13 January 2010. My plane at JFK.
14 January 2010. View over Frankfurt
14 January 2010. View over Dusseldorf.
14 January 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko presidential campaign poster on the pole at right. Kiev, Ukraine.
14 January 2010. The main drag in Kiev, Ukraine.
14 January 2010. Kiev, Ukraine.
15 January 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko party information tent ("Block Yulia"). Tents are all over Kiev for the various candidates. Kiev, Ukraine.
15 January 2010. Kiev, Ukraine.
15 January 2010. The homeless man standing there is myself. Actually, I am shaving the beard in a few minutes, after my razor finishes charging. Beards are not popular in Kiev, and so I will forsake comfort for vanity. Kiev, Ukraine.
15 January 2010. Yanukovich rally is setting up here. He's the guy leading in the polls. Kiev, Ukraine.
15 January 2010. Viktor Yanukovych campaign rally. He went on to win the presidential election. Glitter in the spotlights is falling snow. Singer Таисия Повалий was belting out beaty folk pop. Kiev, Ukraine. http://www.kingpigeon.com/eurotrash/2010_01_15_Yanukovich-Rally.mp3 Article about event: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hSK37b9w9hdwbNtZETv_-csfwmkQ
15 January 2010. Lauren tells me McFoxy has been sued by McDonald's for trademark infringement. This is in a mall underneath Independence Square. Kiev, Ukraine. McDonald's entered the Kiev market in 1997. Church's Chicken and KFC opened in 2008. http://ru.franchising.ua/statya/558/mcfoxy-vs-mcdonald-s-ataka-klona/
15 January 2010. Movie-projected image of a life-sized talking woman with no feet offers hours of hilarity. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. A 3D picture would convey this better. So you can see the bricks on the right. To the left is an inch or so of ice. The ice comes in all varieties, ranging from frozen slush with a topping of gray powder (the most common variety) to smooth and slippery as glass. Women in stilettos are amazing to watch as they navigate this; the people who fall are usually men with flat soles. Especially drunk men with flat soles. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. More of this amazing ice. The sidewalk is about an inch below. In January, Kiev is basically a city under a river of ice. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. Route to Holodomor memorial/exhibit. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. Holodomor memorial. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. Heading out for a Saturday night of fun and frolic. We were inadvertently sent to a strip club, so we changed our plans and headed to a very good pub frequented by hipster students near our hostel. Kiev, Ukraine.
16 January 2010. Piet, Lauren, and Keith after a fine night of cellar bar discussion at aforementioned hipster student pub. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. Election Day. On the weekend the main drag in Kiev is closed to vehicles. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. Election Day. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. Art Club 44. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. When the streets and sidewalks are covered with ice and snow, the floor-cleaners of every building are kept busily employed. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. Typical grungy Kiev floor.
17 January 2010. The elevator to my hostel's floor. Kiev, Ukraine.
17 January 2010. Away we go. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. Lauren prepared a delicious Russian soup for lunch. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. Lauren, a master negotiator, strategist, and preparer of Russian cuisine. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. The kitchen/common room area of the hostel. Comfy sofas and chairs behind the camera. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. Home sweet home. Lauren on left, probably chatting with her husband. Piet on right, actually working. My computer screen in foreground; seems I'm working on something in Sony Sound Forge.
18 January 2010. Nocturnal exploration.
18 January 2010. A cylinder of beer. Taps at the base. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. Payment and tip box at restaurant. Kiev, Ukraine.
18 January 2010. Piet provides advertising for Haven van Antwerpen in Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January. Cribbage. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Cribbage-mania. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Cribbage is awwwnnn!!!! Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. View from the hostel's window. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Mussorgsky fans take note: the original "Great Gate of Kiev." Or maybe a copy of the original. :-| Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. The decent into the metro is always an awesome experience; often two long escalators take you there. These escalators move faster than their U.S. counterparts. Advertisements in glowing boxes run down the middle. Sometimes kids roll coins from the top to see how far those coins roll down before they bounce off of something. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Lauren and me on the escalator. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Elegant metro station. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Near World War II memorial. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Piet hanging out with some artillery. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. I think these would be good for silencing the neighbors' barking dogs. Kiev, Ukraine.
