Possibly my favourite journalist, Jane Hutcheon, has presented a brief story on Australian tv about the Kosovo situation and the Serbian elections from this here little town.
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200801/r218072_852290.asx
Quite a good, succinct little piece worth your watching if you want to know a bit about what's going on at the moment and to see a glimpse of where I'm living....
But I can't believe I missed the chance to meet her, here of all places!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Pining for the Pacific
I've just watched a very sweet kid's movie called The Legend of Johnny Lingo.
Its almost like a travelogue for the pacific islands, showing many aspects of traditional culture, landscapes and livelihoods at the turn of the century mixed up in a sort of fable of family, tradition and lost love.
I loved to see them harvesting noni fruit and squeezing the juice for a health tonic (and knowing how awful it is to drink!), swim under waterfalls, or open a young coconut to drink. If you wanted to learn a lot about life in the pacific, and can stand some rather cheesy scenes, check it out.
While certainly never in danger of winning an Oscar, (and with some sketchy links to the Mormons of Utah and some serious 'product placement' for noni juice) this film now has me pining even more for the South Pacific, and more specifically my home for a year (2005-6), Samoa - tropical paradise.
Something tells me I'm unlikely to pine in the same way (or at all) for my current home once I leave it...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Food in Kosovo part 1
It's the Balkans, so you have to expect pastry, meat, cheese, oil and pickled (or relish) vegetables...
But its also Kosovo, where very large numbers of cashed up internationals have been living over the past 8 years therefore bringing (or demanding) a range of cuisines, at least in the capital, Pristina. This extends from passable Japanese and Thai to very good 'international' fare.
Mitrovica and surrounds finds its niche cuisine mostly hidden within the compounds of the KFOR camps - particularly the Danish Sunday Brunch (think of the best hotel buffet spread you've seen and its better!) and the French camp's restaurant (see part 2).
Lets begin with some photos of more traditional food, from restaurants in north and south Mitrovica:
Stuffed peppers can be hit and miss, but when they are good, they are very good! Usually stuffed with a mix of minced meat, rice and some herbs and spices and served with the obligatory dousing of oil.
When too much meat is not enough... the mixed grill at No. 1 restaurant.
'Leskovačka' mućkalica - pork with tomato and onion, my pick at No. 1.
The classic 'Shop /Shopska' salad with all that grated Sirene cheese on the right, the left shows a 'tave' or baked dish, this one is veges and the ever present cheese I think.
'Veal' Skewer. A lot of meat is advertised as 'veal', I'm rarely convinced however... but tasty all the same.
A delicious steak or 'Biftek' at Liburnia restaurant. Be sure to get Biftek or Bifsteak instead of Ramsteak...
In case of (rather desperate) homesickness one could order a 'Skenderbeg' as it is sometimes known. A fairly wrong combination of meat, cabbage and thick batter not unlike the Classic Chiko Roll in Australia.
But its also Kosovo, where very large numbers of cashed up internationals have been living over the past 8 years therefore bringing (or demanding) a range of cuisines, at least in the capital, Pristina. This extends from passable Japanese and Thai to very good 'international' fare.
Mitrovica and surrounds finds its niche cuisine mostly hidden within the compounds of the KFOR camps - particularly the Danish Sunday Brunch (think of the best hotel buffet spread you've seen and its better!) and the French camp's restaurant (see part 2).
Lets begin with some photos of more traditional food, from restaurants in north and south Mitrovica:
Stuffed peppers can be hit and miss, but when they are good, they are very good! Usually stuffed with a mix of minced meat, rice and some herbs and spices and served with the obligatory dousing of oil.
When too much meat is not enough... the mixed grill at No. 1 restaurant.
'Leskovačka' mućkalica - pork with tomato and onion, my pick at No. 1.
The classic 'Shop /Shopska' salad with all that grated Sirene cheese on the right, the left shows a 'tave' or baked dish, this one is veges and the ever present cheese I think.
'Veal' Skewer. A lot of meat is advertised as 'veal', I'm rarely convinced however... but tasty all the same.
