Discovering Istanbul

Sorry for this short break...

On my first day in Istanbul, i look for a flat, i decided to start with the couchsurfing faltmate groupe and contact 4 or 5 people. Then, i have the chance to read in my mailbox that there is a couchsurfing meeting at 2 pm. I join what starts with a couple cay (tch-eye), talking about politics, turkey, foods etc... The turish cs girl tells me she does not like Turkey because of womens position, the italian Cser tells me how much he loves it, the spanish Cser is discovering something new as i am and is rather happy about it. Different experiences different points of view, as always :)



We then start to drink a couple beer on one of istiklals small side streets. The typical type of streets you find in Taksim, walking only, narrow, full of people and full of terasses, half of them cafes, half restaurants. The restaurants display great ice tables full of fish, the waiters want to invite us in... The traffic is intense and the population very mixed, this is on of the things that strike me, unlike in the Balkan where it is pretty straight forward to spot a foreigner (ok i still cant recognize Albanians from Croatians or Serbian but i think this is impossible anyway), here i am puzzled by the variety of hair and skin colors, figures traits and eye colors. In the end in Istanbul i could look Turkish...
So we sit and sip our beers, the Turkish girl sitting opposite me, Eva, slams them down one after the other, i have two, the Italian dude one while she had 3... It turns out she did a year exchange in Check republic. That explains things! Later, two more people join us, they confirming the impression i just mentioned, both Turkish and yet one has chocolate skin, a round face and an American accent, and the girl has freckles, dark curly hair, also a very round face and i would have said she is German. After they join us, we head for some food, finally, i had nothing but beer to eat today. The food is nothing special and Eva gets all excited that out Turkish specialty is not served properly. An eggplant puree with some meat pieces, covered with melted yellow cheese. It is ok for me anyway.
As i sip my glass of red wine, one of the eventual flatmates i found shows up, he does not like this place so we move a bit further. Still in taksim, he and his girlfriend take me to a small alley, into a building, in the elevator and up the the last floor. There, we are welcomed by chill out music and a nice atmosphere. The Balkoon bar offers both a roof terrace and a roof greenhouse. It is too cold outside, we make ourselves comfortable at a large table. Soon three more girls join us and we start a lot more chatting about Turkish society. They paint a very unequal repartition of wealth, few people are extraordinary rich and spent a week end shopping in Dubai or a week flying around the world from Istanbul, to Dubai, Paris, London new-york Sydney and home, while many people are extremely poor... As i picture a depressed France where many people are on prosac to my neighbor, she tells me that she is as well... I meet some very nice people and a sweet place where i will come again but the cohabitation is not going to be possible, he looks for a longer therm flatmate...
Later, we all leave and i join the second potetial flat mate. She listens and sings hxc, Hard core music. Yeaaah!! She looks for someone temporary before choosing “the perfect match”. I can visit tomorrow. We understand each other pretty well in this Arsen Lupin bar, playing a lot of rock, hard rock and metal classics.
It is past two in the morning, i am exhausted and head home. On my way i find out i now live in a city, a big city with all the stuff that comes with it. Prostitutes, transvestites, drugs, violence and verbal aggressions... For the first time in 6 month i feel slightly unsafe. Mmmhh dont care, just want to get home, and i do, fast.

USA Pristine (United States of Albania hehe)

After sitting in cab, listening to some reconstitution of the now 7 years old tragedy I am now in the American University in Kosovo. I don't know if it is the dramatic voice, music and sound effects of the reconstitution or rather the sterile atmosphere of the cafeteria i am sitting in but i feel a slight uneasiness. Soapy folk music on the tv, new tables and plastic chairs, young rich students (immigrants or children of the elite i guess), all working on identical laptops, with identical bags, slight bitchy looks for th girls, polo or chemise for the boys... The toilets are just as sterile, white neons and antiseptic smell. I guess I d still have to prefer this to the usual Turkish toilets... Oh a big FAT FAT Cartman cat just walked by.
Since i arrived i have been in this sterile milieu all the time, it would probably have seemed normal coming straight from Switzerland but now, i got used to the Balkan way, especially after Albania. to places like the toilet/shower/washing room in the ¨camping¨ two days ago. But the clean, new, modern apartment somehow doesn't have such a positive effect as the guest house/hotel at Tuto’s in Gjirokaster where curtains separate rooms and where the family sleeps under a simple but comfortable shelter. More than 10 beds on mere 60 square meters...
Anyhow I feel all pumped up again, probably the electro music on the tv, the expresso and the frenzy of writing down 10 days of my life and some short articles staring at my mini screen and keyboard during 4 hours. But i lay back as Kreshnick comes back and we walk trough parks back into the center. Tonight is football time. Albania vs Malte. 3-0.

