I was in Greece during this summer, yes I was, but hectic, really hectic time, and no time to write here. It is still hectic, but I will write a bit about my trips around, just a tip of an iceberg of what I really did and saw during the summer. There were 3 trips accross Adriatic by ship, from Patras to Ancona and then from Ancona to Zadar and vice versa and vice versa, and one trip Zadar-Ancona itself, there was Rome, there was Elba island (scientific meeting, yes, you would also like to go there scientifically or not, I know (OK, easy, go and make Physics PhD, if U think it is so easy...), there was train-cut through Toscana, there was Trieste by night, there was some time on Pag with kids and some with elderly dear relatives visiting from as far as Australia, there were 2 trips North, one to Polish border only by car and other deep in, to Warsaw, there were trains, walking accross the Danube river bridge on Slovakian-Hungarian border at 6AM, there was...lots of things. As I say, I will give here a tip of an iceberg. But I want to give it this condensed way, that you'd get feeling what Europe is, how small place, but how diverse, also.
Hmm, last writing here was before Taiwan in June/July, then was a bit of Athens, but mostly working one. Then was Croatia, but to it there was a long trip, as 1st train to Patras (take bus, it is MUCH faster and simpler, train was a kind of adventure. Price is equal in both cases-in eur, but not in time and patience needed). Some nice views along the road:
Korynthos train station...weird, deserted place. Slow train from there to Patras, really slow, although it is called "IC", it was not "C" of it, D-class, I would say. No air condition (yes, windows), no any comfort. Really, be clever and use buses to go there.
Bye-bye Greece!
Then we made a little detour to Rome: this was 9AM and looong queue for entering the Vatican Museums. It is in fact better to come some 2 hours after the opening, shorter waiting time.
La sciate ogni speranza voi che entrate? Entrance to Vatican, inside is Bestia, yes... :-D
Anything new. Still the same, last time it was the same...16yrs ago! Shit! Time goes! Below known pic, also, Vittorio Emanuelle II, eh...and "a bit" older thing nearby...time goes, yes.
Rome is an OLD city, yes.
Even older... here some layers of this history are nicely visible.
Then came a bit of pristine rural atmosphere: Kolan is always nice to come back, even in the middle of the tourist season it is not too crowdy. Fortunately tourists want to be as close to the sea as possible, and for this Mandre are appropriate, not Kolan.
Back house, familiar felix felix...multiplied! Fela managed to rise up 3 boys in meantime. Good girl!
Sky on Pag is still...as somewhere on another world, not strange I am an Alien everywhere.
But soon we went to Zagreb. Coming to the old places always brings new emotions, especially if it is after so long time. And... this time I had very interesting, completely another insight, a bit Asian. Instructive, in any way you can imagine.
The Well of Life itself remained out of this pic. You would not expect of me to make pic of the Theatre in Zagreb, yes? Well, why not?
Then I jumped, on my way back to Greece, to Split, big but nice city on Croatian coast. Give it a time when you are there.
From the park above the city.
And you still can find such views in this city!
And then came White Ship (A onda dodje Bela Ladja)....
After few hours in Ancona, which I 'obused' this year toio much, towards the Greek waters again.
Greece is land of mountains and sea.
Very south of Korfu island. Seems like place worth visit. Out of season, probably!
Some get ispiration for buddhistic bai-bai on these views...
Classical one.
If I am not wrong, this in front should be Ithaca, behind is much bigger Keffalonia. Ulysses home. Yes, better not to expect too much of Ithacas... Cavafy was right. The same as Pag is for me, it already showed me...what I am searching for.
Then it was Athens again, Miki Ciccerone. My guests from Melbourne, small below Big Famous Building. It was magnificent to walk the Athens with them. Once they generously showed me Australia, from top to bottom camping way, complete opposite of urban prehistory we were watching here. They proved it is people who count, not places :-)
Then again was Patras (this time I was more clever and we used bus), ship (the same one) to Ancona and then another to Zadar. Islanders came home. And I went, immediately (after few hours), driving car North, to Polish border. Then back from Ceski Tesin by trainS. Lots of them. Too many. Here this part of Odisseia started.
Me, myself and I. This is all my luggage for these day and night, and 500km or so. Good.
Lots of such guys in the way south. The same familiar picture from 15 years ago and 150 years ago. Austro-Hungary.
