Never compliment on winter weather before the end of winter

... should be the title of this post. As the start of the winter (mentioned in previous post) gave us nice snow blanket as what would be perfect uverture to nice cold white winter (with white Christmas, New Years, etc.) it just wasn't meant to be. Up to now, and especially in past week we are being served with miserable mixture of drizzle, rain and even more rain. While higher regions of Alpine Europe received more than a meter of snow, we got localized flooding.

"Winter" panorama with swollen Kolpa

Can it get better? Hopefully. Although it seems good old long snowy winters are thing of the past, we still can hope for at least few snow flakes. Looking out at yet another rainy day- even from a room with a Christmas tree just doesn't compare to good old snowy day.

Let it snow...

First snow of the year fell today. Bon hiver!!!

Autumn leaves...

If I'd want to do this autumn any justice, this post should be decorated with fallen leaves of all colors, the smell of roasted chestnuts, and the warmth of sun. As to this moment blogs and computers in general aren't capable of such multimedia I'm left with words and few pictures.

I guess last weekend was the summary of the autumn. After Saturday's rainfall Sunday morning confronted us with deep blue cloudless sky and great visibility. It was to hard to stay at home, so I took a walk to a nearby hill above Vinica, Žeželj. Most part of the walk takes place inside forest, and at the moment it's truly spectacular. Although some of the leaves already fell, it still feels as being surrounded with palette of some great illustrator. Intentionally or not, you're left with big imprint of colors, smells and sounds.

Part of my short journey took me next to archaeological sites from Iron age- Šlemine and Stražni dol. In those days these parts were ruled by Illyrian tribe of Iapodes, and Šlemine was one of their most northern outposts. In those days parts near Kolpa were contact zone between Celtic and Illyrian tribes. Iapodes were conquered by Romans in 1st century BC.

Some artifacts from Iron-age sites near Vinica; picture owners: President and Fellows of Harvard College; picture contributor: Darja Jontes
In such days as this sunny Sunday it was not hard to imagine how life looked like on this hill more than two-thousand years ago....

Crossroads

As I recall there comes this time in our lives, when you're no longer sure the path you're on is the right path. The very essence of our lives is the endless stream of choosing. Most of the time it's rather trivial, but more often than not, you're at the major crossroad. Continuing on a path you've been on, although it doesn't seem to lead to where you want it, or face something new and unknown. And whichever you choose you might loose something, but yet you might gain something as well. The only certain thing is you shouldn't stop at the crossroad for to long...

There's a legend connecting crossroads with devil. The story is, that people should avoid traveling through remote crossroads at midnight- or the devil might show himself to them and try to steal their soul. One of the fathers of blues music, Robert Johnson even claimed he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroad in exchange for guitar skills that made him famous. Although most likely his own fabrication for promotion of his music, yet the legend is much older than blues. And the punch line of this entry? I don't know, I guess I have a feeling I'm almost at my crossroad and I don't want to stay there for to long...
For closure of this (let's face it- a bit depressing) blog entry, and for welcoming the start of autumn, I wanted to post a video of Stephanie Biddle singing French jazz song Les feuilles mortes (The autumn leaves). I couldn't find it, so here's lyrics, and the video performed by some other singer.

Oh! I would like as much as you remember
The happy days where we were friends.
In this time the life was more beautiful,
And the sun more burning than today.
The dead leaves collected with the shovel.
You see, I did not forget...
The dead leaves collected with the shovel,
The memories and the regrets also
And the wind of North carries them
In the cold night of the lapse of memory.
You see, I did not forget
The song that you sang me.

This is a song which resembles to us.
You, you loved me and I loved you
And we lived both together,
You who loved me, me who loved you.
But the life separate those which love themselves,
All softly, without making noise
And the sea erases on the sand
The Steps of divided lovers.

The dead leaves collected with the shovel,
The memories and the regrets also
But my quiet and faithful love
Smiles always and thanks the life
I loved you so much, you was so pretty.
Why do you want that I forget you ?
In this time, the life was more beautiful
And the sun more burning than today.
You were my softer friend
But I don't have only to make regrets
And the song than you sang,
Always, always I will hear it !