A delicious steak or 'Biftek' at Liburnia restaurant. Be sure to get Biftek or Bifsteak instead of Ramsteak...
In case of (rather desperate) homesickness one could order a 'Skenderbeg' as it is sometimes known. A fairly wrong combination of meat, cabbage and thick batter not unlike the Classic Chiko Roll in Australia.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Desperate times...
... call for desperate measures.
I ran out of Vegemite. I forgot to pick some up on my recent trip home.
How I could do this, I'm not sure - I even had the bubble wrap ready for the journey!
Yesterday, needing my yeast extract fix, I resorted to eating Marmite.
The gooier, runnier, British version of the yeast extract spread. It hits a spot, but could never replace the superior Aussie version for me. It's too hard to get out of the jar for a start, it spills over the edge unless you twirl your knife a few hundred times and it just doesn't blend with the butter at all, just sits on top like a gelatinous gloop.
It does, however, seem fitting to be eating Marmite while I am in Kosovo:
I ran out of Vegemite. I forgot to pick some up on my recent trip home.
How I could do this, I'm not sure - I even had the bubble wrap ready for the journey!
Yesterday, needing my yeast extract fix, I resorted to eating Marmite.
The gooier, runnier, British version of the yeast extract spread. It hits a spot, but could never replace the superior Aussie version for me. It's too hard to get out of the jar for a start, it spills over the edge unless you twirl your knife a few hundred times and it just doesn't blend with the butter at all, just sits on top like a gelatinous gloop.
It does, however, seem fitting to be eating Marmite while I am in Kosovo:
During World War II, Marmite became a dietary supplement in prisoner-of-war camps, and in 1999, it was sent to British peacekeeping forces in Kosovo after we received morale boosting requests from the field.I await my boost in morale with baited (or yeasty) breath.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
YAY
I stumbled across this little tid-bit on The Age website:
It shouldn't take too much to restore to its 'former glory' given it only shut down in December... hope they have better luck with the authorities and whinging newby residents.
Should we start the campaign to restore the Paul Williamson Hammond Combo residency?
One of Melbourne's most loved roots venues, Fitzroy's Rainbow Hotel, is set to re-open this month — with live bands — after the lease of former publican Chick Ratten expired last month. Incoming publican brothers Chris and Cameron Strachan say they intend to restore the venue to its former glory.YAY!
It shouldn't take too much to restore to its 'former glory' given it only shut down in December... hope they have better luck with the authorities and whinging newby residents.
Should we start the campaign to restore the Paul Williamson Hammond Combo residency?
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Hottest 100
'Tis voting time in the Hottest 100 for Australian ' yoof' radio station, triplej....
I like to take the chance to support Australian acts, but couldn't help picking some faves from the wider world too...perhaps partly due to my distance from Aus the past year?
While I don't usually listen to the station (given the general brilliance of public radio in Melbourne), the chance to win a double pass to every event supported by the j's for a year is hard to pass up - it would certainly ease the return to Aus....
Anyway, here be my votes whittled down from the large shortlist and I'm sure there some I've forgotten....
I like to take the chance to support Australian acts, but couldn't help picking some faves from the wider world too...perhaps partly due to my distance from Aus the past year?
While I don't usually listen to the station (given the general brilliance of public radio in Melbourne), the chance to win a double pass to every event supported by the j's for a year is hard to pass up - it would certainly ease the return to Aus....
Anyway, here be my votes whittled down from the large shortlist and I'm sure there some I've forgotten....
Art Of Fighting - Free YouWhat did/will/would you vote for?
Biffy Clyro - Saturday Superhouse
Clare Bowditch & The Feeding Set - You Looked So Good
CSS - Let's Make Love & Listen To Death From Above
Love Of Diagrams - Form & Function
Regina Spektor - Better
White Stripes - Icky Thump
Yelle - A Cause Des Garcons
Young And Restless - Police Police
Queens Of The Stone Age - 3's & 7's
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Hottie vs Love of your life
What is the blog etiquette about copy/pasting a particularly excellent comment left on someone else's blog?