The Mother Motherland Statue. This thing is enormous. It is the most amazing statue I have seen. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Mother Motherland statue behind a World War II memorial. A museum about World War II serves as the statue's base. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. World War II monument. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Hippie tanks. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Hippie tank. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. The Dneiper. Specks on the ice are people ice fishing. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Delicious Ukrainian lunch. Borscht soup; a meat and mushroom-filled crepe; and a salad of pickled onions, carrots, and peppers. Cranberry juice to drink. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. This is how delicious it was. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Pouring for Piet's farewell party. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. The Temple of Beer. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Gautier and Piet worship at the Temple of Beer. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Lauren and I practice our washed-out look. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Gautier representing the French Connection in Kiev! Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Me and the boys in the band. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Piet makes a face appropriate for the live band's selection: Eric Clapton's "Cocaine." True! Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Piet is happy. Kiev, Ukraine.
19 January 2010. Me and the building I spent much of the last few days in. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. A rare cloudless day in Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. I'm in the Crystal Hall. Lauren and Gautier are not. So I mocked them through the glass. This place was completely packed. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Gorchitza Live Project, doin' their Gorchitza live thang at Crystal Hall, Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Allois from Gorchitza performing. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Dancers bring back fond memories of Eiffel 65. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Eiffel 65 chorus line gettin' funky at Crystal Hall. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. The crowd. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. More crowd. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Yulia Tymoshenko look-alike drew lots of attention on the dancefloor. Yanukovych look-alike? Not so popular. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. More Yulia look-alike. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Allois of Gorchitza performing for the packed joint. Kiev, Ukraine.
22 January 2010. Allois and Alexey are the main faces of Gorchitza, but this photo of guitarist Oktav working the crowd might be my fave snapshot of the evening. Crystal Hall, Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. We party hard. Lauren, myself, and Gautier, Crystal Hall, Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Jay Sebag, "The Voice of Martin Solveig," performs a bunch of Mr. Solveig's hits. Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Jay really worked the crowd. He was a great performer. Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Lots of press was at this invitation-only event. Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Left to right: Jay Sebag, who provides vocals for Martin Solveig's songs, Gautier, and the none-more-Eurotrash DJ King Pigeon. Crystal Hall, Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Moscow rap/karaoke sorta thing. They ripped through a medley of highlights of current top 40 songs. When a fellow in the audience informed them that they sucked, the guy on the right flew off the stage and beat the crap out of him. :-/ Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. More Crystal Hall crowd. Dress code was and always is black/white/silver. Though I see somebody wore blue in this photo. :-? Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. View from the taxi windshield as we leave Crystal Hall. Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. Taxi cab windshield view of the square. Kiev, Ukraine.
22/23 January 2010. It's around 4 AM. Gautier and I stumbled into this club in the Arena in the center of town; the Arena Dance Club [http://www.arena-kiev.com/eng/night_club/] (I updated this entry in March 2011 when I googled the phone number on the screens, which then ID'd the place). The DJ was great, and so while the crowd was sparse I still had a good time. Here is where I lost my coat-check number for the second time that night, and I had to pay about $15 US to get my coat back. Problem with me and coat check numbers is that my pockets already contain wallet, camera, and digital recorder--items constantly retrieved from and returned to my pockets. So, the little tag just winds up on the floor at some point. My friends have now learned not to trust me with coat check numbers, and that is a relief to me. Kiev, Ukraine.
24 January 2010. It was 1 degree Fahrenheit, but a crowd turned out to watch an X Factor singing event. Kiev, Ukraine.
24 January 2010. X Factor contestant singing. Kiev, Ukraine.
24 January 2010. This is a drink heater. You see these all over the streets of Kiev. They warm beverages to temperatures that are above freezing. Kiev, Ukraine.
