Zagreb, Lower Town and the last of the blogs for now...

Gavin turns political activist as he collects signatures on the streets of Zagreb to support action against Climate Change. One of their 'group sessions' this a.m.

The beautiful station used to be a stopping point for the Orient Express, connecting Vienna and Budapest.

The Hotel Esplanade was built near the station to be a top-notch place of repose for the travellers from the Orient Express

The meteorological post, in one of the parks, measures temperature and air pressure and gives an accurate display on its 24-hour clock.

And that, my friends, is the blog of 2009...

Happy Birthday Gavin and a day trip to the Croatian coastal town of Zadar

Doesn't he look good in pink cashmere??

Sadly, it is a working day. Gavin checking his emails at 8.30 a.m. on his birthday. Well, that makes a change from 6 a.m. I suppose. Happy Birthday to Tony, too.

Don't know who these strange chaps were playing cards in the Service Station on the way to Zadar yesterday (a 3.5 hour drive...) but I think they had the best idea; stay indoors on such a foul day.

Just to prove that I am capable of appreciating culture, albeit in small doses, I ventured into the Archaeological Museum in Zadar. OK, I was just trying to stay out of the rain and it closed half-an-hour after I went in.

The Cathedral of St Anastasia in Zadar's Roman walled town

The circular St Donatus Church, built in the 8th Century, is sited on top of the Roman Forum. behind is a tower which I decided not to investigate as the rain was pouring down the slippery steps...

Is this the most amazing musical instrument in the world? It is called the Sea Organ. Set within the perforated stone stairs that descend into the sea is a system of pipes and whistles that exude wistful notes when the movement of the sea pushes air through the pipes. It was designed by local architect Nikolai Basic and is the most haunting sound I have heard in a long time. I shall endeavour to upload a video of the organ 'playing'.

No, it isn't a swimming pool. Right next to the Sea Organ is the Sun Salutation, also designed by Basic. It is a 22 metre circle cut into the pavement of the 'promenade' area and filled with 300 multi-layered glass plates that collect the sun's energy during the day; powered by the same wave energy that makes the sound of the Sea Organ. It apparently produces a 'trippy' light show from sunset to sunrise, meant to simulate the solar system. Can't imagine it produced much of a show the day we were there as it rained the whole time. Witness the spectral cruise ship anchored in the misty harbour.

Yesterday we went on a 'Field Trip' to the coastal town of Zadar. Gavin, Victoria and the 'team' were looking at a new cadastral computer system at the Court, and were being feted by the Chief Justice guy there (another book and a small bottle of Cherry Brandy to add to the haul, and the groaning baggage allowance...). Sadly I was not invited (well, I could have gone, but it might have been a bit boring). So instead I traipsed around the beautiful Roman walled town of Zadar. The only downside was (and I know I shouldn't complain after 5 weeks' holiday in the sun and heat of the Balkans and its environs) it rained the whole day and I got soaked through and frozen, so just felt miserable for most of the day. The only highlight for me was the amazing Sea Organ. The Sun Salutation would have been great had there been any sun, so I'll just have to come back one day with G on a cruise!!

Zagreb: Upper Town

Our hotel, the Dubrovnik, sticks out like a sore thumb on the Zagreb skyline. It is in the heart of the city centre, so well located to see Zagreb easily on a walking tour.

The Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

View of the main square, Ban Jelacic Square

The fruit, cream and chocolate creation that I should not have had for afternoon tea...

The Zagreb Funicular is the shortest passenger cable railway in the world.

View from Gradec towards Kaptol, the cathedral, Dolac Market and St Mary's

St Mark's Square. The beautiful colours of the roof of the church are simply stunning. To the left of the church you can just see the building which is the seat of government, where the Prime Minister's office is located.

A crazy cafe on the 'hip' street, Tkalciceva. Why would you want to have your coffee off a washing machine?? Maybe to remind you of what you should be doing instead of drinking coffee?

A lovely statue at the entrance to the Market Square, Dolac

View across the Market Square towards the Cathedral

Part of the Renaissance walls around the Cathedral

Why did the Franciscan monks cross the road? Maybe they were trying to re-create the Abbey Road album cover?

Today while Gavin and his colleagues were languishing in their conference, I took a stroll around the 'Upper Town' part of Zagreb. It is sooo beautiful. Another one to recommend to you all.

Mud, mud, glorious mud, part 2. The video,,,

You've read the story, you've seen the photos, now watch the action-packed video. Oh and if you haven't done the former, see the other blog for today... Click on the arrow to view.

Mud, mud, glorious mud...Part 1

Admiring the bottles of tomatoes stacked up high in the factory

Two of the ladies, filling the jars with herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes. The smell was wonderful.

Sorting the tomatoes and filling up the jars

Oops...let's play stuck-in-the-mud

The World bank staff getting literally bogged down in work

Just when I thought all this travelling malarkey was getting a bit boring, they brought on the fun. Yesterday we had an afternoon trip to a bottling factory; it was to be followed by a trip to another winery (the last one for us was with the Norwegians, in case you think this is all the World Bank do) and then a meal. What they didn't tell us was that after the factory we would be going to a small farm to see where the vegggies came from. and what they also didn't tell us was that in order to get to this farm we would be travelling by coach down a very muddy road. What followed was an hour-an-a-half of amusement as we watched the coach first start skidding in the road, then, after offloading us all into the mire in our ill-prepared footwear, trying to turn around and come back. This is when the real fun started, as the coach ended up with its front right wheel up in the air and the rear end well and truly stuck. Eventually a tractor came to the rescue and hauled it out, with a bunch of farm-hands pushing from behind. I'll try and upload the video, but it probably won't work. But here are a few pictures anyway. of course the only thing anyone will be talking about after this 3 day retreat is the day we got stuck in the mud...

