piran café

Another shot of Slovenia’s Central Bank, more specifically its telamones, taken on Saturday while waiting for Bill Clinton. Another shot of the bank and more about the building here.

Ljubljana 0170, originally uploaded by pirano.

Over a couple glasses of wine this afternoon, Bill Clinton chastised me for my rather lame efforts with my LJ Pic of the Day chore, so I promised that I’d resume the project with an image of him.

The former US President popped into Ljubljana today to say hi, and to collect a reported €100,000 ($147,318) for a 45-minute lecture. (As a point of comparison, George W. Bush hit the lecture circuit at home last week, an event for which organizers charged $19, but not per person. That was the ticket price per office.)

I didn’t see and haven’t read much about his lecture, but among the more memorable quips was in reference to the ongoing Adriatic boundary dispute between Slovenia and Croatia. Paraphrasing from a Radio SLO report:  “The current dispute won’t matter much in 50 years if we allow the sea levels to continue to rise.”

This was Clinton’s second visit to Slovenia, and while his stroll around town turned a few heads and attracted a few waves, the crowd didn’t quite compare with the one that turned out for Queen Elizabeth’s after-tea walkabout here last October.

Clinton in SLO 02, originally uploaded by pirano.

This woman was marching in a procession near the Grand Place in Brussels and kindly stopped to pose for a few quick snaps. About two dozen camera-toting Japanese tourists –and me– rapidly descended.

In spite of the somewhat absurd commotion, it was one of my personal faves shot in September, when the busy summer season finally wound down. My meticulously selected dandy dozen for the month, shot in Brussels, Ljubljana, and Thessaloniki, Athens and on Paros, Greece, are here.

Previous pic(k)s of the month: [Aug 09] [Jul 09] [Jun 09] [May 09] [Apr 09] [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Brussels 027, originally uploaded by pirano.

Is there a better way to restart the LJ Pic of the Day project –as well as re-open the café– than with this, a promise that unparalleled pleasures of the mind, body, spirit and soul lie in wait just around the corner? I think not.

This was taken yesterday, near an entrance to Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana’s (and Slovenia’s) premiere cultural center [home][eng].

About a year ago, LJ Pic of the Day reached a record 38 straight daily posts. With the typically busy summer now fading to memory, surpassing that with this daily chore is the immediate goal.

For the LJ Pic of the Day Archive, go here. If you feel a Ljubljana image overdose is in order, go here.

Ljubljana 0163, originally uploaded by pirano.

August was, as usual, insanely busy. This year I spent much of the month trying to keep up with this gentleman, the world’s fastest man.

This was shot from my press seat at the World Track & Field Championships in Berlin when Usain Bolt returned to the track a couple hours after his 9.58sec 100m world record. A quick breakdown of what that means more precisely: it took him 41 total strides at 4.28 strides per second. His average speed was 37.6 Km/H, and he reached a peak speed of just under 46 Km/H.

Anyway, not much time for photos in August. A few more from the month, taken in Berlin and Zurich and another of Bolt on the way to his 200m world record, are here.

Previous pic(k)s of the month: [Jul 09] [Jun 09] [May 09] [Apr 09] [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Usain Bolt 04, originally uploaded by pirano.

I felt like singing Free Bird when I spotted this sculpture on the back of a building on the Rue Guilleminot in Paris. My absolute favorite for the month was this one, but I posted it here already.

Twenty personal favorites from July, shot in Paris, Oslo and Rome, are here.

Previous pic(k)s of the month: [Jun 09] [May 09] [Apr 09] [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Paris 068, originally uploaded by pirano.

It isn’t quite Man on Wire, but I liked this backdrop nonetheless.

This guy was terrific, performing atop a 3ft X 3ft (1meter square) stone pedestal at the base of the Sacre Coeur steps last Saturday. Certainly deserved a euro or two.

paris 067, originally uploaded by pirano.

Did you miss me?

Resuming the pic-a-day quest with this shot of castle hill taken very early in the morning late last month when I decided that the notion of going to sleep really was overrated.

Ljubljana 0161, originally uploaded by pirano.

…this spotted shoe, near Oslo’s Central station, about 10:30 Thursday morning. If you’re missing one, it was still there about three hours ago.

Oslo 31, originally uploaded by pirano.

Spotted these gems at the Berlin Hauptbahnhof on a busy Monday morning on my way out. Crisis or not, I could easily find better ways to spend €30 or €50.

Anyway, they made me chuckle, so they made the cut for my personal favorite pics shot in the merry month of June.

This along with a few others shot in Berlin, Ostrava and Pardubice, Czech Republic, along with Idrija and Svetina, Slovenia, are included here.