25 January 2010. Lauren's last day at the hostel. My bed for two weeks was bottom left. Kiev, Ukraine.
26 January 2010. Yulia ad campaign appears for Round 2 of the election. Kiev, Ukraine.
26 January 2010. Thomas and Alexander show love for Yulia. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Man chiseling ice from sidewalk. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Thomas and Gautier navigate to sushi restaurant. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Good times in Kiev. Anastasiia chilling out at sushi restaurant. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Elena on right, and...who is on the left? She gave me her email address, but I don't have a name! Anyway, good times. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Sushi at last! Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Chernigivske, a terrific beer from Ukraine, a wheat beer very similar in taste to America's Blue Moon. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Hanging out in the excellent German-themed cellar bar. Kiev, Ukraine.
27 January 2010. Good times in Kiev. Kiev, Ukraine.
28 January 2010. Cute couple from Bucovina (Ukrainian section) sharing my compartment. He's a pharmacist, and she is training to be a gynecologist. Somewhere in Ukraine.
29 January 2010. Somewhere in Ukraine approaching the Romanian border. Probably very early morning. I would not arrive in Bucharest until after nightfall (thanks to short days and a long train ride).
29 January 2010. Abandoned industrial wasteland. Somewhere in Northern Romania.
29 January 2010. The latest addition to Razvan's apartment: Pisi. Bucharest, Romania.
30 January 2010. Cristina in front of one of her favorite buildings in Bucharest: Ateneul. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. The theater in the background. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. Cristina. Hotel Intercontinental and theater in the background. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. So many incredibly charming streets lined by old buildings. Wonderful architecture. I love this city. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. Cristina in a winter wonderland. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. Cristina demonstrates proper technique for snow flake capture. Bucharest, Romania.
1 February 2010. Bucharest, Romania.
Around 2 February 2010. Cristina at an excellent restaurant she recommended called Caru cu Bere. Luxurious, but for the American traveler very affordable. We sampled various types of brandy in order to learn the differences between them. Bucharest, Romania.
Around 2 February 2010. Very nice restaurant in Bucharest specializing in traditional Romanian cuisine. Bucharest, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Books. Cristina's parents' apartment in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Old radio. Cristina's parents' apartment in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Cristina and our breakfast. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Made in Romania. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Wi-Fi is not common in public places in Râmnicu Vâlcea. You really have to have one of these USB wireless things. This one is from Vodafone. They are a hot (and often sold-out) item in Bucharest as well. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Cristina's old high school in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. High school library, Cristina's old high school in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. This bar, in a motel located up a very steep slope, is essentially unchanged since the 1980s. Chairs are VERY short, so you sort of squat-sit as you enjoy your Silva Blonde. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Feral puppies. Note how astonishingly well-camouflaged they are. It suggests that there is some natural selection going on with the coloration of feral dogs in Romania. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 4 February 2010. Cristina and I enjoying soup and Stella. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
Probably 6 February 2010. This Stella was brewed in Romania, and tastes just the same as any Stella anywhere, i.e., very good. Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
7 February 2010. Ceausescu stencil, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
8 February 2010. Main square. Sibiu, Romania.
8 February 2010. Gaby was my first Romanian-language instructor in Atlanta. She lives in Sibiu, but plans to return to America soon. Sibiu, Romania.
8 February 2010. Sibiu from a 15th century bridge. Gaby helped a cheerful 77 year-old woman walk down the slippery steps to the right. Sibiu, Romania.
8 February 2010. A thoughtful pose in Sibiu, Romania.
9 February 2010. Gaby is clearly a well-traveled person. Sibiu, Romania.
9 February 2010. Sibiu, Romania.
9 February 2010. Sibiu from a tower by the square. Sibiu, Romania.
9 February 2010. Rooftops. Sibiu, Romania.
10 February 2010. Hotel Central. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Somehow reminds me of Henri Rousseau's "A Carnival Evening" (http://redtreetimes.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/henri_rousseau_-_a_carnival_evening.jpg) Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. "Restaurant, Night Club, Pizzerie"--everything I could want in life. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Old folks come through this part of the country sampling water from the different springs. It's like bar hopping, but with mineral water instead of beer. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Springs at Călimăneşti, Romania. Old sign advertising resort.
