Italy, the Royal North

Four days to visit Italy is surely not enough. Anyone who has been there could say that - after all, Italians filled the most of UNESCO heritage list, so there is what to see there. It seems that you just need to pick a spot and there will be some ancient (or modern) invaluable sight/place/attraction//legendary/must see. And you can't just run through it - it is Italy, which you should enjoy. Maybe with a cup of coffee, which has a terribly long name, but tastes so delicious.... and their famous bakeries.... on a bench or outside cafe.... Or just walking down the curvy streets and getting lost in the old towns.... and getting your stomach ready for aperitivo....

Moncalieri - a cozy suburb of Turin. Here is a university where lots of Italian princes got educated (and left lots of portraits on the walls!...)

That was my idea when I was getting ready to visit Turin - former capital of Italy, still maintaining its royal pride which kind of balances the industrialism of the city. It is not very touristic. And probably not the place you would fall in love right away. Turin is a city which you should discover, which shows its face little by little, after taming it. To be honest, I didn't like it much the first day, and it felt strange - after Rome, Venice, Pisa, Verona, this place looked so different, as some kind of other Italy. And yet it has its own style, its own spirit. Locals drive bicycles or tiny little cars, which they park in the middle of the street - in between of tram lines. They eat fast food for lunch and take a "shot" of espresso for 1 EUR standing - prices are higher if you want to sit down. They don't go to cafes in the afternoon - most of them are closed till evening, when 'aperitivo' time starts. And then you can join for evening socializing: just pay ~7 EUR for any kind of drink (water, beer, or fancy cocktail - all the same) and eat as much as you want. We did that :)) if you know a good place, your stomach will be thankful for whole evening, and walled won't get too empty. Such aperitivo places are all over the city, and I guess that's what makes Turin such a lively place in the evenings.

One of numerous Turin's piazzas

As I mentioned, Turin is not very touristic. Before Winter Olympics 2006 it was even more quite. But if you happen to be around, you could get surprised - three days were surely not enough for me to see all I wanted, and I worked hard to keep balance between running and relaxing.

One of the "must see" places is Egyptian Museum, said to be the second after Cairo. Lucky Italians, their archeologists started excavations in Egypt among the first, and now they have an amazing collection of ancient tombs, pharaohs and gods, and mummies, and papyrus, which depicts sometimes funny, and sometimes even very erotic scenes. Time spent there: 2-3 hours; worth it? - totally.

around 2000 years old shoes....

Pharaohs and gods

Another place worth visiting is the Cinema Museum.A huge building where you can get so close to movie making: starting from history of video; famous 20th century directors, actors and films gallery; and finally - movies themselves, or at least their excerpts...... you can watch them in the laboratory, flowery living room, Western saloon, in refrigerator or spaceship...... or just half-lye on a comfy couch and focus on a huge screen on the wall. Impressive place, where 2 hours were not enough. Especially if you choose to take a lift on the roof and have a look to Turin from above.

Movies on the right, movies on the left!

Also, Turin is a royal city. And has a royal palace. And when I say royal, I mean gold and wealth, which fills every corner of every room. I was getting more and more amazed as I was walking from one room to another, reading about the lifestyle of those times (17th - 19th centuries) and imagining how it could have looked like then.  It overlooks the center of Turin and the Cathedral, where the Shroud of Turin is kept.

View from the palace yard

This is a highly illegal photo taken at the royal dining room

Highly illegal photo 2. Dancing hall.

All in all - Turin is a place worth visiting; and worth staying longer than 1-2 days. You have to prepare that cafes close at 3pm and till evening you'll only get fast food; and that what is written is not always true, esp.if it's about working hours; and that if you will go out for a real Italian dinner your stomach will be thanking you for weeks; and if you will take time to stop and look around, you will discover Italy far from the one in postcards, but no less charming.

Schlafes Bruder

Sometimes it happens that I cannot fall asleep. It's been two weeks now - no matter how I try, my eyes are not closing until 3am. It's a strange feeling - being alone in the middle of the night, no sound, no movement, only thoughts. They start from one, which sticks in  the mind and screams "please develop me into an endless thread of other thoughts, please please - are you sleeping yet? and now? and now? cmooooon". Wish I had a switch-off for thinking.