After some rest we go out to visit the city once more, photo exhibition, Maria Teresa street, Bill Clinton boulevard, an other Skanderberg statue, more friends, some strange omelet, internet session in the cooking sun on the balcony, washing clothes, drinking coffee, drinking beer, walking a lot, UN buildings, official buildings, many many official white 4 wheel drive cars on the streets etc... A couple normal days out in a city. Tonight ends with a long talk into the night with an other CS member.

The next day we were supposed to get to some waterfalls after Timi and his friend got their visa to Belgium for a year of exchange. but administration is giving them a hard time, it wont be anything today. This ain't to bad, i will have more time for those waterfall later, but the day ends and Timi did not get his visa. His flight is on Sunday, no visa, he will have to postpone it... An other very concrete example of the difficulty faced when wanting to get out of your country. Belgium granted rights, procedure got stuck on the Kosovo side... I hope he will get there soon! I go and meet Nicola for the next days and nights.

Tirane again.

Monday in Tirane, i got some rest, slept in. Stavris flexible work allows him to sleep a little more when he feels like it. Today i go up the hills, on the national park. The view is unfortunately obstructed by the smog. The weather is really heavy and the air is far from being clear. This heavy heat also somehow discourage me from getting any higher and as i get of the carrier, i simply have a small walk and lay down in the grass, in a shady spot. Next to me, a family is having a big day out, a picnic on big napkins, loads of roasted lamb, salads and drinks. The whole family is there, maybe 30 people. The kids play around. The boys play football, drive dads cars, running after each other and sometimes after some girls :) The remaining girls dance to the music. The family is quietly seated, eating and chatting under the shade of a big tree.
As i get back down, it has gotten even hotter and i decide to escape the heat and sit in a wireless cafe, drink a cold Mociato, write mails, tell my host in Pristina when i will arrive and hopefully write some blog post. In 3 or 4 hours, i only get to write mails, forget about the CS host and dont blog anything... But i did get two contacts for the new project running on my brain for the past days, to get something published weekly in a paper...
As i hurry back to Stavris for my cold shower (the water stopped running for about 2 weeks in this part of city and only works somewhere between 7 and 8...) i find the apartment empty and locked so i get back into city center, the blok, the place where young people walk around, hit the bars and where the very young go for a tour on the carousel. I meet Stavris brother and soon as we are talking about meeting Nora, we bump into her on the street! Coincidence? Sure... 10 steps further we bump into the brothers freind who were just talking about him :)
We agree that this might mean something and cant decide what. I am starving and get some Qofte at Tumi’s the most delicious around. A nice bun, two pieces of meat and some sour cream are a delight! We go for Iliria’s (the nae of Albanians ancestors) where we share a couple beers and talk about tourists, garbage along Albania’s streets and roads. Nora and her friend advice me into the right way to get to Kosovo, getting to Koman and taking the ferry boat from there. I will follow their advice.
Stavris musical friend is there again, his presence being much more pleasant without ipod in his ears :) We head for an other bar and have an other very interesting but never ending and not concluding discussion. thanks you for that girls! It did help however.
the bed time discussion with Stavri who cant get any sleep tonight turns around tourist activity in Albania. He justifies his position of elite/luxury tourist trips for Japanese groups. This tourism bringing more money for less effort than that of Noras friend who targets outdoors, sports and green tourism. Smaller groups, cheaper hotels, more personalized itineraries. More effort less money. I can just say that i am glad this sort of tourism exists and that people break their ass for it as it is the one i would choose if i d go for an organized tour. :)