Previous pic(k)s of the month: [May 09] [Apr 09] [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Berlin 040, originally uploaded by pirano.

Dolphins as PR/tourism icon are everywhere in Mali Lošinj. So it made my day to see a school of 10 or so during a relatively brief boat ride to Susak, a small island about 10 nautical miles southwest of Mali Lošinj.

Only about 200 people live on the island year round. It’s a quiet place, relaxing. It appears that it’s been that way for some time and quite likely will stay that way. There are a small handful of stores, restaurants and cafés – most were still shuttered in mid-May — but absent are night clubs, large or even medium-sized hotels, and most conspicuously, roads.

There are no cars on the island; the only motorized vehicles I saw were a few small tractors hauling smaller trailers loaded with supplies which arrived on an afternoon boat. Otherwise, wheelbarrows, or karijole, appear to be the device of choice to push things around. I spent most of a quick coffee break observing one man, in his late 60s or early 70s is my guess, pushing 15 liters of red wine in his karijola. He stopped quickly at the café, enjoyed a coffee and a piece of baklava, and was on his way in less than 180 seconds.

I can understand quite a bit of Croatian, but am hardly fluent. Nonetheless, I did notice that the locals used a very distinct dialect, one I’ve never heard before. The island’s first inhabitants were the Illyrians; the majority of their surviving descendents left the island in the late 1940s after Croatia became part of Yugoslavia, and emigrated primarily to Hoboken, New Jersey.

It struck me as an interesting place to spend some time for a longer anthro/ag/geog/etc research project, if one was looking for such a thing. You can choose to be very isolated here, but with the luxury of a quick commute to the mainland which also happens to be an island. I came on a day trip, spent just a few hours, but long enough to want to return, at least for a few days. This type of seclusion, remote but still not that far removed, is rare, and fascinating at the same time.

Quick plug for our ship’s captain, Luciano Magazin, who operated one of about a dozen or so boats with daily departures to nearby islands from the port at Mali Lošinj. The cost for the trip, roughly an hour each way, is 100 KUN (13.66 EUR/ 19.16 USD), and he offers an on-board lunch for an additional 80 KUN (11 EUR/15 USD). Definitely worth it. We enjoyed a variety of local and fresh pan-fried fish, a hefty green salad, and a delicious potato/spinach dish, all bottomless portions, plus plenty of red and white wine. And although it isn’t quite as good as Brkinska (none is, really), the welcome glass of slivovec (plum brandy) at a few minutes after 10 was quite tasty.

Some more of my pics here, and here’s a terrific link for plenty more info:.

(Visited mid-May 2009)

dolphins 03, originally uploaded by pirano.

This is the Pula Arena (or amphitheatre, or coliseum), in the Istrian city of Pula, Croatia. Built in the 1st C. AD, it’s the sixth largest of 200 surviving Roman arenas. The last time I visited here was 32 years ago.

Well maintained these days, at its peak it was able to accommodate more than 20,000. There’s a nice little museum on the premises (admission 40 KUN/EUR 5.53/USD 8.16/), an absolute must stop.

The rest of my personal dandy dozen or so from the month of May, shot in Losinj, Croatia, and various spots around Slovenia, are here.

Previous: [Apr 09] [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Pula 01, originally uploaded by pirano.

The Croatian island of Lošinj is the northernmost area of Europe where lemons grow. That tidbit tells you quite a bit about what to expect from this northern Adriatic island in the Kvarner Gulf. The island’s 33km long, but for all intents and purposes, considerably longer given its close relationship with it’s northern sister Cres, at a whopping 66km long and 405 square km the largest Croatian island. The two are joined at the village of Osor by a laughably small bridge that traverses its eponymous bay. (It’s laughable because I laughed out loud. I guess I was simply expecting something not so small.)

Looking for an Adriatic island trip in early May –my first– the Cres- Lošinj archipelago was a great choice, but primarily one of practicality (along with a few nice reviews). Besides Krk to the east, it’s the closest to Ljubljana and easily accessible via Rijeka or just beyond Opatija.

Ferry:
Brestova-Porozina, 15 KUN (2 EUR/2.90 USD)/person, 96 (13.15 EUR/18.39 USD) for a car. About a 30 minute ride. Service is more or less hourly, besides the longer midday/lunch break. Here’s last year’s (2008) high season schedule, which will probably be quite similar this year.  If you’re on a tight schedule, note that in 2008 the last boat back left at midnight.

Roads:
From Porozina it’s a fabulous drive with plenty of great views towards both coasts, and you’ll drive through evergreen and some hardwood forests. Give yourself a little time to adjust to the narrow roads, and take care on the turns. Most bus drivers I came across took them very fast, particularly uphill. There are lots of cyclists too.