But then I always remember one book, read long time ago, which explains the meaning of insomnia. "Schlafes Bruder" (by Robert Schneider, would be in German. It tells the story about a boy who helplessly fell in love and decided not to sleep - because he who sleeps does not love. And then, not willing to loose those precious moments, he decides not to sleep - even though it means eventual death. The story is so tragic, and yet has something magical in it... and so musical too.

From a movie "Schlafes Bruder", according to the book

Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes  Bruder,

Komm und führe mich nur fort. 

Löse meines Schiffleins Ruder, 

Bringe mich an sichern Port. 

Es mag, wer da will, dich scheuen, 

Du kannst mich vielmehr erfreuen. 

Denn durch dich komm ich herein 

Zu dem schönsten Jesulein.

You know it when you see it - Ken Hensley in Tbilisi!

This weekend was just great! Not only because of sun and warmth; and not only because it was weekend; and not only because we went to a concert. Ken Hensley, the founder of legendary Uriah Heep was in Tbilisi for an acoustic concert, and he made it all real special (Uriah Heep is this really famous rock band from the 70s, of which I found out only last year, even though some songs had been surely familiar. So I guess I can't be very snobbish and up-nosed about it now, can I...?).

The concert was simple, in a cozy semi-renovated hall, for less than 500 people, just Ken Hensley and his guitar/piano; later a local band joined (how cool is that, to play with such a celebrity? One of the pluses of Georgia - it's a small country, and community of any alternative trends is even smaller = you can be really special easier:). People could ask questions, and they did - from the most banal ("how do you like our country") to quite interesting ones; from short and concrete to remembrance stories ("do you remember how you were playing "July Morning" in Tokio and drinking water simultaneously?" He did! And he repeated it!). And in this small hall he gave all himself to people who came to listen; and you could really feel that it's a real music, something of a value, something not to be missed.

My favorite track (okok, the only on e I knew before the concert...:)) but still great, rait? :)

Just couldn't stop comparing it to the concert of Bob Dylan in Vilnius, a couple of years ago. The Great Musician was sitting almost his back to people; everyone was asked to remain seated, not to stand or dance or move in any way. The whole evening reminded a public movie screening - he was equally remote, just like all his band. Why did they even come there, no idea. Thanks to Ken Hensley though, for bringing back my faith in great musicians and their music.

Mountain roads

...Tas nepakartojamas jausmas, kai naktį kalnuose mikroautobusiukas išvažiuoja į priešingą eismo juostą posūkyje, o aplinkui tik žvaigždės ir juodos medžių viršūnės.
Tik tiek, kitų mašinų nėra, jas išduotų šviesos, bet virpuliukas vis tiek išlieka: "Kažin, kiek dar tų posūkių?.."


...That unique feeling, when at night in the mountains minibus goes to another lane while turning, and there is nothing around only stars and black peaks of the trees. That is all, there are no other cars - they would be visible, their lights would betray them, but the thrill remains: "I wonder, how many turns left?.."

Grapes, ice and working philosophy

Last weekend I went grape picking - for the first time ever. And I can say now really honestly - I like this work! Because - it is like 10x easier than all the works in my Lithuanian village (digging potatoes, bringing in hay... ufff, I can still feel my back!); because you can eat as many grapes as you can handle - and they surely taste much better straight from the tree; and because of relaxed working philosophy that Georgians seem to have. It was a not very big vineyard, so for 5-6 workers it would take ~1hour, max 2 to pick them all. If all had ladders, and buckets, and were in the mood of some hard labor.
Naturally, it wasn't the case. But we had a guitar. And we prepared barbecue. And ate grapes. And watched how the men are making vine. And then drank the one from last year.

About vine making - somehow everyone imagines it the way it's shown in the movies or some old paintings, or super-traditional festivals: people taking of shoes, or putting on rubber-ones, jumping into a wooden barrel and squeezing grapes with their feet, while music plays in the background... Weeelll, it is just not true. Now humankind has machines for everything - grape squeezing as well. It is faster, cleaner and much easier this way - and all you have to do is watch. Then they leave the juice for some time in the barrel; poor it into another barrel; and just wait for it to become alcoholic. You should just know when to stop waiting, or otherwise you will get chacha instead of vine.