Tirane 2

Day two in Tirane

Late waking, Sunday, lazy day :) we go for a fresh waking coffee. Meet a dutch girl starting an internship in the embassy. We go for a rest after we think we figured out the national museum opens at 5pm. I will meet a friend there at this time. After a short nap i head there only to find close doors and an other disappointed tourist. She probably got the same wrong info. It is also closed tomorrow so to bad i wont see it... I walk around looking for some nice pictures to take.
At night i meet with Nora for a tour in the children's amusement park with her friend and her young son. A couple rides later, the kid still didn't have enough and probably will want more eternally. We head for a beer next doors and there we have a long interesting discussion about society, citing the brave new world i argue that the middle class masses in western civilization are just like the betas (or gammas i cant remember), brainwashed and manipulated trough their fears. The Soma of our modern civilization being consumption. Huxley pictured our society very well in his metaphor some 30 years ago.
The very interesting discussion goes on into societies happiness. I tell them that people here, in the Balkan, seem happier, especially in villages (of course not always but they are not starving, which i never saw). They have less stuff, if you look around a house here, they don't have piles useless stuff like we do store all around our houses (in nice different Ikea storages). Also they care less about what happens in the world. They don't get bothered so much about wars, suicide attacks and other climate catastrophe outside their world. They are bothered enough with they own small problems and neighborhood problems. Once these are solved (sometimes before) they go for coffee. This two things might be the explanation for more smiles and happy life. I don't say that everybody is satisfied and has his dreams fulfilled. Speaking about dreams, people have more dreams, objectives and are happy with simpler things. For example they are happy and laughing talking to a foreigner like me, helping him out. Talking around a coffee for hours (we do this on some Sundays, around here it is non stop, all along the week and at all times of the day). Not bothering so much about next month or next year. Not saving up for years with no precise goal. Not living on credit. Having time when they cross boarders to chat with the policemen...
This discussions stop as we go and meet Stavri and some of his friends in the Presidential park. Again, laughter, simple talks and chats. Then we get to be spectators of imaginary fights in the kids playground. Hitting the climbing ropes, fighting the structure of the swinging chair, the bushes branches. Doing push ups on the bars... All this to our entertainment and distracting us from some serious conversations...

Tirane 1

Back north, direction Belgrade.

Today i leave Djirokaster with the objective of reaching Tirane. 200 kms of roads. This means some good 4 if not 6 hours in Albania. Morning picture session is not convincing i am sorry i lost last nights pictures... i get a taxi out of town, and get of when i realize he is a taxi, charging 1000 lek to Fier, only halfway... :) A truck driver then picks me up and gets me into Tepelene, some 20kms further. He is all wonders “what the hell i a you doing here?? Why? Who are you??”. The conversation is simple since i speak no word of Albanian besides good, yes, no, no problem, hello, goodbye and thank you :) We somehow understand basics about each other using international words and a lot of gestures. In Tepelene i get picked up by a football fan heading for Tirane for the football game against Sweden. He owns a cafe in Saranda, he is a nice man with simple life and a very good and open minded when we exchange our philosophy about life and religion. Respect, helping each other etc... But when it comes to god, he exists and there is only one! We stop in Fier for a refreshment, to drop his friend and meet a bunch of others. Since he cannot drink during the Ramadan, he washes with cold water to cool of. Who hard that must be on days like this driving a car with no cooling r ventilation...
In Tirane i meet a german-italian couple cycling trough the Balkans who loved Bosnia and are now a little disappointed. I recommend them the southern part of the coast and since they have little time, they go catch a bus down there right now. I myself then get to the Sky tower and meet with Eleonora, Nora for friends. Frappe, cold water and a long chat in thee parks about professional life and choices.
I find the same discussions but in different voices, words and emotions everywhere. Questions, fears, dreams, ideals... Nobody knows and anyway it would be boring to know. Nora goes of for dinner and me to meet Stavri, my host. She recommends me a delicious Qofte, at Tumi’s. Delicious in deed this little sticks of grilled meat. But also friendly, real fast and refreshing thanks to a nice tap beer. Simple, Fresh, Cheep, Fast and Friendly you certainly rarely find this in Switzerland. Waiting for Stavri i watch the boring game on Tv... I finally
meet with him and his friends At Iliria’s for a couple beers. Soon we start excited chats about music, exchange band names, addresses, tastes and then a bit later opinions... I love these first moment when you have a beer with strangers, laugh a lot , exchange information with excitement and discover all those new things about new people! By the way the pub is named after Ilirians, the ancecters of all Albanians.
As Stavri will later say in the park, they bring me local knowledge which i spread in my travels and thereby contribute to the ongoing, unstoppable globalisation :) The chats go on in the park where we meet Marie and listen to music. One friend goes into a private session of ipod listening, tripping on Roni Size dirty beats :) It is late, we grab food and go get some deserved sleep. Getting into the family’s apartment late and waking the parents is a problem for nobody. Every body falls back asleep.

