piran café

Isn’t really all that good. But how important are onboard purchase to these low budget carriers’ bottom lines? According to a story in its in-flight magazine glorifying its bistro selection, GW sells, on average, 400,000 to 450,000 cups per year at €2.60 a pop, totaling €1,040,000 to 1,170,000 ($1,458,420 to 1,640,723).

Ometepe, originally uploaded by pirano.

Stumbled onto this on my way out on Sunday evening (19-Jul) at about 7 pm, striking SAS workers at De Gaulle’s Terminal 1. Day 4. Definitely livened the place up. Those who are down on the French for their language skills will be happy to know that half the signs were in English. The woman working the counter –presumably a Polish ’strike breaker’?– remained quite cool and friendly.

A quick search of English language sources found no info. Anyone know more about the strike?

Paris 071, 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.

Hotel Apoksiomen
Riva Lošinjsih Kapetana I
51550 Mali Lošinj, Croatia
Visited 5-9 May 09

Very nicely done. Casual semi-statelyiness. Friendly, pleasant staff, night and day. It’s named after a 2nd or 1st C. BC bronze statue found between the islands of Lošinj and Veli Orjuli where he rested beneath the waves for about 1800 years. He’s being cleaned up at the moment and is expected to return to Mali Lošinj next year.

A terrific deal at 59 EUR/night via HRS, 10 EUR more for a portside room; two have balconies. Mine was nice. Great views and lots of sun. Don’t expect that price during the summer months.

It’s part of Vienna International group, which also has properties in Poland, The Czech Republic, Germany, France, Austria and Romania, and which claims that the cheapest rates can be found directly from their website. If not, they’ll pay you the difference. I didn’t check out the claim, but you can here.

Wifi throughout, and it was free via my HRS booking. Breakfast was OK+.

One complaint: They really need to fix that large bump in the floor that divides the breakfast room in half. That’s not something a guest needs to be wary of when carrying a cup of coffee and a glass of juice across the room before 8 in the morning. OK? Thanks.

hotel apoksiomen 2009-05-06-Mali Lošinj 02, 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.

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.

I watched Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World last night and was just blown away by these seal calls recorded beneath the Antarctic ice.  Someone posted the bit on Youtube (the calls begin about 40 secs in):

It’s an interesting film, examining among other things, the quirky kinda folks who wind up at the end of the world.

Antarctica is at the top of my list of Places I’d Love To Go But Probably Never Will. Depending on where you begin, where you go, what you do and the duration, travel packages range from $6000 to $40,000.

I spent most of the day booking my European summer travel –again, lots!– and as has become custom, was again frustrated by the lack of budget carriers that operate out of Ljubljana’s Pučnik airport. (Currently, there’s one.) So, when going by train –always choice No 1– wasn’t an option, I had to look at nearby airports. And instead of depositing my notes in the recycle bin, I thought I’d put them here where others may find them of use.

What characterizes nearby will vary from person to person. For me Venice Marco Polo (roughly 3 1/2 hrs by bus from Ljubljana) is the outside limit.

So here is a list of airports that will make Destination Ljubljana a little bit closer for you, and the budget airlines that operate to/from there. I’m assuming that these all list the current 2009 spring/summer timetables, but can’t be 100% certain of that. So if they’re not, don’t waterboard me. Instead, let me know! Enjoy!

Graz, Austria
- RyanAir – [route map]
- Tuifly – [route map]

Klagenfurt, Austria
- GermanWings – [route map]
- RyanAir – [route map]
- Tuifly – [route map]

Ljubljana
- EasyJet – [route map] – At the moment, only one flight daily to/from London-Stansted.

Pula, Croatia
- GermanWings – [route map]
- RyanAir – [route map]
- ThomsonFly – [route map]

Rijeka, Croatia
- Tuifly – [route map]

Trieste, Italy
- RyanAir – [route map]

Venice (Marco Polo)
(Buses from Mestre rail station: ACTV linea n°15, about 35 min; ATVO FLY BUS, 17-20 min)
- EasyJet – [route map]
- SkyEurope – [route map]
- ThomsonFly – [route map]
- Transavia – [route map]
- Tuifly – [route map]
- Wizzair – [route map]

Venice (Treviso)
For more on this airport that even The Village People use, read this.
- GermanWings – [route map]
- RyanAir – [route map]

Zagreb, Croatia
- GermanWings – [route map]
- Tuifly – [route map]
- Wizzair – [route map]

Slovenia’s Adria Airways website is here. It’s a very good airline, and while it can hardly be considered a budget carrier, good deals can be found.

And while we’re at it, here’s the website for the Ljubljana Bus Station.

Ermoupoli, Syros, Greece — During a ride from Athens Airport to Mati, near Marathon, on Friday, I passed by several smallish packs of what appeared to be wild dogs. They were roaming aimlessly and lazily, on small patches of land, ignored plots of overgrown grass and dry brush that apparently double as informal garbage dumps, between the four lane highway constructed just before the 2004 Olympics and local two lane roads. On Monday afternoon in Ermoupoli I got the impression that stray cats outnumber the population of the Cyclades Islands capital of 13,000 by at least two to one.