And on top of this instructive afternoon - I learned what you do if you get into hail on the way home!... You panic - but just a little bit. Then you pull over, try to find some shelter - trees, or even higher bushes will do if there is nothing better.... And if the car is still out, you undress and put your clothes on it! That is how you love your car - and we hope some day it will pay us back for it...

Back to USSR or happy Sarkozoba!

I like the Beatles, and I do like their songs - but this one sometimes makes me depressed. Especially when I see it become a reality - in the most amazingly obvious way.

Today the whole Georgia - or at least its capital Tbilisi (but anyway almost half of the country lives here) - celebrates a semi-official festival "Sarkozoba". The title came from a Georgian fashion to add a suffix '-oba' to the names of their celebrations. And it has little to do with Sarkozy himself - his only contribution is that he came here to Tbilisi today. He is indeed a well known politician of a powerful country, who deserves some respect. No argument here. But Saakashvili's office has an interesting attitude to paying respects to someone important.
First, the annual celebration Tbilisoba was moved from the end of October to match the weekend of Sarkozy's visit. Now some say it is because of the bad weather in the end of October. But Tbilisoba usually marked the end of grape harvest in all the regions, so that many people could bring their grape or fresh wine to Tbilisi for this day. Thus even though the sun will be shining this weekend, the whole occasion kind of looses its original sense. Well, unless Sarkozy will stay until tomorrow and will be able to see the fun of Georgian people.
Also, today was an official day-off in all schools and public institutions. And yet not for free - all public officials had to attend obligatory gathering on the main -Rustaveli- street, which was organized to greet Sarkozy. Can you imagine, whole long street full of people - what a warm greeting it had to be! I wonder if Mr.Sarkozy actually knew how these people appeared there. But I know, because I have seen with my own eyes how over 40 special buses passed towards Rustaveli, full of people, just half an hour before the official meeting. Some said that it probably brought people from the regions, though others thought that they just gathered officials from the ministries.

Does not it remind the sad soviet experience, when everyone was forced to participate in the official parades on national holidays? I was told, my grandfather would come out to the street and start sweeping it while the parade was passing - it was his protest, of which I am so proud. It seemed that the soviet era finished. But the soviet style of celebrating somehow still finds its way...

Oh, show me round your snow peaked
mountain way down south
Take me to you daddy's farm
Let me hear you balalaika's ringing out
Come and keep your comrade warm
I'm back in the USSR
Hey, You don't know how lucky you are, boy
Back in the USSR...

P.S. Next morning addition - it appeared that those public officials were searched by security before entering the square; some items, like mirrors or umbrellas were taken away. Then they had to stay there for 3 hours, while whole meeting with Sarkozy lasted only half an hour. And to think that a low ranking official earns ~400 GEL (that is, ~180 EUR)...

Have I been to Azerbaijan? David Gareja.

Traveling around Georgia is always surprising - and this weekend proved to be one more occasion. I have heard a lot about David Gareja, a 'monastery in a desert', and seen photos of it. But it's nothing like the real experience.
We organized this trip with several friends, rented out a minibus (a very comfortable and extremely cheap means of travel! It can cost ~150 GEL, which is nothing if you are 8-12 people) and after 1,5 hours drive reached the hills of David Gareja. The areas around drew emptier with each kilometer, and towards the end of journey one was surrounded by a vast space, almost uninhabited, with wind brushing freely through the low bushes and wide fields of golden grass. It was not the desert that I imagined (you know, sand, no plants, no life) - but certainly could be used for movies about the Wild West, when colonizers were only settling in America. Probably they had the same sense of freedom in those spaces, where there is no living creature around, as far as you can see.