Girokaster to Tirane

Perast

Herzeg novi

After visiting the castle and buying tickets for Goran Bregovic in Budva tomorrow night we head for Perast, a nice little village recommended to me by many. The hitching is nice and easy, our 3 rides get us there in no time. We find a nice small place where every construction fits in, they are no modern great concrete buildings or hotels, everything respects the local older architecture of stones and red roofs. We find a nice room with a view on the see since Milinko, a couch surfer who hosted Alain and is a good friend of Mina and Natasa has no more couches available.
I swim to the Island out there in the bay. there are actually two of them, one natural with a catholic monastic and one artificial with an orthodox church. The later is said to be build on hundreds of sunken ships. I swim to th first and as rest there, i find a small black diamond shaped stone I fist think it is plastic but putting it in my mouth i feel it is at least glass. It is the second find in two days after finding a golden ring yesterday in the bus. I love to find things, it is always exciting and compensates with everything i loose :) It also nice to imagine what this unknown object has been trough before ending where you find it.
At night after a good pasta plate in a restaurant, we meet Milinko and his hosts for a couple glasses of vine. They are very warm and welcoming, listening to various types of music, always enjoyable, How nice to hear some of my favorite reggae tune again! Milinko is all fascinated with Perast, it was the Pirate capital in Europe, was or still is?? We have a great time amongst him and his host, speaking about music, food, vine, travels and work. The later subject along with visas come up often with young people in the Balkan but this time it is a bit different, we are talking about ideal jobs, moving around and having enough free time. My dream too. And i most say the idea of it is very seducing and i keep trying to figure out a way. The best i found so far to live a simple and fulfilling life would be to be seasonal worker in some sport or in tourism and travel the rest of the year. Night brings advice doesn't it?

Perast:

Swimming, sunshine and ice cream.

This is what the day was mostly about. After waking up, with a slight hangover for some, a big one for others (and none for me) we head for a healthy breakfast. Of course this does not really exists in Serbia and we get a sort of Serbian adaptation of the English breakfast. No beans, but fried eggs, kajmak, a soft feta, sopska salad and not so good sausages. Tasting like everything but meat. None of us will eat them. Nenad is upset that restaurants serve such low quality food, just for the sake of low prices and tourists. It didn't use to be like this all the time, bake in the days when it was a little more quiet, restaurants could not afford to disappoint their customers, now there are so many people coming around that they just serve anything and don't care about quality.
We then head to the overcrowded swimming pool. The only shade being under the cafes umbrellas we spend the afternoon there drinking coffee, eating ice cream, playing card and occasionally getting up for a quick swim or a game of fuzz ball.

Our home :) Thank you Nenad!

At night, Nenad heads back to Krusevac, it is Sunday and tomorrow is an other working day. We are left with the keys and a whole floor for us. Kitchen and big living room included. After watching the local water polo game, between two sides of fired up supporters, we cook up some nice fresh tomato sauce for a big pasta plate. Tonights rest is welcome as tomorrow we head back on the road for Tara national park, Kusturica‘s village and then Sarajevo.