10 February 2010. People stick bottles under these taps to collect the mineral water. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. The Hotel Caciulata is celebrated by locals as the most perfectly-preserved communist era experience. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Plate at the Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Communist-style opulence at Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Our table. Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Our table came with crumbs. Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. The glasses on the tables were a bit spotty. They brought out clean ones for the drinks we ordered. Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. The food was good. We ordered traditional Romanian dishes, the sorts which might have been served here in the 1980s or earlier. In true communist spirit, three-quarters of the items on the menu were not available, so we basically took what we could get. Hotel Caciulata. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Chicken liver and mash. I wish I had photographed the hotel bar; it was also a perfect communist-era experience. I know it might seem like I am making fun, but I highly recommend Hotel Caciulata for the spirited traveler who is curious about life in communist times. Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. Călimăneşti, Romania
10 February 2010. There is a monastery in Cozia, near Călimăneşti, Romania.
10 February 2010. This is the picturesque central building, built in the 1300s. It is surrounded by a "U" shaped complex of pleasant, white dorms, where the monks live. Cozia, Romania.
12 February 2010. Cristina and I decided we needed to stretch our legs, so we did some heavy traveling around Romania. We began in Cluj-Napoca. Here is the Ursus beer factory as viewed from our pensiune window. Ursus is an excellent Romanian beer, very similar to Stella in flavor. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Ursus beer factory. You can smell the beer from the sidewalk as you walk past. Ursus is a play on the Romanian word for "bear," hence the bear logo. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. The names of those who died in Cluj during the revolution of 1989. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. "Vlad Tepes: Presedinte." Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Hotel Continental. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. An Atlanta, Georgia basketball player who is currently playing for the Cluj Napoca team was injured recently. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Cristina and I were shameless tourists. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. The courtyard behind the art museum. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Old column. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. There are several Catholic churches in Cluj. I love the rings of Saturn effect of the halo on this Virgin Mary. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. The wreathes under the statue of the crucified Christ are of Hungarian sentiment, as these ribbons reveal. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Remnants of fresco in Catholic church. Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. A fading piece of art on the walls of the Catholic church in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
12 February 2010. Mozart Cafe. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
13 February 2010. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
13 February 2010. Cool little bar. If you want to write on the walls you can request your chalk from the bar. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
14 February 2010. Our hotel room in Sighisoara. This place was absolutely gorgeous, and very inexpensive. Sighişoara, Romania.
14 February 2010. Sighişoara, Romania.
14 February 2010. Dog on the roof. Strange to say, but you see a lot of dogs standing on roofs in Romania. Sighişoara, Romania.
14 February 2010. Statue of Vlad Tepes. Sighişoara, Romania.
15 February 2010. Sighişoara, Romania.
15 February 2010. View from our hotel window. Casa Wagner is a great place to stay, but you probably can't go wrong with any hotel in the center. Sighişoara, Romania.
15 February 2010. 1918 graffiti in Sighişoara, Romania.
15 February 2010. Lonely Planet reports that there is a mellow dog named "Lassie" living at the Pensiune Ela in Sibiu. This is Lassie. For me this was a return visit to the city. The weather this time turned out to be much nicer than it was when I had been there the previous week. Sibiu, Romania.
15 February 2010. Back of statue dotted with snowballs thrown by students who attend the school nearby. Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. Photogenic Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. I love the colored shingles; the effect reminds me of the back of a gaboon viper. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Gaboon_Viper_(rhinoceros)_01.jpg Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. Sunny Sibiu. Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. Leaving Sibiu, we had a breathtaking view of the mountains. I had not seen these peaks on my last visit due to there being too much fog at the time. Sibiu, Romania.
16 February 2010. Cristina and I enjoyed Olympics, and then football, at OK Pub in Râmnicu Vâlcea, Romania.
17 February 2010. Somewhere between Râmnicu Vâlcea and Bucharest, Romania.
17 February 2010. These people are doing something quite interesting, and I am writing an article about that. Details to follow. :-) Bucharest, Romania. Addendum: details are here: http://eurotrashoreurotreasure.blogspot.com/2010/05/new-pre-raphaelites.html
