Port of Roses

From Dubrovnik, I took an overnight bus up the coast of Croatia in the pouring rain to arrive in Rijeka at 4:30 in the morning. Nonplussed by the continuing rainstorm and lack of waiting room in the early morning bus station, I decided to continue to Trieste, Italy to reach my final trip's destination in Portoroz (literally the "Port of Roses") on the small sliver of coast in Slovenia.

As a result, I got to visit Italy for the first time for a short day of walking, espresso-drinking, and gelato-consuming...

Later, I enjoyed two days in the pre-season seaside town of Portoroz. Long, lazy walks along the water by day, scrumptious seafood dinners in the evening, and an excellent host made it the perfect place to end my weeks of ramblings before heading the long way back "home" to Tartu via Zagreb!

The Pearl of the Adriatic

Dubrovnik, in the southernmost point of Croatia, is famous as being one of the most beautiful places on the coast and truly a pearl of the Adriatic. I only spent two days, much of it in the pouring rain, in the city. Although the architecture of the old city and its history as a walled town were impressive, I was not as charmed as some of the city's other visitors.

Met by vulturous locals at the bus station trying to aggressively rent me a room in their home, I was only saved by two other travelers from Tokyo and Southern France kind enough to allow me to join them in bartering for a place to stay. That debacle overcome, we enjoyed an entire rain-free evening discovering the fabulous narrow walkways and walls of the city, along with throngs of other tourists. Trying hard to capitalize on its views of the Adriatic, history, and charm, Dubrovnik has managed to attract thousands of tourists to its old town each and every day.

Braving a drenching rain storm the following day, I found myself slogging around a crowded center along with other outsiders and appalled at the overpriced cafes and souvenir shops. The Croatian city has managed to convert itself into a "world-class" tourist destination, complete with all of the trappings of such places. I somehow did not feel as if I was in a real place where people live and life happens. Instead, Dubrovnik felt contrived and preserved as a place for foreigners to depart with their Euros and dollars rather than a relaxing place to get to know the Adriatic coast. Coming from the quieter coast of Montenegro, I was happy to head off the beaten track again on the following day and suspect that my next visits to Croatia will be in its lesser-traveled coastal paradises.

Montenegro is where it is at

My favorite part of my trip was spent in Montenegro in the tiny walled towns of the Adriatic coast and mountainous capital of Podgorica. Follow in my footsteps through the photo album below and perhaps you'll understand why Montenegro is where it is at!

Montenegro07

Tiranë, city of color

From Tirana07

The mayor of Tiranë is a former artist and color in this appealing city is encouraged as a way to disguise and innovate upon its communist roots. The effect is much like the city itself--endearing! My two days of exploration in this city were also colorful from wandering through the city to see its murals, canals, parks, and mosques to enjoying a glass of beer or delicious Italian meal (homemade pasta and mussels!) with other adventurous spirits. It was invigorating to discover the city and enjoyable to catch up with a friend from my Fulbright experience in Romania last year who is now working at Mjaft, a movement to raise awareness about issues facing Albania. I even managed to run into some Estonian vacationers while out one evening... the world somehow seems to only get smaller and smaller!

Tirana07

Macedonian hospitality

A quick stop-over to meet a friend and hang out, Skopje was not originally on my itinerary. Despite it's concrete towers and industrial facade, my experience there was a very hospitable one. Alexa and I stayed with two friendly and generous Macedonians and enjoyed endless conversation in their small flat as well as a nice stroll through the city before departing the following day.

Macedonia07

Life as normal in Kosova... almost

The next stop in my journey was in the lovely town of Prizren in southern Kosova near the Albanian border. Crossing into new territory and a region of conflict that has been heavily covered by international news coverage in recent years, I was taken aback by its beauty and normalcy. The mountainous ride from Belgrade to Prizren is gorgeous -- windy roads, snow-capped peaks, green hills and dense forage. Somehow, I never expected it to be such a beautiful place after all of the hideous crimes and bloody confrontations that have taken place here. Unexpected. The winding river surrounded by cafes through town, youngsters strolling through the city on a spring afternoon... all seemingly normal until you notice the tanks surreptitiously pounding through the narrow dusty streets. Here are some of the highlights of my stay in Prizren.

Perhaps unrelated to the locality but an important memory from Prizren is the beautiful vegetable meal that Adria and I prepared from our shopping spree at the Belgrade Green Market before leaving in the morning... Asparagus, new potatoes, fresh tomatoes, arugula, greens, tasty strawberries! I could eat like this every day.