The monastery itself appeared to be a very special place too. Founded in the 6th century, it developed over hundreds of years into a huge complex, stretched over 11 km (or more?), part of which is in the territory of Azerbaijan now. It was not an accident that these monasteries appeared in such a desolated place - harsh environment pleased the monks, who wanted to isolate themselves from worldly distractions. I mostly liked the legend about the spring of water called "David's tears" - I was told that the spring appeared miraculously, after st.David Garejeli was praying for several days from all his heart. It is now the only spring of drinkable water there. Monks were (are?) also collecting rain water - there are beds cut in stone for it to run in deep holes downhill.
When you look around inside, it is hard to imagine how monks could live there, in cells of stone. And yet, next to more modern parts of buildings, there are numerous caves, some of which seem inhabited. They are not very big, carved alongside the hills, and sometimes separated by low walls from the curious tourists. It doesn't always stop them :) I saw one monk trying to get several teenagers-explorers go down, they were climbing up the stone slopes straight to monk cells! :)

They say, visiting David Gareja three times equals going once to Jerusalem

I was surprised to discover that monks have solar batteries

 

Some parts of the monastery are more modern

But that was where adventure just started - to see the whole beauty, you must go hiking over the hill to Azerbaijan border! It is good to train or exercise a little before this trip, but even my lazy muscles handled it. We asked a month the way and started climbing, up and up the winding path. There are usually some more people on this path, so no chances to get lost. But - there are chances to fall and break your leg. Even worse - to fall to Azerbaijan and become illegal injured person!
It is interesting how the two countries divided this place. It seems Georgians were offering some other territories to Azerbaijan, in exchange to surroundings of David Gareja, but Azeris refused. For one, they don't want to loose the hills around, which they think are strategic for defense (in case Georgians would think of smth nasty). But another reason is even more interesting - it appeared this territory was home to ancient Albanians (I am not sure if they have anything to do with nowadays Albania....), whom Azeris claim to be their ancestors. When you think about it, it is natural, that Azerbaijan would not give up their 'ancient lands' so easily. The ethnic mix up of the Caucasus......

When you climb up the hill and reach the peak of it, you have to go a little down on the other side to reach another part of the monastery (or - another monastery, as several of them were founded just next to each other). The path goes around, encircling both parts, so you don't have to return the same way. Which is a good thing - even though the views are impressive, it is so steep and dangerous to walk there! There are no safety measures, no fence, no rope, only metal sticks, which probably were connected by some rope some time ago. Now they mainly mark the path, so you would be sure where to go. There were some scary moments up there, especially when there was slippery sand on the path, or strong wind pushed us harder.

But it was SO worth it! The caves on the other side continue through the whole hill-side, and some of them have frescoes from 11-13 century! It is amazing touch of history, which you can feel so personally, so intimately, without museum glass. Even though with a little thrill of danger.

The path along Georgia-Azerbaijan border

Frescoes outside the ancient church

One of the main parts of David Gareja monastery complex, facing Azerbaijan. Georgia is just on the other side of it!

There are times when people get a little crazy

Have you ever noticed how strangely people act when they fall in love? They make funny faces, talk in baby's voice, call each other by animal-names; sometimes even do something completely stupid, just to make their one and only smile. How cute is that!

I was watching one couple on the street the other day and wondering, why is it so? Why does love make people act in all those silly ways, which normally one would never do? Maybe they want to impress that other person, to show oneselves better than they really are - such act usually looks rrrrreally funny from the outside. Or maybe, just maybe, when you find that one person with whom you can feel completely free, all the craziness comes out, which has been suppressed deep under the serious surface.

Kai grįžti namo

Lietuva toks emigrantų kraštas, kad rašydama apie sugrįžimo jausmą galvoju - ogi daug kas mane supras. Daug kas, išlipdami iš "rainiero" lėktuvėlių - o gal net ir į juos įlipdami - ar grįždami iš visokių Ispanijų, Amerikių, Vokietijų ir pan. turbūt išgyvena tą šoko momentą, kai suvokia, kad iš tiesų grįžo namo.

Dabar galiu klausytis, ką gatvėje šneka žmonės. Ir klausausi - ne tiek dėl to, kad įdomu, bet todėl, kad galiu.
Ir pasakyti ką nors troleibuso kontrolieriui ar pardavėjai.
Ir perskaityti visas reklamas labai greitai - ir tai visai nevargina.
Ir išgirsti kažkur sakant "po šimts pypkių" (rimtai rimtai girdėjau!:)))))
Ir nusipirkti sūrelį, kuris kažkada buvo mėgstamiausias, ir lėtai lėtai jį suvalgyti.
Viską apeiti, visus aplankyti, apžiūrėti, kas pasikeitė per tą laiką....

Et, gera grįžt namo.