Blue moon

Going South (and the simpler things in life)

It's been a while since my last post. I guess many things happened during this time on our blue marble- from hurricanes, wars, to good things- things that aren't often mentioned in the news. I guess you can always find nice things, as long as you know where to look for them.

A week ago our tamburica group took part in festival in Kumanovo, Macedonia. The festival itself was as these festivals usually go- loads of great musicians, good food and booze, and meeting old and new friends. What I wanted to talk about, is the difference 850 km makes. Generally, every country has its South- the part of the country where life goes slower, where economy isn't taken to seriously, the part that other regions look at with a bit of underestimation, yet also with a bit of desire. In Yugoslavia SE of the country, was great example of this. As Macedonia got its independence, this country never had it easy. Surrounded by bigger neighbors and significant Albanian minority it was bound to get to trouble. Bulgaria sees Macedonians as nothing more, but Bulgarians speaking distinct dialect. Albania, whether intentionally or not supports separatists. And of course there is Greece which sees Macedonians as thieves trying to still the name of one of historical Greek provinces- and in turn blocks Macedonia wherever it has chance. I won't get into politics to much- I just wanted to put reality of this country into context.
After downfall of communism and independence Macedonia lost most of their traditional markets and economy in ruin. The Albanian insurgence didn't help things a bit. So, at the moment, the country has one of the lowest GDPs of Europe, and loads of (potential) problems.
Yet I don't remember meeting such nice hospitable people anywhere. People are laid back, friendly, and are glad to help. We had great time. Of course there are also things that are less pleasant, but it's hard to loose a feeling, that people better how to enjoy themselves. And you know what? I bet Austrians think the same about us. ;-)

Which of course had nothing to do with the second thing I wanted to mention. Which is Kolpa. And Indian summer. And good things in life...

Ronnie Drew (1934 - 2008)

On the 16th of August Irish singer and folk musician Ronnie Drew passed away after a long illness. He is best known as one of founding members of The Dubliners- he was on and off member of this band for 33 years in which he recorded many memorable songs such as Seven drunken nights and Finnegan's Wake. In his long career he will be most remembered by his distinctive voice and always linked with Dublin as it once was.

"Ballad of Ronnie Drew"- tribute to Ronnie Drew, recorded by some of the best Irish bands and musicians- including U2, Dubliners, Chieftains, Andrea Corr, Sinead O'Connor, Shane McGowan

"I'll Tell Me Ma"- St. Patrick's Day open-air concert 2003

Although it's been 13 years since Ronnie Drew last performed with The Dubliners, Slovenian fans who like his music will be able to remember him with the concert of The Dubliners in Križanke on the 15th September.

Schengen fest 2008

Main stage (actually only stage ;-) at the festival

Last weekend biggest musical festival in Bela krajina this year- Schengen fest in Vinica took place for the first time. It was a much-needed refreshment for musical scene in this part of Slovenia. After Koupafest ceased 4 years ago nothing at such scale was going on. There were concerts here and there but for anything bigger you had to travel a bit further. Hopefully Schengen fest is here to stay. Judgin by its inaugural year it's refreshing, set in good location, organized by people who (although they still need to learn a lot) took a lot of effort. First Schengen fest didn't attract many sponsors, nor visitors, but those who came have a lot good to say about it. There were 6 artists/bands who performed on Friday and Saturday- all of them Slovenian, but they sure got people going. On Friday local Bela krajina band E.S.F. warmed crowd before more renowned artists - rapper 6 pack čukur and later Alya. On Saturday I.C.E., superb Magnifico and Rock defect took stage.

Magnifico - Land of Champions
All in all- it was great two nights, packed with good music and great company. I'm sure not just for me. All bands were good, but Magnifico simply kicked ass- he got people in trance- dancing, jumping and singing along. I hope we can all look forward to Schengen fest 2009?