The calls for prayer (starting at 4:30 a.m.) from the mosque next door was an additional reminder of the religious background of this part of the Balkans.

A visit to a local high school to observe some of the student teachers from the area was insightful -- such enthusiastic learners!

Finally, I attended a small conversation group at the American Corner to talk about the problem of youth emigration out of Kosovo. Responding to an article from the Southeast European Times (Half of youth in Kosovo seek emigration), two soon-to-be high school graduates outlined their future plans... in Germany and Turkey.

I am glad I was able to capture a few moments of my own in this interesting place and at such interesting times. I can now contextualize the controversy in a small way and start put a face on the people who live in the midst of UNMIK and an uncertain future independence.

I've got my new shoes on...

I can't explain why so many women (and men as well, as I learned from my friend Luka that I visited in Slovenia who has quite an impressive collection of shoes himself!) find such satisfaction in finding a perfect pair of new shoes. There is nothing like a bit of shiny leather covering your toes to make an entire day great.



I already mentioned that the shopping in Belgrade is fantastic... On the very first day of my two-week trip I crossed a window filled with the most original and interesting footwear. I entered the shop. I dared not try any on for fear of serious temptation, but I spent a good while admiring and sorting through them. A particular pair of green shoes captured my imagination, but I extracted myself from the shop and went on to my hotel and carried on with the conference. You cannot imagine how inconvenient it was that these shoes were in a shop located across from my accommodation. They called to me day after day after day. Irresistible. In the end, I told myself that I could take another look at the shoes and, if they were available in my size, I would take it as a sign that they were meant to be worn on my feet. Miracle of all miracles (I have very large feet for this particular part of Europe), they had my size... I now possess the cutest of green shoes and could not be happier.

In fact, I could almost sing!

New Shoes Paolo Nutini

Hey, I put some new shoes on,and suddenly everything is right,
I said, hey, I put some new shoes on and everybody's smiling, it so inviting,
Oh, short on money, but long on time, slowly strolling in the sweet sunshine,
and I'm running late, and I don't need an excuse, 'cause I'm wearing my brand new shoes.

Belgrade, hip city of the Balkans

My journey began in Belgrade, what must be one of the most lively and hippest cities in the Balkans. Overflowing with life--cafes filled with animated conversation, streets bustling with energy, colorful shops, and busy nightlife--Belgrade is a city I could not tire of visiting and exploring. Even in the pouring rain (and it did pour almost the entire time I was there), the city's spirits were not dampened as I ducked small raindrops to visit the Bohemian area of the city in Skadarska or to enjoy the Belgrade fortress and pedestrian zone.

This time, my visit was conveniently also work-related as I attended the ELTA (English Language Teachers' Association) conference for the region. I was able to re-visit a city I enjoy, meet up with other English Language Fellows in the region, make new contacts with other conference participants, and learn a few new things to develop and share with my students in Tartu.

From ELTA 07

In addition, I also presented a piece of work about a project that has been developing in my work. The biggest surprise of all was that instead of a small discussion or round table, as my abstract mentioned, my contribution to the conference was scheduled in a large auditorium for 400! A podium, microphone, and large see of empty seats awaiting me and my talk about writing and autonomy... Unnerved by the inappropriateness of my preparation for such a large room (I had no PowerPoint and only 30 handouts!), I somehow managed to pull my audience of 80 or so to a smaller pool on one side of the room to talk and we all survived... new lessons learned by presenter and listeners alike!

From ELTA 07

The best moment of my days in Belgrade was after the conference when an eclectic bunch of us went to Zemun, an area on the other side of the river with fish restaurants and quaint cobblestone streets, to a cozy restaurant called Repa. Together with the other English Language Fellows attending the conference, some Peace Corps Volunteers from Albania, a Fulbright exchange teacher from Bulgaria, returned Serbian Fulbrighters, and some from the embassy in Belgrade, we shared a dinner and later musical evening. Live music filled the small room of locals enjoying the atmosphere, rakija, and scrumptious fish dishes... the spirit of Belgrade for me was encapsulated in these moments of loud laughter, dancing, and sharing.