Well, this was too ace to leave languishing in RYMHM's comment section, so I hope 'ruby' and Ms Fits don't mind:
Well, this was too ace to leave languishing in RYMHM's comment section, so I hope 'ruby' and Ms Fits don't mind:
ruby said...sydney's the hottie who blows your mind a few nights, making shiny memories, but you have nothing to talk about with her at 3am. fit, fun, energetic and ultimately forgettable. low cal, light, fluffy and bright.
melbourne's the love of your life. melbourne writes sweet dedications on the flyleaf of your books, and graffiti about you out the front of your house after she crawls out the bedroom window, hair tousled. rough around the edges, but full of strong flavour and calories. the one.
Friday, January 11, 2008
A further walk in Mitrovica south
The groovy old Lux building, now houses a library and business support centre...
On the Lux theme, this is inside the Majestic restaurant... rather swish! Quite a good restaurant (great steaks) but each time we go, we have been the only ones eating there (others just have coffee). In fact, I am fairly certain that once we make our order, someone then runs out to get ingredients!
This is a view of the City Park along the river. The buildings in the background are on the north side of the river and known as the 'three towers' housing mostly Kosovar-Albanians, who utilise a special footbridge erected for them to walk to the south to carry out their day to day life.
A side street mural - one of the most photographed parts of Mitrovica. After the famous bridge of course!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
A Frosty Welcome Back to WTK
"Oh this is not cold, it was -15 degrees last week!" a colleague insists as my teeth chatter and fingers numb in the -5 degree morning...
A picture on my walk home from work and the view from the front door of our building...
A picture on my walk home from work and the view from the front door of our building...
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
What happened to my transport zen?
Sometime back in June of last year, I had a shock end to what had been, at least in recent times, a pretty smooth and organised travel and transportation experience in Europe. My London trip ended a touch disastrously as outlined below... (in case you are wondering - I drafted this at the time and never got around to finishing it. After my recently horrific long haul travel, soon to be blogged about, I was inspired to revisit this).
So I get up at a fairly evil time of the morning, after some stuffing around and final packing, manage to catch a bus, a tube train and an airport train all in good time, with little or no waiting around. So far so good.
I get to airport, walk to check-in machines, smoothly check-in, wait in line for the bag-drop and head to the departure area.
I had no problems with the security check, even getting chosen for a special new security check (where you have to stand like a mongoloid and put your hands in the air while a low level x-ray is beamed at you in four positions) was actually a bonus as I was moved to the head of the queue for the bag x-ray.
I check the screens for my gate, but of course it is too early for them to tell us, so I look around the shops, get something to eat etc.
I keep checking the screens every 5 or 10 minutes for my gate.
Eventually I check the screen and it tells me the gate and says 'now boarding'.
I walk towards my gate.
I get there, but there is no line of people, no staff at the desk. One staff member off to the side doodling about. Lots of people sitting on the chairs at the gate. So I check the screen again - yes it is the right gate. So I go to the loo.
Come back from the loo, check the screens, it says 'last call', but there is still no-one lining up at the gate, nor any staff at the desk. I have heard no announcements, so I assume there has been some delay and I sit at a chair close to the gate to wait.
The screens still say 'last call' when it is about 5 minutes before the plane is due to leave. Panic begins to rise as I look around for anyone who could possibly be considered a staff member... no one.
I walk for what seems like an age, past about 8 other gates, until I finally track down a BA staff member, and enquire about my flight. He types it in and says, "oh it was on time, it has left already".... WHAT?! But I was there, I was at the gate! Panic sets in and I get a feeling I have never felt before, a mixture of stress, confusion, dumbfoundedness (is that a feeling?), dread, loss and hopelessness.
Next saw me begin a series of discussions with various BA and airport staff, mostly of the unhelpful variety and eventually I had to buy a new ticket on another airline (the salubrious JAT) at my own expense, after collecting my rejected baggage of course. But it was the series of inconsistencies in these discussions that really got my goat. Each person had a different story about the flight, particularly regarding the time it actually left.