The bridge over Danube, border Slovakia-Hungary, Komarno-Komarom. Known place to me since 10 years ago, it did not change much. I was there at 6AM and officials stared at me rather in disbelief, what to hell is one Croatian with SUCH stamps and visas in passport (it IS rather curious collection, I can tell you!) doing here at 6AM? Guy asked another one, near the computer, giving him my passport: "Check this". "What to check?" "EVERYTHING!" I think I should change my passport...again.
One view of Balaton in the autumn, from the train.
But not for long time, as some week later I crossed the Adriatic again, to take train to Rome (again) and Piombino, direction Pisa. I was approaching Elba. Serene plains puzzled me, the beauty of the coast south I expected, but not such hungarian-type plains around.
Train was also as if from some forgotten part of Italy, not at all luxurious. Air condition was working, maybe, some 20 years ago, but not now. Dirty rotten train. Line Roma-Pisa! But at least it was cheap!
From Piombino Marritima I took ferry to Elba, some one hour aboard. First sight of it:
Portoferraio, main harbour on Elba. Remembers Napoleon reign well!
Then bus to Marciana Marina, where was the place for meeting of...JETSET, of course! Black tie, haha.
I should ask to be located in this house!
I could not resist, I went to swim in the harbour-nobody in the water any more, it was getting dark.
The town itself is cosy turistic EXPENSIVE place. Beer was 4.50eur for 4dl minimum! Croatia is not at all so expencive as I thought, after Elba!
I was in the hotel with...swimming pool. I did not use it.
I prefer natural beaches. Although, here were some jelly-fish, but fortunately they stayed away of me, no new scars for Miki.
The beach is not too bad, with really pitoresque view to the old defence tower.
When I catched first chance, I parted for mountains: Mte Capanne, 1019m above Marciana, called.
I got there through really worth seeing village of Poggio (follow the track 2, diretissima to the top, it IS diretissima!), which offered some extraordinary views to the sea and Marciana below.
A bit higher, Poggio offered nice view itself:
I said diretissima, yes, it was :-)
Lots of technics on the top, but it did not spoil my pleasure at all. One could come from Marciana (not M. Marina, but one in the mountains, closeby to Poggio) by this teleferique (10eur). I even thought to go down this way, but...I am afraid of heights, and this one was very simple one, I would feel like a bird in the yellow cage! And, I prefer good walking-after all the sitting in the meeting sessions, I needed it!
Give me naked rock, and I am happy.
In the horizon was Corsica. Mountains look interesting there, I should go!
OK, back to Marciana!
One more of Poggio. Really typical mountain village, as from some movie!
This is where I just was walking...if on Elba, go there, it is worth!
Marciana, main square
Usual narrow streets of Mediterranean.
VERY touristic place! But pleasant one. Especially after the top season, now there were mostly Germans, as in the most of Europe school already started (it was 1st week of September).
I returned to Poggio by bus one day later, as conference dinner was there. Organizers could not make better timing: just when we sat down to eat, skies bowed to us, there just was a partial Moon Ecclipse! Appropriate for astronomical meeting!
After these beauties, I went back to Pag via Trieste- I had Trieste (my 1st time there) by night, interesting city, definitely smthing completely different. Students having an open fair up to 2AM were helpful for time to pass.
On the way back I had interesting race by taxi to catch the bus Rijeka-Pag which just exited from the bus station when I was entering it, and there was no more busses to Pag that day (sunday). So I catched the 1st taxi and, in the style of NYork movies, said "please, catch that...bus", and guy did it, some 20km further, in Kostrena! It costed me only 100kn (some 25 eur), definitely less than I'd spend waiting in Rijeka for something to go south!
When I catched it, I was explaining to some australian tourists about Goli Otok and its Gulag role in Tito's Yugoslavia.
Then back to Warsaw, Poland (jumping over Muenchen), thanks to the Kafkian worlds of Schengen (EU? Bunch of small petty kingdoms safely hidden behind the Schengen walls!), and then fijuuu back to Athens.
With this, I finish this really exhaustive and somewhat haphazard travel (b)log. Even for an Alien like myself, this was almost too much in a piece to embrace, but I tried, also for myself not to forget the experience. You deserved good drink, if you followed me all this way. I had to write it like this, as otherwise...soon it'd be impossible to unfold the album of these trips. As I said, this is only the iceberg of what it really was. For knowing it better, you should try yourself. Bok!
