Tag: July 2002

Sarah, an Aussie from Canberra has sent an update on her
European adventures.  She says: I have spent a few
weeks travelling by myself in Italy, Slovenia, Croatia,
Bosnia and Hungary. In Italy I went to Venice, Florence,
Siena, Lucca and Sam Gimignano (which I still cannot spell)
and Trieste. Loved Venice, as you know, and other highlight
was the Tuscan hills outside of San Gim. I could have sat
there watching the seasons change, the hills are so
enchanting. Went ambling through grape vines and olive
trees for that authentic experience. Will be looking for a
job squashing grapes in a small Tuscan village after I have
finished working on a ferry in Venice.

If you are ever in the region it is extremely worthwhile
to do a little circuit around the Balkans, where the hordes
of tourists that populate Italy have not yet
penetrated.  Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia is a
quaint old town with a wonderful range of cafes and
beautiful old buildings among the willow trees on the river
bank. A day trip away is Bled, home of my favourite castle
for this trip.  Perched on a cliff overlooking a deep
green lake with an ancient monastery on an island,
sheltered by the surrounding Alps.

Then I caught the ferry from Rijeka in Croatia down the
coast to Dubrovnik.  Slept on the deck with the smell
of salt air and the warm breeze to lull me to sleep. 
The coastline is stark, with weather bleached rocks and
sparse vegetation, the darker green of coastal conifers.
And the water is so clear azure at the shore and a deep
blue as though someone spilt ink where it's deep. 
Wandered the old town of Dubrovnik, enclosed by fully in
tact city walls and escaped the heat to an island 10
minutes away, with rocky beaches and a deserted fort to
clamber in and imagine where the old cannons would have
been fired from the crumbling walls. 

The hot sun on the ground creating that smell of dried
leaves and warm earth that is so intoxicating and evocative
of summer. A chance encounter with some English lasses –
the Beetle! – (and a few bottles of wine) and I was off to
Sarajevo. A contender for my favourite city in
Europe.  Certainly the most interesting if not the
most beautiful.  Minarets and church spires share the
skyline and the architecture tells the stories of all those
different periods of history from Turks to Austrians right
up until the recent war.  Shrapnel marks still scar
the pavement and buildings are pockmarked with bullet
wounds, and yet the cafe lifestyle is thriving and
thelocals delights in strolling up and down the pedestrian
walks each balmy summers night. 

The tunnel museum tells the story of the tunnel, the
only link between Sarajevo and free territory during the
siege, and locals will tell you their stories of how they
lived during the war.  A place with a long and
interesting history currently transforming and adapting
itself once more. Next stop was Zagreb for my
birthday.  A stately city with many fine buildings and
yet more cafe lifestyle.  Friends joined me and we
celebrated my 103rd birthday by watching some crazy French
street performers doing a comical version of the magic
flute, complete with soprano and brass ensemble and full
audience participation. 

The other highlight of Zagreb was the annual animated
film festival, for something a bit different.Another long
un-air-conditioned train trip later and I was in Budapest
to meet another friend, wondering how many times I would
have to revise which is my favourite city in Europe. 
Rightly compared with Prague, the most beautiful feature is
the palace, castle and parliament buildings along the
river, that along with the bridges are beautifully lit at
night. We went to a small town on the Danube bend and
climbed to a castle before catching the boat back down the
river to Budapest.  Spent a lovely day at the hot
baths, and then enjoying a long meal on the river front as
the sun set on another beautiful summers day. And now I am
in London. 

The last four weeks of this trip will see me dashing
around the UK, catching up with friends and family. I will
also go to Scotland, having been unsuccessful in obtaining
a visa for Russia as well as to Ireland for a few days for
a South American truck reunion and to see some more
family. 

If you'd like to contact Sarah, her details are: sarahguise@hotmail.com

In last month's e-newsletter, we talked about Spain
demanding Gibraltar back from the British, and how odd this
was when they themselves had two territories in Morocco,
(Ceuta and Melilla) that the Moroccans would like
back. 

You may have noticed in the news that a couple of weeks
ago, on July 11^th, a small band
of Moroccan soldiers landed on the unoccupied Spanish
owned, but jointly claimed Island of Perejil (Spanish) or
Leila (Arabic) or Parsley (English) – unoccupied but for
goats, that is, and just 25 metres from the Moroccan
shoreline. 