A while later, after walking through several different terminals at Heathrow, I spoke with a customer service officer of BA, who informed me that the fight actually left several hours late. In fact it left AFTER I had been told to buy a new ticket!
They suggested I should therefore be compensated for the cost of my new ticket and sent to me another desk to arrange such. Of course nothing is that easy, and I was then told to write a letter to a certain adress with copies of the tickets and the story.... needless to say after a courtesy reply letter, I have yet to hear any more about this compensation.
Lesson learnt: Never assume anything at airports and departure gates, ask and confirm if in any doubt! Oh - and avoid Heathrow at all costs!
The disastrous travel day didn't end there - with a dodgy JAT flight, followed by a ridiculously and unnecessarily long bus ride of around 8 hours through deepest back country Serbia, I arrived 'home' at around 2am absolutely shattered...
So I get up at a fairly evil time of the morning, after some stuffing around and final packing, manage to catch a bus, a tube train and an airport train all in good time, with little or no waiting around. So far so good.
I get to airport, walk to check-in machines, smoothly check-in, wait in line for the bag-drop and head to the departure area.
I had no problems with the security check, even getting chosen for a special new security check (where you have to stand like a mongoloid and put your hands in the air while a low level x-ray is beamed at you in four positions) was actually a bonus as I was moved to the head of the queue for the bag x-ray.
I check the screens for my gate, but of course it is too early for them to tell us, so I look around the shops, get something to eat etc.
I keep checking the screens every 5 or 10 minutes for my gate.
Eventually I check the screen and it tells me the gate and says 'now boarding'.
I walk towards my gate.
I get there, but there is no line of people, no staff at the desk. One staff member off to the side doodling about. Lots of people sitting on the chairs at the gate. So I check the screen again - yes it is the right gate. So I go to the loo.
Come back from the loo, check the screens, it says 'last call', but there is still no-one lining up at the gate, nor any staff at the desk. I have heard no announcements, so I assume there has been some delay and I sit at a chair close to the gate to wait.
The screens still say 'last call' when it is about 5 minutes before the plane is due to leave. Panic begins to rise as I look around for anyone who could possibly be considered a staff member... no one.
I walk for what seems like an age, past about 8 other gates, until I finally track down a BA staff member, and enquire about my flight. He types it in and says, "oh it was on time, it has left already".... WHAT?! But I was there, I was at the gate! Panic sets in and I get a feeling I have never felt before, a mixture of stress, confusion, dumbfoundedness (is that a feeling?), dread, loss and hopelessness.
Next saw me begin a series of discussions with various BA and airport staff, mostly of the unhelpful variety and eventually I had to buy a new ticket on another airline (the salubrious JAT) at my own expense, after collecting my rejected baggage of course. But it was the series of inconsistencies in these discussions that really got my goat. Each person had a different story about the flight, particularly regarding the time it actually left.
A while later, after walking through several different terminals at Heathrow, I spoke with a customer service officer of BA, who informed me that the fight actually left several hours late. In fact it left AFTER I had been told to buy a new ticket!
They suggested I should therefore be compensated for the cost of my new ticket and sent to me another desk to arrange such. Of course nothing is that easy, and I was then told to write a letter to a certain adress with copies of the tickets and the story.... needless to say after a courtesy reply letter, I have yet to hear any more about this compensation.
Lesson learnt: Never assume anything at airports and departure gates, ask and confirm if in any doubt! Oh - and avoid Heathrow at all costs!
The disastrous travel day didn't end there - with a dodgy JAT flight, followed by a ridiculously and unnecessarily long bus ride of around 8 hours through deepest back country Serbia, I arrived 'home' at around 2am absolutely shattered...
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Finally!
After sitting on the edge of my seat all morning, listening to the rrr fm election coverage and watching the AEC online tally updates, the result we thought we could only hope for came in.
Australian's have finally shown that there is more to life and politics than the economy and low unemployment.