Dekle moje

I love this song. I couldn't find an original video on youtube, but this concert video isn't that bad. Although there's a dude shouting something at the start and some people just don't know how to sing along. ;-) Enjoy.

Thunderstorms of the season

As many of you probably know, North of Slovenia was hit hard by a severe thunderstorm last Sunday, 17th July. The speed of the wind reached over 100 km/h in some places. Countless houses lost their roof, crops were decimated by hail, many basements were flooded. In many ways it was the strongest storm on record in here, but luckily there were no casualties, just record material damage.

Slovenia rainfall radar animation

Even though because of its location Slovenia is prone to strong thunderstorms it seems that lately they are just becoming stronger and last longer. There are even reports that village Gozd above Kamnik was hit by a twister during the storm- which is really rare weather phenomenon in this part of the world. All connected to the global warming? It's hard to prove, but with disasters like this it's hard not to believe so.
My tip for everyone- on next elections- wherever they happen- choose candidates and parties which promise better and greener public transport.... In the meantime if you are traveling in Europe, check this page for weather annoyances.

O'zapft is!

4 basic steps for tapping a beer cask:
1. One person positions tap at the marked position. Other person prepares a hammer.

2. Pipe is hammered into position.

3. Extra care is taken not to get splashed with beer (often unsuccessfully).

4. Beer is ready to be served!!!

* third person is there to have a first glass :-)
** no animals were hurt while preparing this manual
*** yes it was delicious ;-)
**** in case you are wondering about the title- it's the opening lines after tapping first cask at the Oktoberfest festival

Just to set the personal record

... and write two blog entries in a day, I give you a picture of Ljubljana after a big summer storm few days ago. I love the colors of the sky after storms- this time it was a bit to late to get to many colors, but it was still nice. Compare it with this one, and this one taken from the same location.

Being a tourist in Prague

It's not raining any more. Actually it stopped pretty much as soon as I wrote my last post on this blog. Knowing my limitations I won't take credit for this sunny spell, but just in case someone would want to need service on this field let me know, I won't put the price to high. Of course I can't guarantee it'll work. ;-)

Astronomical clock at the old town square

Anyways. Prague... Actually I think I should start at the beginning. We were talking for quite some time to do a weekend in Prague at the end of the June. One of the major limitations for me was due to the fact, that train ride from Ljubljana takes 10 hours. So, I was actually relieved when I found out that low-cost air carrier Sky Europe is flying to Prague from Trieste. We purchased our tickets while there was still promotion for incredibly cheap 75 €. Except for the fact that windshield on my car partially broke one day before the trip (Murhpy & his laws of course) nothing to exciting happened on our way to Trieste airport. It was the first time for me to cross the border without the border check. Could you imagine doing that some 30 years ago? Schengen rules.

Vanja stopping the famous Prague metronome

The flight was rather uneventful, but at least we had some nice turbulency on the descent to the Prague airport (joy for Alenka, and horror for Gorazd- his first flight).

St.Vitus cathedral

In Prague we stayed in hostel Condor 1. It has a great location- just few hundred meters from old town. The downside for some might be that the night club is in the same street, which basically means there's tons of pesky kids screaming and shouting at 4 o'clock in the morning. Nah, it wasn't that bad. We actually managed to have some decent sleep in there. I'd certainly recommend it, although don't expect to much of the comfort. It's generally clean which at least to me means a lot. And don't expect to check in to soon- there's a pleasant old lady sitting behind a desk which makes sure you are checked-in without a problem, and warns you of all the must-sees and dangers of Prague.