Chisinau

At dinner last night in the hotel with the other WB staff. We were allowed only beer and wine to drink and the waiter got very sniffy when I asked him for some water!! The beer and wine were very good, however, but even I have to dilute it.

Pavement traders trying to earn a few pennies selling a cup of wild raspberries or walnuts contrast sharply with the high street designer shops selling perfume for $350 a bottle...

The clock tower-cum-arch, across the main street from the Parliament buildings, is more pleasing on the eye than its opposite attraction.

A statue of Stephan (some important bloke) in the main park. This was, according to Gavin, the only thing to see in Chisinau 12 years ago when he was last here.

Pizza cone, anyone? I like this idea; a cone of pizza dough with the filling inside. I wonder how easy it is to eat, though? You probably have to scoop the filling out with your tongue like an aardvark. the little girl seems to be eating her pizza off a turntable...May have to buy one, for research purposes.

A trolley bus drives past the uninspiring parliament building in Chisinau.

Opposite the parliament is the rather more inspiring main church, though no idea what it is called. The interior is newly refurbished and absolutely beautiful, with paintings in gorgeous hues all over the walls and ceilings. Sadly no photos allowed, although I did sneak one before I entered and saw the sign.

This gives you an idea of how beautiful the interior of the Church is. A man was applying gold leaf to one of the very ornate candlesticks while I was there. Plenty of devout visitors there as well, crossing themselves in front of the many icons.

The flowers are very ornate too, especially the ones sprinkled with glitter, like these. But gorgeous anyway. These were in the street market; basically a street lined with flower sellers.

One of the many flower sellers bored from lack of trade. I don't know who buys them or even where they come from; probably Amsterdam. But there are so many. the sad part was that, even though you walk past zillions of roses and other genetically perfect flowers, there is no perfume at all.

'An Inspector Calls'. Gavin pops into a local Cadastre office to see how it is running. He was very impressed. Such a special occasion merits the wearing of a suit. Well done, Gavin...











The rooms full of archives will hopefully one day be replaced by a couple of folders on a computer.











Here you can see the belfry of the monastery atop the mountain from which it is hewn. Look beneath the belfry and to the left and you will see a slit in the rock which is another cave. the rocks all around this area are riddled with such caves, many of which were 'home' to monks.

In the front door...

...and out the back. Mind your step, now. Click on the picture to enlarge it and you will see Tatiana following the tradition of placing a coin in a crack of the wall, and making a wish. I think she must have been wishing that a fence would suddenly appear behind her... Guess who took the photo, teetering on the edge of the rock at the far end? Health and Safety?

A solitary monk checks the candles inside the monastery.

Gavin tries out a 'fishing chair' on the journey. And yes, he really did walk along that rickety old bridge.

Bedrooms, Flintstone style. I expect the 15th century monks were so exhausted after carving out this place with their bare hands that they didn't care where they slept.

You need to be a shortie to stand up here. Maybe the monks were permanently stooped after carving out the monastery on hands and knees. Peggy here with Sjoerd Vogelzang, the Dutch guy who took us out yesterday (and whose company paid for the winery tour on Friday).

An old lady, one of many seen on our journey. Often they are sat around in twos and threes having a natter.

Just in case anybody cares or wonders where the blog went, we have been experiencing some serious problems with uploading photos from the camera to the computer. It all started after we upgraded our Norton anti-virus software. Lesson learnt. After a total of 4 hours' online support (2.5 yesterday and 1.5 today) we now have photos, though not via HP photosmart as before. Ah well. I am now heartily sick of cameras and photos, but will upload a few pics just for you in spite of that. Some show Gavin 'at work' in one of the local cadastre offices and the others are from a day trip on Sunday to a place called Orheiul Vechi where we went into a tiny monastery literally carved into a hill. We went in one side of the hill and out the other. All I can say is those monks must have had a few blisters...not to mention bedsores, when you see the pictures of the Flintstone-style 'bedrooms'. Enjoy. This afternoon I will redeem the rest of my day by going out and taking more pictures. After that I might throw my camera away...

Nice day at the office, Chisinau style

Miles and miles of wine...














A small part of Putin's personal collection...













Part of Goebels' now undrinkable, confiscated haul (it didn't all make it to Moldova for some reason...)











In the words of the chorus from Die Fledermaus:

"Here's health to your Highness, King Champagne..."











Getting ready to sample delicious food and wine...












Today I accompanied Gavin to work. He had meetings at the offices of the local registration system. We have just arrived back, 7 hours later, with a gifted haul of 2 bottles of champagne, a bottle of very nice cognac, 2 bottles of wine and some red roses. Oh, and a bag of apples. At the office, we were given a little 'snack' which looked more like a wedding breakfast, accompanied by red wine. white wine and champagne. This was before the scheduled afternoon visit to Moldova's Cricova winery (53 underground hectares of it) and apart from seeing Putin's and Goebels' wine collections, and watching the champagne bottling system in operation, were given another lunch accompanied by 5 wines (2 white and 3 red, and 3 champagnes (white, red and pink). I can't remember ever having a day like that at school. So here we are back at the hotel and I blog and poor Gavin has to work. His aide-memoire might be the more interesting for it...