The most brilliant Tracee Hutchinson had this to say before the election:
"Today is the day for Australia to reclaim its sense of justice, humanity, equality and pride. Today is the day we tell each other and the world that we are a decent, good-hearted, generous people who reach out and reach down and walk tall because of it."The coalition had been eroding our soul for too long, and thank god enough Australian's realised this and, as Kevin Rudd pointed out in his victory speech, many voted for, or preferenced, Labor for the first time. A strong message for conservatives everywhere.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
National Loyalty
How far should you go for the sake of national loyalty?
Will reason and logic ever win through?
Would there ever be true integration and equal-opportunity?
Will reason and logic ever win through?
Would there ever be true integration and equal-opportunity?
From openDemocracy.
By Paul Hockenos for openDemocracy (19/11/07)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
A quick walk in Mitrovica north
The view from just above the new church - looking over the centre of town.
Is this where they got the Ghostbusters car from?
The UAM building... I spend altogether too much time in my dungeon like office here...
View from downtown public square (that's round) up to the worker's monument on the hill.
Protest sign in centre of town earlier this year. Its no longer hanging here though...
Friday, November 16, 2007
What people are wearing in WTK
Gervy has urged me to look at what people are wearing...
Dapper white suit and a serious mullet...
Wedding outfits, but this was not her wedding... (apparantly you wear it to the next wedding you go to!)
Traditional cultural dress.... to cook flia for 'tourists' (mostly just locals from the city)
Dapper white suit and a serious mullet...
Wedding outfits, but this was not her wedding... (apparantly you wear it to the next wedding you go to!)
Traditional cultural dress.... to cook flia for 'tourists' (mostly just locals from the city)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Not that I'm nearing middle age, but for those that are:
A (Secular) Prayer for Those Approaching Middle Age
Oh Almighty Charles Darwin,
We who are staring down Forty, beseech thee to aid our passage into middle age.
Protect us from a Mid Life Crisis. We Gen Xers have always been inclined to question the path we have chosen anyway, and indeed have always been inclined toward red convertibles.
Let us constantly renew our taste in music so that those ten years our junior will not be able to tease us for being old fashioned. Let us always be into at least one artist who's first album came out less than five years ago.
And we beseech thee to not leave us to rely on shitty "yoof" radio stations for these cultural insights.
We beg of you for the time and the stamina to go to loud venues and not feel the need to sit down after an hour of standing, listening to the support band. To phrase it another way: protect our knees from the ravages of time.
May we never become one of those people who prioritizes their superannuation over all else. Retirement is followed too closely by death to consider. May we have careers which enable this business to look after itself. And further let us not degenerate into to time-clock punchers waiting on their widening arses for their retirement.
Protect us from our biological clocks. May our ova be plentiful and our spermatozoa motile, up until the moment we get our shit together and finally combine one with the other.
We also beg of you to provide a steady supply of friends so that when they move overseas or we have falling outs, there is always other members of the circle indeed other circles to provide us with drinking companions.
And let not technology overwhelm us. When the things we are familiar with are inevitably superseded, may we be in a position to swap our vinyl records for CDs, our CDs for downloaded MP3s, our MP3s for whatever comes next. May we move from personal websites to forums to blogs to myspace to facebook and on to twitter with ease. May we not be confronted by some new phenomenon and decide just to give in and leave it to "the kids."
May we struggle successfully through downturns and housing bubbles, and not become a slave to a mortgage. May there never be a day where paying something off means we cannot do brunch. May we be inner urban wankers until the day we die.
And may those of us who mis-place our partners meet new, incredible people and form relationships which are the envy of all. May our children not mock us for reproducing so late, and hence being a bit lacking in the "running around kicking the football" department. To phrase it another way: protect our knees from the ravages of time.
And we bid thee, keep our ears functioning despite far too many loud gigs and thousands of hours with Rob Zombie blasting down our headphones. Yay verily for cupping our ears and saying "what was that, sonny Jim?" at the age of 42 will suck dogs balls.
For all these things we beg thy true grace, oh mighty Darwin.