View from Petřínská rozhledna on old town and Charles bridge

Vanja presenting Prague castle from above

Did I say dangers? Seems so. Virtually everywhere we went there were signs that pickpockets are operating in the area and stuff like that. Even before we were there I heard some horror stories about fake taxis, pickpockets and greedy waiters. We didn't have a bad experience. It might be due to the fact that we knew of those things, there were four of us, we were careful, and we spoke among each other in Slovenian (people hate English in there, mostly because of their infamous stag parties). But at least due to the size of Prague and amount of tourists it's no wonder some of them get robbed. My favorite "warning" though was written on the back of the Praha City Spy map we got at the hostel: "... It seems as though the Russians have taken over St. Wenceslav Square again... (maybe they just never left)... Every now and then they soot at each other. But don't worry they are very good at it & each bullet has a name on it... unless your name happens to be Boris & you are lounging in the bordelo...!...". ;-)

And I didn't believe when they told me I have a big head ;-)

Vltava river

And there are certainly a lot of Russians around Prague. And it seems there are even more of our former fellow countrymen- it seems that virtually every souvenir shop in old town is owned or at least guarded by Serbian or Macedonian. Czech republic, or at least Prague went a long way in multiculturalism. Virtually all sellers on Prague open market were Chinese (eager to haggle over price). Nigerians in navy suits are inviting tourist to join a boat sighting tour. Actually among all these people on the streets of Prague what I missed...

Alenka giving a hand in hope of finding nirvana

... are the real Czech people. I mean- I'm sure there were plenty of them, but in all the crowds of tourists you can't help but get the feeling like Prague was one huge amusement park built for tourists. Don't take me wrong- I absolutely loved the city, had really great time. But perhaps I just expected to meet loads of Švejk-like characters (though the old lady at the hostel gave us a nice welcome). To be fair, the fact that we were traveling as a group didn't help us much about meeting locals, but anyway.
Prague as a whole is a really nice city. There are so many sights you would need a whole week to see them all. It's amazing that the old town is so well preserved, and it even survived the WW2 and 50 years of Soviet-style urbanization. I'd certainly recommend sights that aren't necessary described as prime sights in tour guides- like Vyšehrad castle (with cemetery where many of Czech famous personalities are buried), and Petřín hill, especially the view from Petřínská rozhledna observation tower- it's absolutely stunning.

Cemetery at the Vyšehrad castle

Twisted "dancing" building

As for culinary delights I'd mention just one- PIVO (beer). Czech are famous for their beer, and it's quite obvious why. While we were there we didn't have a bad experience. If I'd have to recommend one, I'd say try the locally- brewed wheat beer at Pivnice u Sadu near the TV tower- it's absolutely delicious, with great fresh taste. Don't judge by the color (it looks a bit like dark banana shake with froth due to the fact that it's not filtered)- it's really good and really fresh. And even if you don't like wheat beers I'm sure you'll find your personal favorite there...
What to say for closure of this unbelievably (at least for me) long blog entry? I'd certainly recommend Prague to everyone. Event though it's really crowded with tourists, it's well worth a visit. Just don't expect real Czech-environment in the city center. You have to search little further.

Rainy days and rainy nights

Sounds familiar? It does if you live in central Europe. This June sucks big time. I don't quite remember any June being that bad. Even if some day it's not raining from morning, there are bound to be showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Not exactly the best start of summer. In two days, on the 20th June, the longest day of the year shall occur. This is when our ancestors celebrated the power of sun with lighting big bonfires at night. Whole communities would gather even long after the Christianity was introduced. This was the night when magic things would happen, and nature ruled. Nowadays people don't even notice this nature's calendar... Isolated between with walls and watches... Hope rain stops this weekend. It would be nice to be able to take a long deep breath of fresh, clean air filled with fragrances of flowers somewhere in the forest on the longest day of the year...

Smell of summer

I realize I might be neglecting this blog lately. It's just that there's nothing to much to write about. Lately it seems each work day falls into a boring pattern, and it doesn't seem like I might be able to change it soon. And unfortunately, weekend is only two days per week...

I hope summer brings something new, and I hope this something new is going to be good. It seems like weekends are gonna be filled with playing tamburica- we're already booked solid through July, and at the end of August we're performing at the international tamburica festival in Kumanovo, Macedonia. And in the mean while- there's few goodies here and there- like weekend in Prague, and of course picnics, swimming, canoeing... Anyways, I attached few pictures of Kolpa river just to remind you and me of what's to come. I took it last weekend when my brother and I walked the path down Kolpa river all the way to Dejani. Last weekend Kolpa was still a bit coldish- with about 18 C.