There’s plenty of road construction –some major– at the moment, with the aim presumably to have work completed before high season hits. I got the impression that that really won’t happen.

It took about an hour-and-a-half to reach the town of Cres, and another hour before we parked the car for the next three days in Mali Lošinj. Unless you’re just doing so to get your bearings, there is no need to drive into town (no free parking). There’s ample free parking available just a short walk from the port; at least a few hotels do offer closer parking but with a fee.

From the ferry dock at Brestova it’s about 70 km to Mali Lošinj, the county seat and main port, a very pleasant and relatively quiet (at least in early May) harbor town with a west facing port. The harbor’s nicely-maintained promenade, or riva,  is lined with an ample number of restaurants, cafes, bars, and gift shops, along with a few hotels (I got a decent deal for the portside Apoksiomen) and a couple galleries.

While virtually anything can be done on the cheap with a little resourcefulness, if you’re looking for something low budget overall, you won’t find it here (or from what I hear, anywhere on the Dalmatian coast anymore). I dined at several restaurants, and enjoyed the fresh seafood, the local olive oils and wines. Few entrees came in at under 15 EUR, most were more.

I saw a pair of nice campgrounds nearby as well, which is where I will stay when I return.

Plenty of boats head out in the morning for day trips to the various nearby islands, most costing 100 KUN/13.70 EUR/19 USD per person. Most leave at 10am for pre-determined destination, but most captains welcome itinerary changes. I went to Susak, about an hour away, which came highly recommended.

If graffiti is your thing, save that creative energy for a small and abandoned Yugoslav navy installation just beyond the western edge of the port. Plenty of dilapidated buildings to serve as your canvas. There a small curving tunnel you can roam through afterwards. (There’s a brief blind spot in the center but fear not, you can make it without a flashlight.)

Overall, terrific. It’s said to be very busy in the summer months, so best times to visit are spring and fall. Definitely bring some sun block.

About a dozen pics on my flickr stream.

Mali Lošinj 09, originally uploaded by pirano.

I’ve been listening to violins much of the day, so thought this appropriate, a gentleman jamming away near some of the Sunday morning flea market stalls a few weeks ago.

The weekly flea market is usually a pleasure to browse. Plenty of Yugoslav and Tito memorabilia, but there’s a nice selection of better antiques from time to time as well. Much of the stuff is over-priced, but do bargain.  Located mostly on the east bank (castle hill side) of the Ljublanica, but has been regularly spilling spilling over to the other side via the Cobbler’s Bridge. Every Sunday, beginning at 8. Dealers begin packing up around 2.

Ljubljana 0161, originally uploaded by pirano.

There was an entertaining piece on Ljubljana in yesterday’s Washington Post Travel section. At more than 2000 words, ‘Ljubljana: Too Cool to Get Hot‘ is a breezy read, quite positive overall, and makes the city quite welcoming indeed.

I did find this a bit bothersome:

Thus would Ljubljana, which had somehow survived the Romans, Napoleon, the Soviets and more…

When, precisely, did Ljubljana “survive” the Soviets? This irksome and patently false link to the former Yugoslavia under Soviet control keeps popping up in places where it really shouldn’t.  Washington Post editors, if not staff reporters, really should know better. In the bigger scheme of things, this ain’t ancient history.  [Here's another recent example from the LA Times.]

Anyway, a nice read. Check it out.

By the way, again resuming the LJ Pic of the Day chore with this, shot a few days ago at the main central market.

Ljubljana 0160, originally uploaded by pirano.

This is at the Zidani Most train station, one of a handful of personal favorites shot in April. You can check out a few more, all shot in or near Ljubljana (except the one above), here.

Previous: [Mar 09] [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

Zidani Most station, originally uploaded by pirano.

Rainy few days. Taken from the roof today.

Ljubljana 0156, originally uploaded by pirano.

I finally got around to scanning some slides I shot ten years ago when I visited Posoltega, Nicaragua, in April 1999, about six months after storms brought in by Hurricane Mitch devastated the area. The photo above is of a refugee camp set up in Posoltega, in the country’s northwest.

On October 30, 1998, torrential rains brought in by Hurricane Mitch filled the nearby Casitas volcano, forcing the slope, above right, to collapse. It produced a massive river of mud, at some points more than a kilometer wide, that swept through the area, ultimately killing upwards of 3000 people. It annihilated several villages and smaller settlements, and displacing several thousand. [A good Mitch summary on Wiki.]

