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Another Post (and black & white film)
Hello there! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. It’s been a while since I arrived home to Canada. It’s been a while since I developed the black and white photos that I’m sharing here today. I think they’re pretty nice.
But first, some stats! I travelled for 90 days, or 3 months. I visited 20 countries and 31 cities/towns in that time. I would go back to any one of these places.
What next? I don’t know. Enjoy some black and white film photos in the meantime.
Vienna, Austria
Vienna is grand. Unbelievably grand. Everywhere you look the architecture reminds you that this was once the capital of an empire. Palaces, sculpture, statues. It’s also very busy. It’s like Prague in that way. But where Prague sadly felt cheap and tacky in it’s touristy-ness, Vienna is refined and dignified. It’s also literally more expensive.
I need to return here when I have the funds to truly appreciate it. I also need more than a day and a half to appreciate it, but such is life.
Luckily, walking around the gardens of Schönbrunn Palace is free, but I just had to choose the coldest, most grey and grim day yet to do so. The gardens were nice, but I was walking fast to stay warm, and they would be nicer if the trees and hedges had leaves and the fountains were running. No matter.
While the famous National Art Museum, or whatever it’s called, would’ve been nice, it was pricey and no doubt busy on a Saturday. No problem, there are three museums that you can buy a joint ticket to for a third of the price of the big fancy one. And so I looked down upon my dominion (the whole world) at the Globe Museum, learned to communicate with all the peoples of my domain at the Esperanto Museum, and looked at old scraps of writing at the Papyrus Museum. All very interesting.
One experience in Vienna stood out above the others. Lunch. It could have been dinner, I suppose, but it was lunch. Let’s call it a meal. A meal was the thing that stood out in my time in Vienna. I picked this restaurant mostly because Google listed its price as only one dollar sign (which in Vienna is still more expensive than anywhere I’ve been since Finland). However, it turns out there was a more important reason why I went to the restaurant that day…
They were serving brains!
Yes indeed. Pig brains with egg, green onions, and parsley potatoes. I had to try it.
The brains were chopped up nice and small and mixed with scrambled eggs. You would never guess what it was to look at it. The brains were a bit grey, but basically blended in with the eggs. Their texture was gooey and viscous. It was a bit difficult to get past. The flavour was very mild. I couldn’t even say what it tasted like, mostly I could taste the eggs and green onions. All in all, a nice meal. I’m just disappointed that I don’t feel any smarter.
Well, that was Vienna. The last real stop on my travels for now. By the time you read this I’ll be on a bus all the way to London (budget airlines be damned). I’ll stay a night in London, with no time (and probably no energy) to look around, and then fly back to Canada. It’s been nice in Europe, but I’m looking forward to some peace and quiet.
Salzburg, Austria
The hiiiills are alive with the sound of . . . K̷̗͎͍̀̈́̑̀̏̅̈́͗̏̅̐ṙ̸͎͓̗̝̺̯̘͙̇͆͑͛̂͘̕̕͘͜͝á̶̧̫̠͖͙̋̎̒̾̓͒m̶͚̺͉̯̹͆̇̃̐́̒͋̈͒͑̎͆͝p̴̺̠̜͍̗̦̣̗̰̲͂̐̕ư̷̝̰̲͕̲͍̩͕͕̪͚̯̺̪̇̊́ͅs̶͇̥̖̞̼̪̥͕̪͙̼̤͍̭͍̔̋
Hmm… That’s not quite right. Let’s try again.