17 February 2010. Cool Kids of Death. Bucharest, Romania.
18 February 2010. Bucharest, Romania.
19 February 2010. Razvan and Roxana's cat surveys the apartment block in Bucharest, Romania.
19 February 2010. Bucharest, Romania.
19 February 2010. Asociatia Victimelor Mineriadelor. The Mineriadele (not sure if I got the plural right there), were a bunch of anti-Communist demonstrations, held after the 1989 revolution, that were sometimes violently suppressed, in the most notorious instance by a group of miners bussed into the city specifically to beat the crap out of the demonstrators. Figures vary widely on the number of dead in that particular "mineriad" (a gallows-humor pun on "Olympiad")--officially 7, but some say as high as 100. A tragic and bizarre chapter in the history of Romania, and one that snuffed out much of the idealism of 12/89 and replaced it with the cynicism and disillusion that typifies the average Romanian's view of politics today. Bucharest, Romania.
19 February 2010. Spring arrives in Bucharest. Water from melting snow runs off the rooftops. Weeks of accumulating dog crap, once frozen in snow piles, spill out onto the sidewalks, creating a disgusting soup. :-D Bucharest, Romania.
20 February 2010. Saturday night at Club A. Bucharest, Romania.
20 February 2010. Saturday night at Club A. Cristina says everybody who has ever gone to school in Bucharest has at some point had a crazy night out at Club A. It is a landmark that every Romanian band has played at. If a DJ can make it there he can make it anywhere in Romania. The photos on the walls illustrate its prestigious history. Bucharest, Romania.
22 February 2010. Always something to remind me of Cristina. Iaşi, Romania.
23 February 2010. My Hotel Continental room, with the pictures I travel with: Evelyn Nesbit, a young Ernest Hemingway and friends in Paris, and a painting by Grigorescu. Iaşi, Romania.
23 February 2010. The tops of all the points are living birds. These are known in English as "rooks," and they are a type of crow. Iasi has a huge population of these birds. "Huge population" doesn't really do justice. There are about a hundred in this photo alone; the total population must be in the several thousands. Edgar Allen Poe would have freaked. Iaşi, Romania.
23 February 2010. Every evening the rooks make an enormous racket as they flock in the trees, I presume to roost for the night. Incidentally, Iasi is run by the rooks, but in Bucharest it's a different species of crow--the jackdaws--that are in control. Iaşi, Romania.
24 February 2010. Birds of a different feather, looking down. Iaşi, Romania.
24 February 2010. View from my Hotel Continental balcony. Lonely Planet recommends you avoid getting a room on the street side, but I enjoyed the view, and with my headphones playing white noise I can sleep through most anything. Iaşi, Romania.
25 February 2010. As you can plainly see, things were just crazy at Dana's farewell party! Actually, we had a very nice time; I just have a talent for capturing people at their most bored. I am a boring photographer. Iaşi, Romania.
27 February 2010. There are so many beautiful places in Romania that are fouled-up by litter. The rivers in particular are abused as dumping grounds. It's a shame. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. Handball Extrem. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. Makeshift mountain bike obstacle course along a hiking trail in Baia Mare, Romania. The hiking trail began in a park lying on the northern side of the city. I hiked this trail hoping to find a good mountain view of the city.
27 February 2010. Makeshift mountain bike course. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. A spring--and a cup left by some thoughtful person--allowed me to hydrate before an extremely strenuous climb up the trail. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. The mountains around Baia Mare are modest in altitude, but like most Romanian mountains they are extremely steep. The last hundred meters of the hike/climb were the most difficult I have ever put myself through. It was a nearly vertical ascent; and the mud didn't make things any easier. I was on all fours at this point, pausing every couple of minutes to catch my breath. I wondered if I would die. Judging from the bottles I saw lying around, my body would eventually have been found by some Timisoreana-drinking student.
27 February 2010. Well, this is a funny photo. I was disheveled when I reached the top, and so sweaty I ditched the jacket and sweater right away. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. I managed to force a slightly more convincing smile after I had rested for a good fifteen minutes. But the weariness is still there. Baia Mare, Romania.
27 February 2010. City of Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. History and Archeology Museum collection of Bronze Age artifacts. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. 14th-15th century partiers doing the hora in Baia Mare, Romania. I love it! If I could find a replica of this I'd buy it and hang it on my wall.
