, I held my eyes at water level and just saw blue blue blue.  The sea reflected the clear blue cloudless sky, and sail boats drifted lazily past.  I was tempted to stay out there until I dropped from exhaustion, the cool water and bright sun and blue view were so perfect (especially after a long, hot hike!)

Bella Italia and solo musings

Italia!  I’m currently in Riomaggiore, getting ready to do a mini Cinque Terre hike, which I’ll do in full with Leslie tomorrow.  So far Italy has been beautiful and very serene, although with very little Italian at my disposal (except, oddly, what I learned during Amadeus, which is useless to me.  Unless I want to ask Mozart’s ghost to pardon me…), I am struggling to be understood.  Some people know french, which is helpful, but otherwise, I smile and point.  Still, it is a beautiful town in a beautiful country, and the crashing waves and tiered hills and pink and yellow houses are charming me to no end, despite my fear that I would be underwhelmed after all the hype. 

I took a nice walk last night, up near the tiered grape arbors, and met a sweet girl from Norway who was a theatre director and creative drama teacher (!), and spoke excellent English.  We hung out all night swapping stories and ideas, and I now have a couch in Trondheim (and she in Evanston), should I ever need it.  I love meeting people like this, and I love traveling alone because it allows me to meet these people and spend as much (or as little!) time as I like with them (Except when I’m too polite, as with the sychopant in Amsterdam!). 

In fact, despite the pitfalls and confusion and general stress that comes from traveling solo, and from undertaking a journey without a clear program or reward, I feel I have learned more about the world, myself, my art, and the importance of things than I could ever have imagined.  Already I’m excited to jump into the new school year in September with new ideas and a new outlook, ready to work.  Unstructured time is good for a overcommited gal like me, I think, and after conquering Europe (ha) this summer, I look forward to returning to favorite places and trying my traveling skills in new countries and continents in the future. 

Now back to my walking (working off all that gelato! ), and then tomorrow I get to see Leslie!  It should be a blast, and I’m excited to see Firenze through her eyes. 

Ciao, bella!

Palm Trees and couchsurfing

Switzerland!  Lucerne was beautiful, and made even more so by my first couchsurfing experience.  The woman I stayed with was fantastic, and in addition to not having to pay a night`s accomadation, I gained a friend and great insight into the city.  I loved traversing the narrow lanes, and a climb up to the guardtower gave me a great view.  I also went to a music festival with Laura, my host, and got to meet some of her friends and listen to some great music.

Then yesterday I arrived in Lugano, which has so far been ône of the most relaxing of my stops.  The hostel has a pool (!) and the lake here is beautiful.  There`s not much to do, especially when it`s so hot, but now that pool is certainly looking inviting again (and I`m still paying hostel prices!).  On the border of Switzerland and Italy, Lugano is `subtropical`, meaning warm, sunny, and filled with palm trees.  Still, it`s wildly expensive, and obviously caters to a wealthier crowd.  Still, it`s good for a wander.  I also met a kind older gentleman at the hostel, who obviously travels alot and was eager to share his knowledge of Venice (churches to visit and so on), so now I have a better idea of what to hit up in my two days there.   

Tomorrow I head on to Italy, and I get to see Leslie in a couple days!  I`m excited for her to show me the real Firenze, and to hike the Cinque Terre together.

Virtuosity and mountain views

Salzburg Marionette Theatre has officially blown my mind.

Also, a bicycle ride to HellBrunn was definitely a good decision.  Salzburg has been good for me, after Vienna.  Tomorrow, on to Zurich!

Wieners and singing children

So first off, the adolescent immature part of me spent a lot of time in Vienna giggling because of course, Vienna in German = Wien and Viennese = Wiener.  It’s pronounced ‘Veen-a’, but still, seeing it written everywhere is pretty funny.  Also, in learning this origin I figured out that a ‘Wiener Schnitzl’ has nothing to do with hot dogs, but is instead ‘Viennese breaded chicken’.  Whoops.

