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!