Do, a deer, a female deer
Ķ̸̥̠̙͚̐̒̿͒̀̇͆̓͠r͙̝̣̜͓̪̩̍͒̆̇̊a̷̳͈̤̙͍̤̿͆̾͜͝͠͞ṃ̢̧͉̜̘͋͐̓̃͞p̼̳͓̙̻̲̺̯̠̍̋͛̏͊̍͗͛͑ͅu̷̡̺̻̝̯̤̅̈́͌̆̋͜͜s̼͍̙̪̖͇̾̈́̔̅͊̏̍͊͑͠,̷̛̲͉͎̱̯͚̼̹̻̀̉̐̓͡ ả̶̡̙̝̩̱̜̼̐́̍̅̚̚ d͉̦̺͂̿̂̓͋͗͜͢ȩ̵̲͈̖̗̀͋̓̔̀͒̓̔̌m̡̛̛͈͈̮̥̹̔̂͊̃ǒ̶̟͉̝͙͖̠̠̳͂͂̒͘͟͢n̠̱͇͍̼͋̆́̾̇͋͘̚̕͞,̵̡͙͉̳̠͚̞͌̔̈̍͘̚͟͝ ȁ̰͎̪̩̤̆̐̀̑̏͠͡͞ Ĉ̴̛͍̭̟̳͕̟̥̺̈́̅̾̑͛̀͒͜ͅḩ̝̠̦̩̙̇̓̒̅̋̀͗̈͢r̨͇̗̳͍̲̤͔̥͍͆̈́͆́́̀i̥̣̹̬̫̿̃͊̄̎͢s̻̠̘͍̗͇̆̿̒̍̀̈̅̇̕̚t̡͈̣̼̙̩̩̣̘͋̓͋͌̎m̢̮͇̩̖̞̑́̃͂̇͒̀̽͟͟ͅa̵̢̛̲͉̟̍̎̍͘͢s̞̮̮̟͔̱̱͑͐͌͌͋͢͢͡ d̨͈͎͈̖͖͍͓͚͌́̆̾̑̊̐̿͜ȇ̖͙̗̮̥̱͉͎̒̑̌̊̈́m̛͍̜̭͍̼̈̆͗͂́̍͜͢ợ̶͕̫̗̼͓͈̞̯̽͂̍͌̓͑ņ̹͖̗͑̐͒̃̅̒̃̿̾͆͢
Yikes!
Salzburg is known for being the location where The Sound of Music was filmed. They also have a weird obsession with some guy called Mozart. I visited for neither of those reasons, although I did watch The Sound of Music at my hostel, since they play it EVERY NIGHT.
No no, I was not in Salzburg for music nor musicals, unless you count the clanging of bells and the screams of naughty children as music, which I suppose I do.
It’s a good thing that I was visiting Salzburg for an interesting seasonal event, cause it’s kinda boring here. It’s a beautiful city, and there’s plenty of history and things of interest. But after everywhere else I’ve visited recently, Salzburg lacks character. It’s too pleasant. There’s no grit or grime. Sorry Salzburg.
I still had a nice time here, short though it was. I walked up a couple hills, saw some buildings, relaxed. Winter is a nice time to visit as there are several Christmas markets in town, where you can buy Christmas-y things and, most importantly, mulled wine to keep you warm. It’s just a shame there was no snow to accentuate the holiday mood.
But no, I was not in Salzburg for the Christmas markets, spooky as rampant consumerism may be. I was in Salzburg for Krampus.
Krampus is a traditional character throughout the Alps. He is a demon who comes in December and beats naughty children with his stick. On Krampusnacht, December 5th, hordes of people parade through the streets dressed as Krampus, wearing intricately carved wooden masks and carrying bundles of sticks with which they beat the spectators.
Parade isn’t really the right word. It’s called Krampuslauf, which means Krampus-run. It’s a little like a parade. I stood in the cold and dark along the route, awaiting the arrival of the demons. In the distance cowbells rang out dully in the night, but they were not attached to cattle, they were a warning of what was to come.
Then they appeared. Goat-like demons with horrible faces rampaged down the street, eyeing the crowd for their victims. And then they were upon us. Screams rang out in the crisp night air as the Krampuses fell upon the crowd, their bundles of sticks lashing out and cracking against us. Some stood perfectly still, staring with ominously glowing eyes before lurching forward when least expected.
Okay, so they only hit people in the legs, and not too hard for the most part, but otherwise my description is quite sound. For half an hour this went on, as I alternated between being beaten and laughing uproariously when people next to me were beaten, all while trying to get some photos. Many Krampi stopped to let people take photos with them, and they shook hands with little children, or knelt down to give them a closer look at their masks. And then it was over.
Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
In Sarajevo there is a distinct line where East meets West. On one side is the Ottoman market district, dating back 500 years to the founding of the city, full of domed roofs, mosques, and narrow streets. On the other is the Austro-Hungarian area, only 100-150 years old. Here buildings have ornate sculpted facades and would not look out of place in Austria, or Hungary for that matter. This is just in the old town. There are also drab concrete apartment blocks that, like many buildings in the city, are pocked with shrapnel damage from the siege. I also saw some skyscrapers for the first time in awhile.