28 February 2010. The tailors' guild box. Every guild in the town had a fancy box decorated appropriately for that guild. For example, the butchers' guild had a wooden box with a carving of a pig on the top. The guild boxes held important documents and money for the guild. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. As an amateur ornithologist and one who has stumbled a bit into the Romanian language, I was interested in this coat of arms. It is the coat of arms for the Corvineşti family. It clearly depicts a crow with a ring in its beak. The Latin name for crow is "Corvus"; the family of birds containing crows is Corvidae. So, "Corvineşti" / Corvidae. I suppose the family name is therefore translated as "Crow." Simple as that. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. This room largely focuses on the 1 December 1918 unification of Romania with Transylvania. It was the largest Romania ever became, because Moldova was cleaved off later. Today, 1 December is Romania's equivalent of the U.S. 4th of July. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. A copy of the 1 December document regarding unification of Romania and Transylvania. Baia Mare, Romania.
28 February 2010. Sputnik commemorative watch in museum (note that Russia is highlighted, a line circles the earth, and the line is broken in Cyrillic under the 12 reading "Sputnik"). Rockets mark each five minute interval. Baia Mare, Romania.
2 March 2010. Cluj Napoca, Romania.
4 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania. Site of massive 1989 demonstrations.
4 March 2010. Road to Belgrade. Timişoara, Romania.
4 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania. People are excited about their churches in Romania. Since I'm not a believer, I didn't understand the fuss. That was before I saw beautiful examples of architecture like this one.
4 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania. I believe this is the church where the 1989 revolution got started.
4 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania.
5 March 2010. Phantom of the Opera? Timişoara, Romania.
5 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania. Pigeons on their way to work.
5 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania.
5 March 2010. Timişoreana brewing company. Timişoara, Romania.
6 March 2010. Statues in front of stadium, Arnold Scharzenegger on left. Timişoara, Romania.
6 March 2010. Stadium. Timişoara, Romania.
6 March 2010. Timişoara, Romania.
7 March 2010. An improvised coat check in front of DJ equipment. Early morning. Timişoara, Romania.
7 March 2010. Early morning. Timişoara, Romania.
8 March 2010. How things look from my end when I am writing my blog entries for you. Timişoara, Romania.
9 March 2010. Budapest, Hungary.
9 March 2010. Another country with a hole in its flag. Budapest, Hungary.
10 March 2010. Budapest, Hungary. Lots of beautiful buildings, but to be honest I am not often moved by such things. Budapest feels, alternately, like a museum and a shopping mall. But I look forward to giving the city a fair shake tonight.
10 March 2010. Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2010. Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2009. In my blog I compared the scenery today to Whistler's "Nocturne" paintings (although this was taken in morning, not night; regardless, here is a Whistler example: http://www.bestpriceart.com/vault/abc_whistler45.JPG). Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2009. We heart the EU. Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2009. Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2009. Ludwig wuz here. Budapest, Hungary.
11 March 2009. coffeebreak, a terrific little wi-fi enabled joint. Budapest, Hungary.
12 March 2010. Redhead girl on left is seriously the best table football player I have ever seen. A freakin' lethal weapon in the sport. Kőkorsó. Budapest, Hungary.
12 March 2010. Kőkorsó. Budapest, Hungary.
13 March 2010. Early morning. Budapest, Hungary.
13 March 2010. Early morning. Romania in da haus!!! Budapest, Hungary.
13 March 2010. Early morning. Budapest, Hungary. Songs played: ABBA - Dancing Queen, Bryan Adams - Summer of 69, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock and Roll, John Paul Young - Love is in the Air, The Doors - Break on Through (to the Other Side)
14 March 2010. Kino Cafe. Pécs, Hungary.
14 March 2010. Pécs, Hungary.
14 March 2010. Toxic Club. Pécs, Hungary.
2010 March 15. Pécs, Hungary.
2010 March 16. Gyékényes, Hungary.
2010 March 17. Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. Met a nice guy named Darren, a 23 year-old international studies student taking a multi-month trek through many of the countries I have been or will be exploring myself. Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. Darren was excited by the prospect of drinking beer in a McDonald's. Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. St. Patrick's Day at Sax! Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. Revelers at the Sax! St. Patrick's Day celebration. Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. Very cool Finns. Fantastic conversation about how Finns view America and the rest of the world. Sax! St. Patrick's Day celebration. Zagreb, Croatia.