Summer - out of the - city

Listening to Joe Cocker and thinking about this summer I realized how romanticized is this idea of spending the hot days on the concrete. Yes. It has its own charm - being one of the few residents in your city, feeling as if you owned it, while walking half-empty streets.You can slow down your pace and enjoy the space, usually filled with all the hustle-and-bustle.

Yeah.... but really, when the thermometer jumps over 30 (or over 40!!!), I can honestly admit - the only thing I can think about is how to GET OUT somewhere where it's green and fresh, and shady, and you can drink something nice and cool, in the breaks between swimming in the cool water..... mmm...

This year I actually had a chance to escape a little bit. There was no water - but there was green and fresh,and cool too. I went to Bakuriani, a Georgian skiing resort. The main noise raises there in winter, when everyone comes for skiing - but in summer it is a perfect place for families with small kids; and for summer schools, conferences, trainings and seminars. As I don't have small kids, I went there for a summer school. That didn't give me much time to discover all that is to be seen there, but only to get to a place where it's 10 degrees cooler than in Tbilisi (i.e.,~27:)!!!.... it was amazing - I wanted to sleep all the time (because I finally could!), and go for a walks around the village, to breath the air of pine trees... The only drawback is that in such places there is really not much to do. There was only one bar open in summer time, and I didn't have enough time to ride horses (and courage too, actually..). So making circles around the village (that is, ~5 km on foot in a fine circle), buying ice-cream in small local shops or hanging around our hotel (which was once grand, and didn't change much since then:) took all my free time. I managed, though, to get into shoes of many people who decide to spend their holidays with a family somewhere in the mountains. To put it in one sentence: very quiet, very fresh, slow - and takes some imagination to find entertainment for oneself.

For P.S. - sharing a few views of the place:

Bakuriani in winter. Taken from here

....aaaand this is the place in summer:

If you stand in the middle of the valley you can see similar views 360 degrees around. Taken from here.

Where did Stalin go?

The other night I was watching Georgian TV, and there appeared to be a show about Stalin statue in Gori - it was removed from central square only last June, in the most curious and secret way, and until now it is still missing. There were several points in this story that I keep wondering about: why did his statue stay in the center of the town for so long? Now, I could write pages of what I think about his cruelty and cynicism, yet it seems Gori people don't feel very touched by such ideas. You see, Joseph was born in Gori, and for this small town it is something that makes it known. Most people don't know that he never returned to Gori after becoming a 'big man' in Moscow. But in Stalin's museum (which charges a crazy price for the entrance!) you will be told all about his life in his young days, with his childhood house and a lots of busts and medals, and literature, and presents that he received (the last one dated 1999, from China. Says a lot, doesn't it)....... all devoted to show how great leader he was.

A painting from Stalin's museum

So that is the second mystery for me - the museum, which does not mention anything negative about Stalin and completely ignores the atrocities that he ordered in his USSR times. It gives very strange view of the history - though at the same time it is interesting to watch, how people actually believe in this version. I wanted so so much to ask something provoking to the ladies working at the museum, but my Georgian was not that good then. Maybe next time:) because there was even an idea to make a museum of a museum. I.e., to leave it all as it is and to show the tourists - that's how we portrayed Stalin in the communist times. Would be interesting!

Another mystery however, was how Stalin's statue disappeared from the main square of Gori. Local people were not so enthusiastic to let go the statue; so the authorities came in the middle of the night, surrounded the square with police and silently took the statue. Nobody knew, nobody saw - just in the morning surprised Gori people saw that the square was empty. Now this I don't understand also - why to make it so secretly? Not to meet any protesters, they said - but so what if people protest? It's their right, and at least they could do what graffiti on the walls saying "We want Stalin back" (or smth like that).

 But the biggest question of all is - where did the statue go? More than a year passed: it is not in the museum, it is not in the city center and nobody talks about it anymore. One mocking journalist (forgot his name....) tried to burst into cabinets of municipality with this question - but nobody could answer him. And though his questioning style looked quite intrusive (though of course, I couldn't understand it all), I agree on one point - there is no meaning to hide such things from people. If you are right, you will act openly. And if you have to hide it only rises new questions... 

****

Ok, after writing this one I heard some doubts, that maybe it actually IS in the museum. Will have to go check some time. Crazy story, in any case :)