For more pics of my short time in Belgrade, check out my Picasa album:

ELTA 07

Balkanic ramblings

I don't want to attempt to encapsulate a whole region or experience with one solitary image. To do so would be overly simplistic and undoubtedly trite, especially when we consider a diverse conglomeration of small countries and nations like those in the Balkans. All of this to say that my remarks should not be taken as whole offensive truths (or subjective truths or lies, as they very well might be) and that I don't intend to be a jerk conveniently categorizing and the unknown into compatible niches or stereotypes. I don't wish to glibly narrate maxims of how this or that people are or are not; I want to offer impressions and an internal view of how these bits of the world look to this well-wandered Wyomingite.

Incidentally, I hate caveats like the one I have just provided--they seem to be better the discourse of politicians not willing to say what they really intend--but I want my readership to save their shock and outrage, knowing that I am not some traveler haphazardly trying to capture the "spirit" of a people in a sound bite or picture. Coming from a big, well-known nation, I am well-aware of the potential exceptions and inaccurate interpretations of a landscape. These limitations stated, I continue...

For the last two weeks or so, I've been exploring the Western Balkans and spending time in places both on and off the beaten track of tourists: Belgrade-Prizren-Skopje-Tirana-Ulcinj-Budva-Kotor-Herceg Novi-Podgorica-Dubrovnik-Trieste-Portoroz-Zagreb (a copy of my route is on Google maps). Fascinating places. Fantastic and rejuvenating journey.


Many know that fate has brought me to Eastern Europe and the Balkans (mainly Romania) for an extended amount of time over the last decade. I'm fairly well-prepared for travel in these parts, and I know what to expect for the most part. One common aspect of my experiences relates to one of the most crudest human daily experiences, that of toilet paper. A paper trail, so to speak, strewn throughout my travels has been rough, gray-brown, scratchy toilet paper. This variant being nothing like the white double-sheeted decadent rolls I grew up with (some of you are rolling your eyes at this point, I know, and probably preparing to make some wisecrack or astute observation about privileged Americans in the world stage or the economic disparities of the two places compared or the unimportance of the material used to wipe your backside... but hang on just a second longer!). In Romania last year, I was quite surprised to find the same toilet paper not in its gray-brown paper I'd come to expect but rather the same rough paper disguised in a lovely pink color.


Back to the travels at hand... My arrival in Belgrade was non-eventful and quite pleasant (more later on that adventure). It's a great city. However, before I got out of the airport, I visited the toilet and was met with this rose-colored variant of paper. I admit that it made me smile. The pink paper unrolled across the path of my travels; almost everywhere I stayed or visited had the same pink stuff sitting in the bathroom. As I paused to consider this simple paper roll, I had to ask why they bother to add the color in the Balkans to the same rough and cheap paper found all over these parts of Europe? Is it somehow an outward symbol of the color and vivacity of the people in the Balkans? Whatever the answer may be, I can say the pink toilet paper, as befuddling as it may be, still does the same duty as the softer or whiter or browner varieties. This colorful, virtually unnoticeable daily item I take as a simple and bane symbol of my trip and my impressions of the places and people I met there -- anything but boring and anything but absent of color and life!

Akadeemiline aasta lõpeb

School's out!

Yesterday, I taught my final classroom hours here at the university for this academic year. In a way, it feels funny to be finished, as if there isn't closure for my teaching here yet. Perhaps it is the anticipation that I had before the school year began about working with university faculty and staff... Perhaps it is the normal outcome of a year of hard-work and learning. Perhaps it is because I feel as if I just need a moment or two to stand still so that I can properly take in what has happened, who I've met, and where I have been. There just isn't time yet to kick around the cobblestones.

Tomorrow, I am off again to yet another teachers' gathering--this time in Belgrade and a week or so of traveling to meet other ELFs (English Language Fellows) working in the region. My hope is that I will have some time to look back, think, and clear my head so that June can be a good month of planning and productivity. I write this post as a means of celebration (even if it doesn't yet feel as though it is time) and to let you know that I might be missing from my blog for a couple of weeks. I promise some great photos and a full report of my trapsings around the Balkans...

Simply Marvelous Mom

My MOM: Marvelous Outstanding Mother

I wanted to take a minute or two today to write about one of the most incredible people in my life, my mom. Years of making sandwiches for brownbag lunches, acting as a chauffeur to school activities, kissing and magically healing scraped knees, offering sound advice about studies, friendships, and life, dutifully attending long and sometimes rather dull dance recitals and concerts, doing countless loads of wash, and a million other things that my mom did (and still does) for me, have led me to believe that I have the most MARVELOUS and most OUTSTANDING mom on the planet.