Thank you. Ramen.
We who are staring down Forty, beseech thee to aid our passage into middle age.
Protect us from a Mid Life Crisis. We Gen Xers have always been inclined to question the path we have chosen anyway, and indeed have always been inclined toward red convertibles.
Let us constantly renew our taste in music so that those ten years our junior will not be able to tease us for being old fashioned. Let us always be into at least one artist who's first album came out less than five years ago.
And we beseech thee to not leave us to rely on shitty "yoof" radio stations for these cultural insights.
We beg of you for the time and the stamina to go to loud venues and not feel the need to sit down after an hour of standing, listening to the support band. To phrase it another way: protect our knees from the ravages of time.
May we never become one of those people who prioritizes their superannuation over all else. Retirement is followed too closely by death to consider. May we have careers which enable this business to look after itself. And further let us not degenerate into to time-clock punchers waiting on their widening arses for their retirement.
Protect us from our biological clocks. May our ova be plentiful and our spermatozoa motile, up until the moment we get our shit together and finally combine one with the other.
We also beg of you to provide a steady supply of friends so that when they move overseas or we have falling outs, there is always other members of the circle indeed other circles to provide us with drinking companions.
And let not technology overwhelm us. When the things we are familiar with are inevitably superseded, may we be in a position to swap our vinyl records for CDs, our CDs for downloaded MP3s, our MP3s for whatever comes next. May we move from personal websites to forums to blogs to myspace to facebook and on to twitter with ease. May we not be confronted by some new phenomenon and decide just to give in and leave it to "the kids."
May we struggle successfully through downturns and housing bubbles, and not become a slave to a mortgage. May there never be a day where paying something off means we cannot do brunch. May we be inner urban wankers until the day we die.
And may those of us who mis-place our partners meet new, incredible people and form relationships which are the envy of all. May our children not mock us for reproducing so late, and hence being a bit lacking in the "running around kicking the football" department. To phrase it another way: protect our knees from the ravages of time.
And we bid thee, keep our ears functioning despite far too many loud gigs and thousands of hours with Rob Zombie blasting down our headphones. Yay verily for cupping our ears and saying "what was that, sonny Jim?" at the age of 42 will suck dogs balls.
For all these things we beg thy true grace, oh mighty Darwin.
Thank you. Ramen.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
A quick walk in Mitrovica south
The new roundabout in the centre of town is almost finished, and while not designed in the most appropriate way for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, has turned out ok. There is a feature fountain in the centre, interesting given the water shortages the town has, and there are even decorative lights in it at night, even when the rest of town has no electricity!
I liked this shot showing the various means of transportation used here. Its just missing a horse or donkey cart...
An apartment block facade being refurbished, by a company that has a presidential candidate as its head. Elections will be held in Kosovo next week, there are around 100 parties vying for seats in local and Kosovo level assemblies and a rather complicated voting ballot for those who bother to show up and vote.
Speaking of elections, this is the Municipal building in south Mitrovica. A slightly depressing kind of a place, with dark empty corridors hiding seperate offices - open plan has not caught on here.
In case I am feeling homesick I can come and look at this shoe store and its lovely picture of Sydney Harbour... or the clothes shop down the street with a kangaroo on the window. Neither of these businesses have anything to do with Australia per se, guess they just like the name/imagery... most businesses in Kosovo tend to take some kind of well known place name or brand name with no fear of copyright infringement. One of my favourites is a burger place in Peja called 'MegDonalds' with the golden arches and all!
I liked this shot showing the various means of transportation used here. Its just missing a horse or donkey cart...
An apartment block facade being refurbished, by a company that has a presidential candidate as its head. Elections will be held in Kosovo next week, there are around 100 parties vying for seats in local and Kosovo level assemblies and a rather complicated voting ballot for those who bother to show up and vote.
Speaking of elections, this is the Municipal building in south Mitrovica. A slightly depressing kind of a place, with dark empty corridors hiding seperate offices - open plan has not caught on here.