On the lost things track, as far as I know they are gone forever.  Not only my glasses and medicine, but my sandals, hiking boots, and bizarrely, my dirty clothes, deorderant, and toothbrush (all were stolen at the same time).  The hostel couldn’t figure it out and neither could I.  I feel strangely hurt, having so many things stolen with no clear motive.  I can’t help feeling like whoever it was just wanted to mess with me, because otherwise why not just take the good stuff?  I have no idea. 

Still.  I am not hurt or sick (unless feeling over-full from too much sachertorte counts), and my pack is a little lighter. 

I even got some sun yesterday, cavorting around the Mirabell Gardens (where the Von Trapp family so memorably frolicked to ‘Do a Deer’) and climbing the Saltzburg fortress for a nice view, then tagging along with a bunch of musicians to their ‘free jazz’ jam session.  (For reference ‘free Jazz’ = lots of weird noises and experiemental singing…can’t say I got as into it as these dudes did).  Still, many of them were from Belgium or Switzerland, so I got to practice my French, and they were an absolute blast to hang with. 

Today, it rains.

Tomorrow,  I got to see another marionette show (I know, I know…), and I’m super excited.  The one in Vienna (The Magic Flute) was phenomenal, so The Marriage of Figaro tomorrow should be great as well.  Mozart is everywhere…his music, his statues, his homes…after this time in Austria and Amadeus combined, I should be an expert.  ;)  In two day I leave for Zurich, then explore some more of Switzerland.  I’m starting to get tired, and having things stolen has made me wary, but every time I see a new place or discover something new about the town I’m in, all the energy comes rushing back and I’m ready to continue. 

Still, I can’t wait to see Leslie in a week or so!  Hope you’re doing well, Les.

Rainy days and mazes.

It has rained and rained.  It rained in Cesky Krumlov, it’s raining in Vienna.  It’s only dampened my spirits very recently, especially since Cesky Krumlov was so beautiful and relaxing.  I stayed at a hostel there that was more like a home, with dogs barking upon my entrance, and the woman who owned it handing me her hand-drawn map of all the good places in town.  The whole town, including the hostel, is made up of old medieval buildings with tiny doorways and stone walls, and despite being a bit touristy, I was instantly charmed.  I walked and walked and explored everywhere, seeing more famous Czech marionettes and sampling this delicious bread thing – it was flaky and hollow and covered with cinnamon.  I took a picture of the name…I’ll need to look it up later.  The view of the village at night from the castle was excellent, and I discovered a secret hayfield that was both beautiful and a little frightening in the dark.

Vienna has been a challenge.  I discovered this evening that my good pair of glasses, my toiletries (including some medicine I need for my plane flights), and some clothes have gone missing.  I’m hoping that housekeeping just thought they belonged to a guest who had checked out and put them aside, but I really fear they have been stolen or lost.  The glasses especially worry me.  I’ll have to see – they’re going to check with housekeeping in the morning.

In the meantime, it rains.  I went to Schonnbrunn palace today, and walked all along the gardens and through the palace.  The gardens are huge, and a bit creepy in places in their hugeness, but along the main areas, absolutely beautiful.  Lots of hedge mazes and natural mazes and places to get lost and confused.  I also got to watch an apple strudel making demonstration, which was definitely informative…and tasty.

Earlier, I climbed the tower at St. Stephan’s church and checked out the cathedral itself.  The view was better at Schonnbrunn I think (The Gloriette looks over the whole city and the palace), but the interior was beautiful.

So.  Let’s see how this latest storm blows.  One more full day in confusing, rainy, and resplendent Vienna, then on to Salzburg…hopefully with glasses and medicine in tow.

Guitars and good friends!

Praha!  I was welcomed here with open arms last night by Kacin, who introduced me to her new Praha posse and then took us to an amazing underground bar.  The best part of the day though, was definitely just wandering around the city and over the bridge, catching up and chatting away.  It was really nice to hang out with someone familiar after all the new faces and occational lonely moments.  I got to pop in on Kyly and Sam too, and I’ll see Sarah tomorrow.

Tonight is the National Marionette Theatre (!), then tomorrow Kacin and I are catching a circus show of some kind.  So excited, and so far, so in love with Prague.  My hostel is AMAZING (called the Czech Inn), and I feel very pampered, with excellent showers and sheets already on the beds. 

Again, the computer time is short.  More later, perhaps.