Spa sessions??

Waking up is not easy once again... The day kicks of with some coffee and some intense, long blog writing. After that we head off to Nenad‘s summer house in Vrnjaska Banja, small thermal city with a well known heeling spring. The setting is beautiful but the town a little touristic and crowded with people. Nicola, a friend of Nenad joins us for tonights carnival closing party. The town is full of people running around and we make our way through this semi chaos. The house is beautifully set on the top of a hill with view on the pool and the surrounding hills. We get in for sunset, have a nice pizza, a couple beers and check out the carnival. Kids are franticly running and screaming around the dancers. Music is switching from folk to pop through modern adaptations such as folky kill bill versions.

Nikola, Nenad and Jelen Pivo!

carnival curiosity...

We head back to the chalet were we drink a beer with the neighbors and I let everyone taste some of Milan‘s grand fathers Rakija. Its strong and good but would be even better a little fresher. Tonight there is a concert in the old towns amphitheater. We don't know it yet but we will get an incredible setting, a very well adapted laser light show and the blasting sounds of Roberto Rodriguez. But first we go to a somewhat fancy cafe bar were most men of our group and around us will spend most of their time hypnotized by on girls ass... Yes it was quite unique, even the girls around were staring at it and god knows what they were thinking about...
I wasn't to keen on more electronic music tonight despite of the delicious cocktails from the bar. But i still go along and hit the main party, after negotiating a group price, the surprise entering this arena was great. I m not sure if they could find a better place for such an event. As you get in, from the bottom of the half circle, you immediately feel the music through your body and the general atmosphere takes over any worries, you get into it right away.

Let the party begin! And it went on until late in the night... and so long for the healthy spring water, leave that to the old people :)

Back on the road, with great company

We leave a little late after giving back the keys to Miroslav. We don't know it yet but the first day hitchhiking with Judith is going to be a big failure. After getting to a not so good spot, waiting quarter of an hour, we move on the highway, between the main tracks and an access strip. This would be unthinkable in western Europe but is something completely normal in Serbia. We stand there with our beautiful and clear Nis sign for almost two hours... some thousands of cars zoom by laughing, making a quick sign or not paying attention. We even see a convoy of swiss cars from all possible cantons passing, maybe hundred of them. Mass exportation? group holiday? We will never know none picked us up.
We then decide to try it by the national road. No more luck here after a good hour or two. Too much heat and exhaust fumes, we chill a bit and have a nap in the nearby park. This makes me think how different opinions are about Belgrade, some say it is just smog noise and stress, i see green everywhere, churches, nice buildings, history and some main crowded chaotic roads passing through.


We finally hit the bus station to get our ticket to Krusevac where two couchsurfers are proposing to host us, Stevan i all ready know from Belgrade and Nenad. It is Nenad who kindly picks us up at the train station. he takes us to his house, his parents are out in their week end house. this is my first contact with a wealthy Serbian family. The place is full of nice furniture on which are sitting statues of all kinds, photos, ceramics etc... like Nenad says, everything has its place and it is not the place to organize a party :)
This place contradicts fully with Stevan‘s which we will visit later to share his evening meal. His mother prepared us some delicious chicken with paprika, plates of kajmak and salads. Everything come at the center of the table and we help ourselves, glowing eyes from appetite. We then go for a visit around town, pass this strange inhabited huge house with a exaggerated big garden. The Grizzly bar, only alternative place in town is our next and lass stop tonight. Here young people meet to listen to their favorite music, drink cheep beer (specially cheap compared to Belgrade). The music is nice, grudge, punk, rock and roll and more! Stevan explains us that this place where young gather until the early morning to drink beers and where they stay even after closing ours is a nightmare of the town. And they do everything to close it down. For example they rehabilitated the road passing in front (i forgot to say everybody gathers outside, in front of the bar not inside.). This road witch was once a walking only road now has occasional cars trying to drive their way through the crowd... Pretty tired we go to sleep soon to the disappointment of Stevan.

Ohhh my nice little toes which are not in so good condition but are beeing taken care of, dont worry.