She is special for about five trillion reasons, but here are a few of the special features that make me grateful every single day and especially so on Mother's Day:

• My mom used to pick my friends and I up from school in her old white Nova car with these cool red-white-and-blue sunglasses (with mirror lenses), windows down and radio up really loud. We would hang out of the window grooving along with her... Yes, my mom was the really 'cool' one!
• Whenever I call home, to this day, she takes time out of a busy day or important transaction to listen to whatever trivial moment I might have to share, whether it is another stupid blunder that I have managed to have with my bicycle or an intensive life question. She's a great listener and always makes me feel important and cared for... no matter what sort of silly action I might have taken or wild-haired plan I might have for the future.
• If you know what a vice grip is (my grandfather had a special passion for these fix-it-all items on his farm), you can well understand my mother's philosophy about hugging. If you hug her, you have to be aware that, despite her small size, she can really get a tight grip and she might not let go right away. Even if you feel a bit squeezed, you are quite certain that she loves you a whole lot when she lets go!
• My mom has a pretty adventurous spirit. She's a bad-ass biker chic (see photo, above) who enjoys biking and isn't afraid of trying new things. Her energy and enthusiasm for getting out and trying something new is amazing -- I only hope I can be so open and so effortlessly cool someday.
  
• A lot of people can say that their parents or mom are generous and welcoming, but my mom (and, in all fairness, dad too) always encouraged my brother and I to fill the house with friends. We had parties with over 80 people, silly foam, hot tubbing, and all kinds of crazy games in my house growing up. My mom not only let us have people over but was there with a perfect balance of meeting everyone and giving us our space to play. I always had the mom everyone wanted to know and to see.
• If you have ever met my mom, you'll know that she is a rather small woman, but she is tougher and more energetic than many people I know (most of the time including myself). I've watched her pot endless lines of plants and then heave them across the yard of our family nursery business or tirelessly work a full day and come home to cheerfully help with homework or play with the dog. She's amazing.

Actually, there are millions of things I could say here -- all of them equally amazing. The point is that I am so happy that I have such a marvelous mom that I want everyone to know how special she is and how thankful I am for who she is and who she has allowed me to be. So, on this very special day when we remember our moms and how cool they are, I just want to say...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

I want to ride my bicycle...

I think I might have mentioned one of my new big purchases already, but, for extra emphasis, to share my excitement, I'll mention it once again: I have a new, shiny, red bike!!!


A couple of weeks ago, I decided to celebrate the fact that I would be able to enjoy my time here in Estonia for a bit longer (I renewed my ELF grant for a second year) by buying a new mode of transportation. It's fantastic and cool... I can now pedal my way out of town to the quiet Estonian woods and lovely green areas around. Plans are even developing for a cross-country trip in July to visit the west coast Estonian islands of Hiiuma and Saremaa! Last weekend, while the sun was shining (so was my super fast bike), we took a small adventurous ride along the river here in Tartu. I even broke in the bike with a little bit of road rash (a long, detailed story of my back tire skidding over some rocks and me landing on my head... no blood or broken bones of which to speak).




Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
~ Queen

2007-05-06 Uli Jenn small bike trip

Snow Day on May Day?

Just a very quick note to say it is snowing... unbelievable!

Estonia... a quiet little country

So far, I think I have painted a quiet, quaint, pleasant picture of this little Nordic Baltic country. Actually, it has also been a fairly accurate picture as well, at least from my perspective. However, things haven't been so quiet lately as violence and looting broke out last week in the capital over the removal of the bronze statue. People are moved and shocked because things like that just don't happen here. In reaction to last week's events, volunteers have signed up as citizen police in Tallinn and there is an alcohol selling ban in place until May 3 throughout the country. For more in-depth coverage, read about it in today's New York Times: ESTONIA MOVES SOVIET STATUE TO CEMETERY .

Not lost... just wandering

I guess that it is somehow quite difficult to both live your life and also document it. I have so much to write in this space and so little time to do so... and my email correspondence of late is not much better.

To give you a sense of what I have been up to, check out my photo album of a recent trip to the UK for a Scottish adventure and professional conference as well as a couple of days exploring London. Complete with Scottish dancing, bagpipes, Big Ben, and other fine sites. Enjoy, and, in the meantime, I'll try to get my life back in order so I can share some other thoughts and adventures.

Aberdeen-London