They set up tents and put a Moroccan flag.  The
arrival was said to be to celebrate the King of
Morocco's wedding.  About a week after that,
Spanish troops arrived on the island, escorted by full
naval battleships and gained control from the Moroccan
army.  Now the Spanish troops have withdrawn from the
island and all is well again: foreign ministers of Morocco
and Spain have finalised a US-brokered (the EU was snubbed
in helping here) resolution to their dispute over the
Mediterranean island of Perejil.  Although both
countries claim the island, Spain says it had an
understanding that neither side would erect a permanent
camp there.  The return to the status quo does not
mean that Morocco has given up its claim to sovereignty of
Pereji.

Morocco was also hoping to take the opportunity to talk
about all the issues of contention between the two
countries.  These include the Western Sahara,
clandestine immigration and fishing, as well as the future
of the Spanish sovereign enclaves of Ceuta and
Melilla.  Spain said it was willing to talk about
anything except the enclaves.

Under a bridge in a vast city dominated by a powerful
empire, lives a giant troll. A short walk from the
beast's dark hiding spot stands a statue of a faraway
leader where the locals drink a potent brew for stamina.
This is not a hobbit town in Middle Earth. This is Fremont,
a suburb of Seattle, the self-declared Centre of the
Universe.

Since the Centre of the Universe was
'discovered' in 1991, Fremont has become known for
a growing collection of public art that all manages to live
up to the official motto, De Libertas Quirkas, or Freedom
to be Peculiar.

On a cold, grey day in April, a six block walking tour
is a great way to exercise the body and mind.  I
walked east from the colourful signpost that points to the
major attractions, 'LENIN 2 BLKS' in ochre and
'ATLANTIS 663 FATHOMS' in aquamarine.  A block
from the sign is a cold-war missile that once adorned the
side of a surplus store in nearby Belltown. Now painted
with the crest of the Fremont republic, the
'Rocket' is lucky to be there at all. The first
attempt to erect the rocket in 1993 failed, allowing the
locals to make a joke about the committee not 'being
able to get it up'. The rocket was finally installed in
time for the 1994 summer solstice and the liberation of
Fremont.  

A short walk north from the Rocket, amongst the pink
blossoms, next to the 'Taco Del Mar' sign, is a 16
foot bronze sculpture of Vladimir Lenin. Weighing 7 tons,
the statue is the only known representation of the Russian
leader that shows him surrounded by guns and flames instead
of holding a book or waving his hat. Lewis Carpenter, an
American working in Slovakia, found the statue lying face
down after it was toppled in the revolution of 1989 and
mortgaged his house to pay for the shipping back to the US.
Carpenter planned to sell the sculpture as the world's
most unique garden gnome. The statue is still for sale for
$US 150,000.

I was not wearing a long thick coat designed for Russian
winter, so I moved on to boost my energy the way the locals
do. In 'Still Life', a bohemian coffee shop,
artists, writers and students buzzed. The drug of choice
for these urban rebels was the same as the Microsoft campus
dwellers, caffeine. I was still getting used to the
super-brew and even with an asparagus and red pepper
omelette on thick brown toast I could feel my eyes jolt
open and my pulse speed up.

With the java beans aid I walked up the hill and under
the north end of the Aurora Bridge I found the Fremont
Troll.  Sculptured in 1990 by four local artists –
Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter and Ross Whitehead
– who won a Fremont Arts Council competition, the 18ft
concrete beast munches on a full size Volkswagen Beetle and
leers at visitors with a shiny metal eye. As with much of
the community's installations, the Troll is a living
exhibit that reflects local feeling. In 1998, when a man
shot a bus driver causing the bus to crash off the bridge
into the apartment building next to the Troll, a glistening
tear appeared under his eye. The creature is also the guest
of honour at “Trollaween” every October.

The wind rushed up under the concrete pillars of the
bridge and bit deeper and colder than the cement
Troll's teeth ever could. The weather also drained the
colour of the faces of the five passengers 'Waiting for
the Interurban'. The cold aluminium statues looked
resigned to their fate, wrapped in the sporting colours of
a local winning team. I paid special attention to the face
of the dog with a man's face, brought about by a
dispute between sculptor Richard Beyer and aluminium
recycler Armen Stepanian, the one-time honorary mayor of
Fremont.

Trying to rid my bloodstream of caffeine, I walked away
from the centre, along the cycle path lining the edge of
Lake Union, past the houseboats made famous in Sleepless in
Seattle to the decaying metal structures of Gasworks Park.
In the shadow of the rusted boilers covered in bright
swirls of graffiti I looked back at the Seattle skyline as
the Fremont drawbridge tooted, cutting the republic off
completely from the city, just the way the locals liked
it.

David is trying to combine careers in internet,
marketing and travel. Travel Writing and Photography is one
of several projects he is currently working on. 
Information about other projects can be found at www.dmfreedom.com. 
David can be contacted by email at dave@dmfreedom.com