In case I am feeling homesick I can come and look at this shoe store and its lovely picture of Sydney Harbour... or the clothes shop down the street with a kangaroo on the window. Neither of these businesses have anything to do with Australia per se, guess they just like the name/imagery... most businesses in Kosovo tend to take some kind of well known place name or brand name with no fear of copyright infringement. One of my favourites is a burger place in Peja called 'MegDonalds' with the golden arches and all!
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Today
Gervy has insisted I write more often and more about my day to day life... so here is the first hastily constructed post to satisfy her whims.
This morning I woke early to a loud gust of wind rushing past my windows, prompting me to get up to see if it was a serious storm or not, only to find snow falling on snow covered rooftops for just the second time this season here in Mitrovica.
Here is a picture of the first snow of the season last week:
The beauty of snow cover is that apart from improving the look of many of the ugly buildings around, it also covers up the rubbish strewn about the place and Kosovo starts to look like an attractive place... almost.
That's a bit harsh I suppose, there are some redeeming qualities of the landscape here in certain locations, but when you spend so much time in the cities and on the main roads between those cities, it can be hard to remember there is beauty hidden away here. Like this:
There are things to make you laugh though. Last week, as I was waiting for the winter tyres to be put on the work car (the tyres have cute little pictures of snow flakes on them!) , I took this photo:
This is in the middle of the capital city, Pristina. A group of cows walking down the street (the wrong way down a one way street too) and noone bats an eyelid. What I couldn't figure out was where they (there were about 5 of them) came from or where they were going to! As far as I could see there were no nearby fields, and no market areas, nor could I see anyone guiding them. Maybe they were just popping down the shops for some sugar?
This morning I woke early to a loud gust of wind rushing past my windows, prompting me to get up to see if it was a serious storm or not, only to find snow falling on snow covered rooftops for just the second time this season here in Mitrovica.
Here is a picture of the first snow of the season last week:
The beauty of snow cover is that apart from improving the look of many of the ugly buildings around, it also covers up the rubbish strewn about the place and Kosovo starts to look like an attractive place... almost.That's a bit harsh I suppose, there are some redeeming qualities of the landscape here in certain locations, but when you spend so much time in the cities and on the main roads between those cities, it can be hard to remember there is beauty hidden away here. Like this:
There are things to make you laugh though. Last week, as I was waiting for the winter tyres to be put on the work car (the tyres have cute little pictures of snow flakes on them!) , I took this photo:
This is in the middle of the capital city, Pristina. A group of cows walking down the street (the wrong way down a one way street too) and noone bats an eyelid. What I couldn't figure out was where they (there were about 5 of them) came from or where they were going to! As far as I could see there were no nearby fields, and no market areas, nor could I see anyone guiding them. Maybe they were just popping down the shops for some sugar?
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Life
The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it - W.M. Lewis
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
My New Favourite City
Lisboa / Lisbon has streaked ahead of the competition after a wonderful (too-short) 5 days there.
It has seemingly everything you could want in a city! History, modernity, tradition, poetry, music, architecture, stencil art, cool bars, diverse restaurants, a river, great weather, amazing food, close to surf beaches, fantastic public transport (trams AND funiculars - yay!) and pedestrian friendly! Well apart from all the big hills and thousands of stairs, that is.
View of Lisbon from the freestanding elevator tower
The most divine custard tarts ever made - at Pasteis de Belem
An alleyway in Alfama district
The Calatrava designed Orient Train Station.
Some of the Stencil Art in Barrio Alto
It has seemingly everything you could want in a city! History, modernity, tradition, poetry, music, architecture, stencil art, cool bars, diverse restaurants, a river, great weather, amazing food, close to surf beaches, fantastic public transport (trams AND funiculars - yay!) and pedestrian friendly! Well apart from all the big hills and thousands of stairs, that is.
View of Lisbon from the freestanding elevator tower
The most divine custard tarts ever made - at Pasteis de Belem
An alleyway in Alfama district
The Calatrava designed Orient Train Station.
Some of the Stencil Art in Barrio Alto
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