Zagreb is surprisingly cool

I expected Zagreb to be like Sofia, but was pleasantly mistaken. Although it is about the same size, it has a distinct appeal. BH described it as a mix of Prague and Sofia; while it had some ugly Yugoslav-era structures, there was also a beautiful old town and, my favorite, a large pedestrian-only area.

The tourist brochure for Zagreb states that “(t)here are very few places where the present and the past coexist as harmoniously as in Gornji grad- Zagreb’s Upper Town.” To support this argument, the pictures in the brochure show people dressed up in Victorian era costume as if it is the daily routine. Of course, we didn’t run into anyone in military regalia or a layered dress (it was very hot) but the city did have a special feel.

We started out our tour near the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  We wandered through some allies, passed a bar named after JRR Tolkien, and ended up on Tkalciceva; a wonderful street full of bars and restaurants. Since we didn’t know precisely where to go, we headed up a stairwell and found ourselves in Markov Trg. ‘Trg’ means ‘square’ in Serbo-Croatian, and is really fun to say. The square is dominated by St. Mark’s Church, with its patriotic roof decoration, but is also home to the parliament. At around 8 pm on a Tuesday, the upper town was empty and pleasant­— it felt similar to an October evening in the castle district of Prague.

St. Mark's Church

The Main Square

Before heading home, we went back to Tkalciceva Street for a drink, but then ran into a group of Deaf people from Croatia, Italy and France. They were all in Zagreb for the World Deaf Poker Championship and were happy to invite us for a drink.

We sat, chatted, and drank maybe a bit too much for a Tuesday night. When you drink on a Tuesday, of course you need to have one of these for a late-night snack.

Deep-fried Hamburger

It is unfortunate that we only spent one evening in Zagreb, because I think there is a lot more to explore. Like most tourists, we are jetting off to the coast. But we have one stop first: Plitvice Lakes Park.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Wow...

PIZZA! We were really hungry

Angry swan

Soooooo beautiful

Ljubljana (pronounce the ‘j’s like ‘y’s)

I LOVE DRAGONS

SLOVENIA! I have wanted to make this trip since 2007, when I saw my friend’s pictures of Lake Bled. Four years later, and I finally made it! Our first two nights were spent at a so-so hostel near the center. After three nights in a campground, however, any bed was welcome.

We didn’t have too much time in Ljubljana, but that wasn’t a problem. The city has only a population of 300,000 and the historic center is easily accessible on foot. Our day was still, however, pretty packed.

In the morning, we saw the downtown, which is gorgeous and ever so charming. The Ljubljana River runs down the center and on both banks there are various cafes and bars. Unlike Sofia or Belgrade, Ljubljana does not have a post-Communist feel (at least in the center.) 

The castle in Ljubljana was a little underwhelming. Rick Steves, my least favorite travel writer, said Ljubljana was the next, next Prague after Krakow. However, compared to Prague and Krakow, Ljubljana castle is a little lame. The view from the top, however, is worth the three Euro funicular ride. Also, the castle had a free library in the park— what a great idea!

In the afternoon, we visited two counter-culturally type of places: an ex-bike factory and a squatter residence. The graffiti was spectacular. While Bulgarian graffiti is normally ugly and often offensive (death to whores?) this graffiti was truly art. The factory also had a nightclub, but since it was a Sunday, we didn’t have a chance to go. After the factory, we wandered around the squatter residence near Celica Hostel (which is itself a converted prison). The art here was beautiful, creepy, colorful, and awesome. One particular wall reminded me of Yoshi’s Island. In Sofia, counter-culture was either deep underground or non-existent; in Slovenia, the factory and squatter residence were within minutes of downtown. Fantastic. 

Graffiti near the bike factory

 Finally, we had a couple of beers with a Fulbrighter that was studying in Ljubljana. She warned us that most of the beers on tap in Slovenia were a little bland, but that ‘Human Fish’ is delicious. We tried the beer, and it really was great. But what is up with its name? Slovenia is home to this cave-monster, which is known as the human fish because it has such a long life. 

The Human Fish 

Weird name for a beer, but a great beer for an evening in Ljubljana.

Burano, Venice

Venice was beautiful, but really touristy, so we wanted to see something else on our second day. Murano is famous for glass, while Burano is famous for its lace. For me, neither of these is a compelling reason to visit, but Burano was apparently really colorful. We grabbed a boat and took a forty-minute trip to the lovely island of Burano.