17 March 2010. St. Patrick's Day celebration. "The other" Budweiser beer. Sax! pub. Zagreb, Croatia.
18 March 2010. The excellent Tkalčićeva Utica, perhaps the greatest people-watching place on earth. People walk up and down this street under the gaze of hundreds of comfortably-seated spectators. Everyone gets to be a model on the catwalk. Zagreb, Croatia.
18 March 2010. Tena Vodopija (on the right) & Domino Effect Band @ Saloon. Zagreb, Croatia. www.myspace.com/tenavodopija
18 March 2010. Girls night out for Tena Vodopija & Domino Effect Band @ Saloon. Zagreb, Croatia. www.myspace.com/tenavodopija
18 March 2010. Zagreb, Croatia.
19 March 2010. That cute little perpendicular parking with the SmartCar thing. Zagreb, Croatia.
19 March 2010. And here's another resourceful SmartCar owner. Hopefully, the owner is friends with the people whose cars are blocked. Zagreb, Croatia.
19 March 2010. Zagreb, Croatia.
19 March 2010. Saloon Discotheque. Zagreb, Croatia.
20 March 2010. Almost 5 AM. Leaving Saloon, with a train to catch at 7:50. Zagreb, Croatia.
20 March 2010. Somewhere between Zagreb and Split, Croatia.
20 March 2010. Split, Croatia.
21 March 2010. Split, Croatia.
21 March 2010. Leaving Split for Šolta Island daytrip, Croatia.
21 March 2010. Šolta Island, Croatia. For my mother, who likes the cat pictures. :-)
21 March 2010. Šolta Island, Croatia.
21 March 2010. Note Yugo in foreground with rock by tire to help prevent it from rolling downhill and into the sea. Šolta Island, Croatia.
21 March 2010. Diocletian's Palace, one of the more amazing places I have visited. Split, Croatia.
21 March 2010. The fabulous Diocletian's Palace. It's like a gigantic maze for grown-ups with delights around every corner. Split, Croatia.
21 March 2010. What a wonderful promenade. There are some cool bars here on the second floor (or first floor Euro-style) where you can sip beer on a porch overlooking this street and the bay just beyond it. Split, Croatia.
24 March 2010. Sausage party. Edi Bon, one half of the core of the talented electronic band Mistake Mistake, and a plate of meat. This was my dinner for two nights in a row, and it cost around 7 euros. Maidan restaurant, Belgrade, Serbia.
25 March 2010. Massive renovation being done. The entire National Museum is closed for renovation. During the later hours this sidewalk is jam-packed with people fighting their various ways to their destinations. Belgrade, Serbia.
25 March 2010. Belgrade, Serbia.
25 March 2010. Kids sunning themselves on the Citadel. Belgrade, Serbia.
25 March 2010. Another picture for my mom: a Belgrade cat. These cats are tougher than any other Balkan cat. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. In Mistake Mistake's crib with the lads. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. In Mistake Mistake's crib. They apologize for the mess, but creativity is always a messy thing. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. In Mistake Mistake's crib. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. DJ Hillberg spinning tunes. Belgrade, Serbia.
26 March 2010. Mistake Mistake performing. Belgrade, Serbia.
27 March 2010. Somewhere in Croatia.
28 March 2010. Happy Easter. Zagreb, Croatia.
28 March 2010. Zagreb, Croatia.
28 March 2010. Coin-operated computer in a not-so-good wireless cafe. Zagreb, Croatia.
30 March 2010. View from my room. Zagreb, Croatia.
30 March 2010. Zagreb, Croatia.
31 March 2010. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
31 March 2010. Beer mug grips on bus. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
1 April 2010. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. Americans abroad. Meghan and Becca are from Portland. We also hung out with Scott, a recent UK transplant from Australia, and Daniel, an aspiring architect from Germany. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. Monastery. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. It begins to feel like a vacation. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. The rectangular holes serve as homes for alpine swifts (http://www.birding.in/images/Birds/alpine_swift.jpg), which zoom aggressively through the city in the morning and evening like fighter jets. Clearly, these swifts prefer the easy life in Dubrovnik to the "Alpine" one. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
2 April 2010. Fuego. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
3 April 2010. Early morning. Perhaps my fave club picture so far. Fuego. Dubrovnik, Croatia.
4 April 2010. An arty photo, actually a blown-up detail from a much larger shot. Was trying to get the bird there, which allowed me to get quite close, actually. It's a Crested Lark (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Lark), a new species for my life list. Around Krka, Croatia.