Suffice to say, this is an interesting city with a turbulent history. An important Ottoman trading city for centuries, then the site of the spark that ignited The First World War when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated near the beautiful Latin Bridge. In 1988 Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympics and only 8 years later the longest siege in modern history occurred here.
The Bosnian war and the Siege of Sarajevo occupied most of my interest while I was in the city. It’s hard not to think about it when you’re here, there are reminders of it everywhere. The aforementioned shrapnel scars are still visible on buildings throughout the city, they simply can’t afford to repair every building. Then there are the Sarajevo Roses. If you look down while you walk you will notice these splashes of red on many streets. The red is resin that has been poured into the scars of mortar shells which caused fatalities during the siege. There are hundreds in the city.
The Museum of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide gives an uncompromising look at the horrors of the Bosnian War and the Siege of Sarajevo. Since these events happened only 25 years ago, there is plenty of video footage and photography documenting the war. This made for the most difficult museum experience I’ve had yet. The atrocities were not just words or numbers, they are there for you to see. I’m not going to tell you about them. If you were alive in the 90s you likely already have some idea. What stuck out to me however was how resilient the people of Sarajevo were. They were living in horrible, traumatizing conditions for almost four years, but life went on. Children attended school, people went to work. People went to the theatre. There was a film festival, beauty pageants, and fashion shows. The people of Sarajevo kept going, and survived for almost four years a siege that was meant to break them completely and utterly. It’s quite inspiring.
I’m sorry if this post has been a bit dark and depressing. Sometimes that’s how life is. Be glad that you grew up safe and sound and that you are only reading about these things. And if you have lived through some tragedy, even if it’s ‘minor’, I salute your strength and bravery.
Okay, enough of this. What happened to sarcastic, ironic, irreverent Dylan? I’ll leave you with this. The Bosnian war was conflicts between three ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats. They all speak the same language, are all Slavic peoples, all lived together in Yugoslavia. What is the difference between these peoples? What determines their ethnicity?
It’s religion.
Kotor, Montenegro
Imagine a place where high, rugged mountains plunge straight into the sea. But no, this is not the icy waters of the North Sea, nor is it the Norwegian fjords. This is the Montenegrin mountains, and this is the Adriatic Sea. Well, it’s the Bay of Kotor. Actually, the town of Kotor is on a smaller bay off of the Bay of Kotor, so it’s a couple of steps removed from the sea. The point is this: mountains + sea = nice.
Kotor is beautiful, and it knows it. I’m into the part of the Balkans that normal tourists visit, not just backpackers. Cruise ships dock here. Kotor is primarily a tiny old town nestled safely between a wall and a mountain. Despite its small size, there is lots to see, as the streets are so narrow and winding that there’s always something new around the corner. You also have easy access to all the other towns and sights around the Bay of Kotor, though I didn’t take the time to venture far.
It was dark when I arrived in town. Just before you enter Kotor from the south, the road goes through a tunnel. As my bus emerged from the tunnel, fireworks exploded overhead. They knew I was coming. Then I caught sight of the fortress, illuminated high above the town, and the fireworks suddenly seemed quite lame in comparison.
The fortress perches on the mountain above Kotor. I’ve seen many a castle/fortress at this point, but usually they are on hilltops, not mountaintops, albeit a small mountain. Walls zig and zag their way up the mountain from the town below, as does a staircase. But it costs 8€ to climb the staircase to the fortress, who’s got that kind of money?
Fear not, budget traveller, there is a way. Behind the fortress lies a long path full of switchbacks. If you follow it all the way, you’ll cross the mountain into a national park. If you stop when you get to the fortress, you may notice a ladder leading to a window in the wall. I’m not saying that this is how I got in to the fortress, but I do have 8€ in my pocket right now.
The fortress is pretty nice. It has great views, and nice enough walls and what not. I don’t know what they’re doing with the entrance fees, but it certainly isn’t cleaning up the garbage or installing a couple of trash cans. Seeing the lack of upkeep made me glad that I “allegedly” snuck in the back. Terrific views though.
So there you have it. Kotor is beautiful, and there’s a lot more to do in the area, but during the summer it must be swarming with tourists, so visit in November, when it’s still warm, but not so many people are here.
And whither then? 