They’re everywhere and they’re viciously loud; they wail violently, as if they’re fighting off the evils unleashed from Pandora’s Box. The strong swirling winds accentuate it. At first, I though the painful yelps echoing through the narrow streets were coming from the mouth of a desperately ill child. Less than 15 minutes after I checked into my hotel, at least a dozen, in groups of four, were taking turns aggressively scratching at my balcony door. Why? According to an informal survey of five bartenders, the people of Syros are cat people.  They simply hate dogs. That clearly shows in the long faces of a few dogs I’ve seen.

The celebration continues

The world is still rejoicing. There was an entertainment awards ceremony on one of the Greek networks last night, with little satirical and musical skits interspersed between the presentations. One singer/comic followed up his John Belushi/Blues Brothers thing with an Abba musical ditty, singing, Obama Mia. Like the Michael Stipe lyric that tops the list of things I wish I had written –I look at her and I see the beauty of the light of music– I really wish I could have come up with that.

I’m still amazed at how last Tuesday’s election result has managed to reach and impact even relatively remote corners of the world like this one. Yesterday three people on the morning ferry were wearing Obama t-shirts. Everywhere I stopped and hung out for a bit yesterday afternoon and evening, people were asking me about Obama. Several bookstores had a Greek translation of Audacity of Hope figuring prominently in their window displays.

Getting (t)here

In the off-season, the only mainland departures are from Piraeus. This morning’s 07:35 BlueStar Super Ferry II (one way, about four and-a-half hours) was a fairly bumpy cruise part of the way, rough enough to make two women who flanked me on both sides, some three meters away, spend about 30 minutes with their faces buried in sick bags. I hope it wasn’t me. I’ve offended people in the past, but not to that extent.

There were more passengers than I expected, although I really had no reasonable idea whatsoever of what to expect. Some read, some chatted, but most dozed. I did as well for about an hour before a scratchy ringtone of a nearby co-day sleeper roused me with an Elvis song that’s been following me around since: ‘Wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can’t help…”

Greece remains one of the few last great refuges in Europe for smokers. The second class level was split down the middle to accommodate smokers and non; the smokers, at least this morning, outnumbered the others. One thing can be said about Greeks: they’re apparently not quitters.

26 EUR/one way. Warning: don’t necessarily believe the generic timetables in booking websites. Departure times can vary wildly, particularly in the off-season.

Paradise

My hotel is called Paradise. Always be wary of hotels whose impression of self is characterized in such glorious terms.

World Music Café

I ducked into about half a dozen cafes and pubs yesterday and this was the only one I returned to. The musical vibe, primarily north and west African along with a peppering of catchy Euro/Arab/African fusion, fits the Mediterranean. At least to me. It’s like my home stereo, but with an immeasurably better sound system. Comfortable, laid back and a very friendly staff. Highly recommended. Tell Nadil that Slovenia sent you. Just a few blocks south of the city hall square.

NOTE: I intended to post this last night, but was sidetracked by a birthday party at this café. Happy birthday Topis!

More pics here.

Syros 012, originally uploaded by pirano.

There’s a down town fairy singing out “Proud Mary”
as she cruises Christopher Street
And some Southern Queen is acting loud and mean
where the docks and the Badlands meet

Lou Reed’s Halloween Parade

Is that not the only invitation to a party you’ll ever need?

It’s attended by about 2 million people, listed as one of the 100 Things to do Before You Die, and is by far the largest All Hallows Eve gathering in the U.S. It’s New York’s Village Halloween Parade, which this October 31 will celebrate its 34th edition.

Gridskipper has a few other Halloween options should you happen to be in NYC next Wednesday, including a Halloween Dog Parade and late night options in Central Park.

I’m going to be in Manhattan next week, and hope to find or make the time to gawk at the gentle freaks who come out at night. In the meantime, here’s a handful of shots from my first of two visits to the village parade, in 2002. The priest was particularly hilariously tasteless. Enjoy!

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On more quick Udine follow-up…

This week marks the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Caporetto (Slovenia’s Kobarid) aka the ‘Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo’, the last of the battles on the Izonzo front (Soška fronta), and the one immortalized by Hemmingway in A Farewell to Arms. Lasting 17 days, it was a bloody romp of Italy by Austria and the assisting Germans, leaving 11,000 Italian dead, another 20,000 injured, with an astounding 270,000 taken prisoner.

Listening to an anniversary newsblurb was a reminder that I forgot to mention Prigionieri Della Guerra (Prisoners of War): Caporetto e Dintorni, a photo exhibit now showing at the Udine castle. I find field photography from World War I utterly fascinating, particularly of the battles on the rugged Soška fronta. I will definitely head back to check this out. Through 06-Jan.

now showing, originally uploaded by pirano.

For those of you still hanging your heads in shame over Michael Moore’s outing of Slovenia’s rank among the world’s healthcare systems, here’s some good, or at least better, news. From Reader’s Digest of all places.