Today it's raining...

And I feel like listening to some light music. If you're from around here, there's a good chance you haven't heard song on this video. It's nice- a bit country with a Celtic touch.

The May holidays

May holidays just ended. In Slovenia, 1st and 2nd May are public holidays, and since this year it happened on Thursday and Friday we got whole 4 days off work. Much needed I must say, though lately I have a feeling, that I come from holidays more tired than on work days.

Maypole above our village

Anyways- loads of things happened in previous month. I won't go much into detail about that, but at least some of those events were good. Some even very good; at least tamburica related events are here- our group got another gold award on national competition, and we appeared on tamburica festival in Banja Luka- and met some really great people there. More about that perhaps on some other occasion. Also nature did it's yearly miracle by turning brown and gray into green and colorful. It's amazing how this change affects us all- it's like we're give a great boost of energy and life. Good work- Green George!
I won't go into not so good stuff here. It's in human nature to remember good stuff in life, so I won't have a blog entry to remind me of those...
Well, let it be enough for now. I know that after one month break I probably should write a lot more, but today I just don't feel like it. ;-) Cheers!

Low-cost airlines & Slovenia

A week ago Ryanair stopped flying to Maribor (from London Stansted). Official reason was, that the route was not profitable. The real reason was that it was just not profitable enough, and local tourism industry just wasn't willing to pay enough to make it THAT profitable. And it's not like this is first time something like that happened. Easyjet, the only remaining low-cost carrier flying from Slovenia at this time canceled the route from Ljubljana to Berlin almost two years ago. And Wizzair (Polish-Hungarian low-cost airline) canceled flights to London Luton, and few months ago finally canceled its only remaining route from Ljubljana (to Brussels Charleroi). It seems like an epidemic. And it's not happening only in Slovenia. Ryanair reduced the former daily route from Celovec (Klagenfurt) to Stansted to 3 times a week. It also pulled out of Pula and Zadar during the winter season (the cancellation of Pula routes might be permanent). Yet all these airlines keep expanding- to the east. Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bolgaria, Baltic states are hot destinations at the moment. I guess all those workers who migrated to Western Europe after EU accession are the generator of this move, as well as potential market and cheaper destinations. Let's face it- British stag parties aren't looking for culture, but cheap beer and accommodation. And with property prices so low in these new parts of EU the flow of the people is in both direction.

The happier days for travellers- Ryanair's takeoff from Maribor airport

Where is Slovenia's role in this? Well I guess having (regular) national airline (owned by the state) flying from only one fully equipped airport doesn't really help bringing new low-cost routes. Brnik airport is expanding quick enough (at least according to its management) so it doesn't need to lure potential low-cost airlines and (what is probably more important to them) reduce one of the highest airport taxes in this part of Europe. Government's lack of interest is almost legendary- if I recall well- it didn't do anything to help Maribor airport find new routes at all. So much about equal regional development. So- the end result is obvious- we the citizens of this "paradise on the sunny side of Alps" are forced to either pay more than our East-European neighbors, or travel far by road to the nearest airport offering privileges of low-cost flights. And everybody from above are trying hard to make us believe it's out of their hands. Sure it is. Don't understand me the wrong way- the biggest cause of the trend is the race for profit of the airlines- but please, don't tell me there's nothing we can do about it.

The genesis

After more than 3 month of idleness, working on other parts of website, all the booze drank in this time, it's finally here!!! The English translation of our folklore group website. Although it's not 1:1- at least at the moment most of the content is not translated, but it's a really good start anyway. There are most important things- like description of our group, video content, picture galleries, guest book, and contact form. So- thanks to Mateja! And Joomla fish.
And if something seismic happens and Vanja finishes her translation, there might even be a German version soon. ;-)
Anyways, you can check English version here, and Slovene version here.

It's been long time since Tena married

I just had to post this video. It's beautiful tamburica song, and what's more, I really can relate to it. No comparison necessary. I know that those of you who don't understand Slavic languages don't get it, but well- let it be enough to say it's a soul mover. :-I