Below are some scattered notes from the visit (some are still in a stash of stuff back in the US), but first some quick background:
Nicaragua dominated much of the foreign policy debate in the US during the Reagan years, so it was somewhat predictable that Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega’s tirade at the recent Americas summit brought the country back into the headlines. When he was voted out of power in 1990, media attention on the country more or less vanished until Ortega regained the presidency in close elections in 2006. By then, after setting up a mutual immunity deal with the right wing Arnoldo Alemán, who was president from 1997 to 2002, he had long since lost support from most senior Sandinista (FSLN) party partners, who left and formed other parties, taking with them countless party loyalists. During its time in power, the Alemán administration quickly became synonymous with corruption and graft. An opinion poll published during my 1999 visit found that more than half of Nicaraguans viewed him as more corrupt than the former dictator Anastasio Somoza whom the Sandinistas overthrew 20 years earlier, and for whom Alemán worked. (Alemán was charged, eventually convicted and received a 20-year sentence, which was later overturned by the Supreme Court in what most view as part of the deal struck with Ortega.)

So, the widespread tales of corruption I was told by people in Posoltega (and in Managua) didn’t come as a huge shock. At an aid distribution warehouse (pictured above), several of the workers expressed their frustration with the federal government which was doing next to nothing to help the municipality, at the time governed by a Sandinista mayor. Bill Clinton visited the area during a Central American tour in March 1999; just prior to his visit housing construction materials were trucked in, along with 2000 bags of cement, a ‘donation’ from the government. After he left, the materials were hauled away under cover of night.

I spoke at length with Posoltega’s mayor, Felicita Zeledon Rodriguez, who said that after the initial influx of aid in the weeks after the rains finally subsided, nothing had arrived in more than two months. Among the numerous problems she faced was that the aid assistance was being taxed by the Aleman administration. Food was running scarce, she said. “The first harvest is in August, and it’s only April.”

Above is Jose de la Cruz Poveda, 17 at the time, who was one of the refugee camp leaders.

In Posoltega, my translator Tanya and I met Alvaro Montalvan, a reporter for Canal 12, who was investigating reports that much of the international relief aid sent to the stricken areas was actually winding up being sold in various markets in Managua. He and his cameraman were heading to the Port of Corinto to check on the status of 28 cargo containers of relief aid which had arrived on March 19 from Los Angeles, and we joined him. We tracked down the port’s container operations chief, who eventually admitted that seven of those 40-foot containers couldn’t be accounted for. They simply vanished. And in the meantime, as the stocks in Posoltega’s relief center were dwindling rapidly, the containers above were sitting port side for more than a month.

More pics, 18 in all, are in a flickr set here.

I know that there are numerous NGOs working in the region, and that a growing number of travelers are visiting that part of Nicaragua. This is a long since forgotten footnote of the country’s history, and I’d love to hear from anyone who’s visited or worked there over the past decade who can share any updates. I’m extremely interested in learning how people in the area have fared.

I’ve never been a ‘car guy’ –I drove a Yugo around the hills of southeast Ohio for more than five years– but these will always hold a special place in my heart.

Ljubljana 0119, originally uploaded by pirano.

Via Discover is this fabulous gallery of magnified grains of sand. From A Grain of Sand – Nature’s Secret Wonder, by Gary Greenberg, published last week.

Check it out. A nifty promo video is here.

Restarting (again) this daily chore with this, taken a few weeks ago on an otherwise mostly sunny day.

Ljubljana 0151, originally uploaded by pirano.

If you’re passing through Laško over the next three weeks, stop by the city museum (Muzej Laško) to check out the fifth KLAK photo exhibit, and not only because I won second place with the photo above and the one below.

The theme of the contest, sponsored by the Laško Akademski Klub (LAK), was brezdelje, which roughly translates, generally speaking, to both ‘idleness’ and ‘leisure’. Interesting to me was that the two English words can have widely contrasting interpretations –one negative, one positive– which led to a very fun afternoon of philosophizing between me and my keyboard.

Through 08-May.

This town has plenty more to offer of course: it’s home to Slovenia’s best large brewery and and well-visited and respected thermal spring spa.  The visitor’s center website is here.

Radium theatre (Zurich 04), originally uploaded by pirano.

From a handful of personal favorite pics shot in March is this one, which reminded me of a bored version of The Scream. A few others from the month, shot in Torino and mainly in Ljubljana, are here.

Previous: [Feb 09] [Jan 09] [2008]

ljubljana 0140, originally uploaded by pirano.

From the Library of Congress Flickr stream is this shot of two young survivors from the Titanic which went down 95 years ago today. They were later identified correctly as French brothers Michel and Edmond Navratil. some more shots are here.

Louis & Lola ?– TITANIC survivors (LOC), originally uploaded by The Library of Congress.

From the George Eastman House Collection’s flick stream, circa 1917. Nice bonnets.

Two women holding a sign that readsEaster Holidays! Take a Kodak with you Prices from 5-, originally uploaded by George Eastman House.