The magazine, hardly a member of the far-left ‘Blame America’ liberal media conspiracy, commissioned UCLA economist Matthew E. Kahn to produce a study to rank the world’s greenest, most livable places. The top four –Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden– are regular fixtures in various quality of life surveys, but you don’t have to look too far to find Slovenia, sitting coyly in spot No. 15, between neighbor Italy and France. (Apparently Kahn has never taken a walk in the Ljubljana woods.)

The USA was a lowly 23rd, just behind Latvia (Wow! I bet Michael Moore would have fun with that!), but ahead of Lithuania (24th), the UK (25th), Croatia (28th), Albania (31st) and Costa Rica (34th).

A summary of the study and methodolgy is here, the country ranking (141 deep) is here, and a city/metro area listing (72 in all) is here. At the top of the city list? Stockholm. Been there, lovely place. At the bottom? Beijing. Hmm. Can’t wait for my trip to the Olympics next summer.

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Pregarje, originally uploaded by pirano.

I’m heading to Vienna on the 28th, but not for the world’s first divorce fair that will be held that weekend. (I’m just going to the airport.)

There’s a captive audience for such a gathering in the Austrian capital, to be sure. The divorce rate hit an all-time high of 50% in Austria last year, while 2/3s or all marriage in Vienna go tails up, providing a perfect setting for this inaugural trade show.

Held under the motto, ‘New Beginnings’, the BBC reports, Day 1 (27th) will be reserved for men, and Day 2 (28th) for women, “so couples can avoid awkward encounters and retain a degree of anonymity.”

Up to 20 exhibitors have registered so far, not only lawyers and mediators, but also estate agents, life-crisis experts, private detective firms and DNA laboratories offering paternity tests.

One company will offer therapeutic package holidays for newly divorced people.

There’s no mention of vow-preserving activities, so if the fair doesn’t live up to your happy ending expectations, let me suggest a few:

- True Romance: Allegories of Love from the Renaissance to the Present is at the Kunsthalle Wien through 03-Feb, an exhibit tracing “how this ‘great emotion’ is articulated in the fine arts.”

- There was a time when Klimt’s famous Kiss adorned the walls of many a girls’ dormitory room. To remember those better days, behold the original at the Belvedere Palace.

- Or, on a more practical level, get an 18 EUR family admission ticket to the Mozarthaus Vienna (a savings of up to 9 EUR).

Mozart statue, Burggarten, Vienna, originally uploaded by pirano.

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I had but one regret when I finally visited Udine last weekend: that I hadn’t made it there before.

The center of northeast Italy’s Friuli-Venezia-Giulia region, this charming town of just under 100,000 has a lot going for it. Its historic center is well-preserved and maintained; it’s missing lots (most?) of the grit that is common in many Italian cities; great food is a way of life; pretentiousness seems to be a foreign concept; and, oh yeah, it’s in the heart of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia wine country, and its Slovenia name is Videm.

From relatively narrow confines –beginning at the the sprawling Piazza Primo Maggio (May 1st), up and over castle hill, through the Piazza della Liberta and ending at the airy Piazza Matteotti– there is something for everybody. Some buildings date back to the late 12th C., and 15th C. Venetian influences are nearly as common as restaurants and wine bars. One solid recommendation is the Caffe Contarena, next to (or part of?) the 15th C. Logia del Lionello at the Piazza della Liberta. Not cheap but not outlandish either; I can still taste the polentina and the mushroom-stuffed ravioli. Ambiance is incredible, worth a visit just to enjoy its art deco interior (the right half) and the arch-shaped wine bar (left half).

Castle Hill (castello) is a must. The castle itself took its present shape in the latter 16th C. after the 1511 earthquake and it houses a nice little art museum (admission 1(!!) EUR) and Parliament Hall, one of the oldest such rooms in Europe.

Vino: I lost track of the few dozen wines I tried and note-taking was not usually an option. A few stellar standouts (semi) permanently etched into memory:

- Edi Keber Collio Rosso 2004 – Intense, big, well-structured, and packs a tasty wallop. Plenty of berry, leathery notes, and will certainly improve with age. Of course, there is a Slovenian connection here, not a particularly big surprise in wine-producing terms, where political boundaries mean nothing. Keber is from Zegla (Collio), a village a few hundred meters from the Slovenia’s Medana.
- Livio Felluga Vertigo 2005 – A cab sav/merlot blend, light leather and pleasant cherry notes. Like many wines already on the market these days, this is still quite young, and has the backbone and elegance to live on quite nicely.

This is primarily white wine country, and you can’t go wrong with the local masterpieces produced from the local Tokai Friulano (new EU regulations have forced producers on the Slovenian side of the border to change the name of the grape), a bone dry, elegant white.
- Mullino delle Tolle Tokai Friulano 2005. I can’t say enough about this wine, so I’ll keep it simple. From its light gold color to it wildflower aromas to its savory and delicate almondy taste, this is a nothing less than the wildest of fantasies in a bottle pleading to be uncorked. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Getting there: There are regular rail connections via Trieste and Venice/Mestre, nearest airport is Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional (aka Trieste or Ronchi, about a 30 min drive), and it’s a leisurely two hour (160 km) drive from Ljubljana.

Plenty of Udine pics here.

Udine 19, originally uploaded by pirano.

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