4 April 2010. Life-sized sculpture of the Last Supper. Zagreb, Croatia.
5 April 2010. Strong design; I like. Zagreb, Croatia.
5 April 2010. Guy in the middle is Joe Pandur, who has played electric guitar for a large number of popular Croatian bands, and who seems to be best friends with all the other Croatian bands. We started talking after he kidded me about my backpack. :-D He is currently in Croatian Idol's back-up band; he showed me photos he took on the set of the show and we talked about who should win, since I had caught an episode only days earlier. A terrific guy. Zagreb, Croatia.
7 April 2010. The vine behind me is the oldest grape vine in the world; over 400 years. It's a dead-looking thing now, but it turns lush every summer. Maribor, Slovenia.
7 April 2010. Maribor, Slovenia.
8 April 2010. Celje, Slovenia.
8 April 2010. Plague memorial. Celje, Slovenia.
8 April 2010. Huda Kava bar, where Nikola Tesla (http://www.electronicsandyou.com/electronics-history/Nikola%20Tesla.jpg) shares space with Bill Hicks (http://lfort.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/billhicks.jpg). I have a theory that the reason Americans don't learn much about Tesla is because the guy just looked too sexy to be a scientist. Maribor, Slovenia.
8 April 2010. New friends at Huda Kava, which became my favorite bar in Maribor, Slovenia.
9 April 2010. Graz, Austria.
9 April 2010. A World War II shelter. Graz, Austria.
10 April 2010. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
11 April 2010. These stark buildings remind me of a grumpy old couple. The one on the right helpfully tells me the date, time, and temperature as I leave my hostel. They got a starring role in this 1985 music video from bizarre art group Borghesia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_XiMOleC48 (NSFW). Today, the plaza in the foreground is a popular Saturday night hang-out spot for students. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
11 April 2010. Tons of gum on the sidewalks. I contributed a piece of my own this morning in order to cement my bond to this wonderful city. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
11 April 2010. This place goes by several different names, evidently, including Caffe Don Cortes, Carraro, and Clementina. Under any name, it was nice to revisit four years later. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
11 April 2010. The VW Beatle on the right was around in 2006 as well (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingpigeon/84799356/in/set-1810632/). Ljubljana, Slovenia.
11 April 2010. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
12 April 2010. I visited the caves where the Proteus (a type of blind cave salamander very celebrated in Slovenia) lives. An Australian guy married to a Slovenian woman has created a local ale in homage to this "human fish." It's good, but Slovenians are not used to ale, so they are warming up slowly to this. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
12 April 2010. Armenian Navy Band (http://www.myspace.com/officialanb), a jazz ensemble. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
12 April 2010. Parking spaces are officially designated partly on the sidewalk, which cannot be good for the alignment. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
13 April 2010. Vila Veselova's (http://www.v-v.si/) extremely sturdy and comfy bunks. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
14 April 2010. About 1 AM. Nikola and Emir at Metelkova complex of clubs and bars. Once again I had to do an all-nighter, because I learned only on my last day that Ljubljana airport was closed and flights had been re-routed to Maribor. This meant catching a 4:10 AM shuttle bus to Maribor. Ljubljana, Slovenia.
14 April 2010. About 2 AM. This is the hotel I stayed at last time I was in Slovenia. Ljubljana, Slovenia. And that's it! Ljubljana airport was closed, so I stayed up until I caught a cab around 3 AM to a shuttle, which in turn took me to the Maribor airport (where air traffic had been redirected), all this before the sun came up. After what very likely was the longest day in my life, I was back in Atlanta, three months to the day after I had flown to Kiev.