With all of these colorful facades, how could we not do a photo shoot? BH and I tried to portray the emotions of the brilliants colors.

Cool Yellow

Steely Grey

We finished the evening with our first real Italian dinner. BH got a pizza, which he described as better than Domino’s. Thank God! My pasta was delicious ­— spaghetti, seafood, and olive oil. We also had fried calamari and a liter of red wine. Yum. With such magnificent food, it is perhaps good that I didn’t spend a year here… I would definitely have become portly. 

Venezia

Venice was beyond beautiful. I think it is perhaps the most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. We spent the first day wandering around— not following signs and instead relying on the waves of people. There were tourists from everywhere, and a huge amount of Koreans. I was almost as excited to see Koreans as I was to see the Italian gem; I can’t get enough of Korea. We wandered about, but the route was anything but clear. Sometimes, we would have to go through tiny allies, but it was the only way to get to certain destinations. I especially liked St. Marco’s Square, but it was just as great to get lost in the numerous side streets.

BH in Saint Marco's Square

 

As the day grew on, the novelty of getting lost in these tiny allies wore off. I was exhausted near the end of the day, and just wanted to get back to our campground. I knew which way to go with cardinal directions, but we kept ending up at dead ends, and couldn’t make our way across the Grand Canal. The charm of the streets faded with hunger and exhaustion. Oh, the frailty of our bodies!

I did eventually find the way back to the bus station with the help of some other tourists. Back to our camping ground and spending the first night in our tent.

Ciao Bulgaria

The time has come. Ten months have gone by. Some of these months were super exciting. Some of them were pretty boring. I have learned a lot, but am definitely ready to move on. We met some really cool friends, but, with the help of technology and cheaper and cheaper airline flights, this won't be the end. I hope all of them can visit us in Korea and, if not, I'm sure we'll see each other stateside.
One of the most important things that happened while in Bulgaria was my disillusionment with politics. I always looked at politicians skeptically, but felt that there were some white knights out there who actually were out there to act as the voice of people. Living in Bulgaria, it is quite easy to see the motivation of politicians: money, power and influence. This insight helped me look at US politics with a more discerning eye. Although Bulgaria is not as democratized as the US, I would not say the US is a shining example of political enlightenment. I don't even know what that would look like.
This has helped shape my next steps. I was originally planning on getting my Masters degree in public policy, but I think it will more likely be in International Development or Economics. Diplomacy has lost its appeal for me. For now, I'm going to go back to Korea, teach English, and try to become fluent in Korean. I don't know how many years that will take!
From June 29th to July 28th, BH and I, along with our friend Katy, will be traveling from Venice down the Aegean Coast through northern Greece and making our way to Istanbul. It should be pretty epic, and I'll try to post some pictures and thoughts while we are traveling.
Чао България!

Gay Pride Sofia

Gay pride Sofia was bigger than I expected. It was BH's second pride and my third. I went to MN pride back in 2009, which was huge and a blast, and then BH and I went to Seoul pride in 2010. While I was just an observer in Minnesota, in Bulgaria the parade is more of a demonstration march. We met up at Lover's Bridge (an apt place to start a pride parade) and marched through downtown Sofia ending up near Sofia University.
GLBT rights in Bulgaria are comparable to Korea. That's not a good thing. Gay sex is legal here, but public displays of affection are dangerous and the status of GLBT individuals is nowhere near the level in Western Europe. There are some public gay figures in Bulgaria, but I can think of only one at the moment. Azis is a Bulgarian chalga singer and 'married' to his partner. His music videos are ridiculous, and very homoerotic, and Perez Hilton has a crush on him:
Perez's links to Azis
Unfortunately, we did not meet up with Azis during the parade. There were a couple of politicians at the parade and one of the UN Human Rights Commissioners. A group of us got together and joined the parade. The weather was great, the atmosphere was lovely, and there was loud music playing the entire time. People on the street stared, some waved, and some looked openly disgusted. The only negative of the parade happened at 8pm. Apparently, as the crowd was dissipating, some 'hooligans' attacked a five of the marchers. Nobody was seriously injured, but it definitely reflects the homophobic and conservative elements of Bulgarian society. These attacks were not considered hate crimes because, under Bulgarian law, sexual minorities are not given equal protection as other minorities. Thank God none of us were hurt.

Hillary with our watermelon + mastika

That's pride!

Sophia with our new friend Whitney and a GLBT activist that lives in Greece

Love how they painted this monument

Playing flip-cup back at the apartment with our new friends