Does it Really Say That?

Every once in a while, Anne and Mark see something that they may actually be interpreting correctly, but it is still difficult to believe.  For example, in Knotting Hill, Anne and Mark saw this sign:

George Orwell lived here?  Really?  What would the guy who wrote 1984 think about the government putting up a sign on his house stating that he lived there?  I'm not sure...  Later, Anne and Mark saw this plaque:

Honestly, what is the criteria for this?  If a worker shows up, is the station ineligible?

This was posted on a staircase at a train station.  "Best Unstaffed Station 1994."  That's quite an award.  I wonder if they had a ceremony wherein the governmental agency presented this plaque.  If so... to whom would they present it?  It's a zen puzzle, really - if there is a best unstaffed station award, who shows up to receive it?

Here's another brain buster: blind people can't see, right?  (pretty sure on that one, but it never hurts to check definitions)  So, is there a symbol that states a particular thing is for blind people only?

Apparently there is.  Did the blind people approve this symbol?  Probably not.  Kind of makes you think...  So does this:

Torsos go up, legs go down?  Um.... why?

Granted, Anne and Mark have a little fun with signs on this blog, but it was bound to happen that the signs got their revenge.  Anne and Mark knew it was a matter of time and eventually it happened while they were in England...

Mark = taking a picture of a sign that warns about tripping over a triangle intending to mock it.
Picture = blurry because Mark was tripping over triangle as he took the picture.

Sign: 1.  Mark: 0.  Karma: infinity.

With a new found respect for the noble street sign, Anne and Mark would like to take a minute to recognize some of the good ones they have seen lately.

Unicycle crossing in Greece.  What makes it a good sign?  Easy to understand and totally not at all unnecessary.

They're doing good work over there with that Sidilvap Method.  (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Self-explanatory

Finally, it is even possible to track an entire process just by carefully paying attention to the signs.  For example, in various parts of England, dancing like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever is a big deal.  There are signs advertising it everywhere.  (Uh, uh, uh, uh, Stayin Alive, Stayin Alive, uh, uh, uh, uh, stayin alivvvvvivvvvvvivvvvvvvivvvvve)

And even if you don't see the sign, you can tell by the way I use my walk.

Anyway, with all that fancy disco dancing going on, there is bound to be a breakdown of the funk.  In such circumstances, you need to get some funkservice.

The Same, But Different

Tonight, Mark went out to the local cineplex and took in a showing of Thor.  (It is not clear why this movie was already showing here while it appears to have not opened yet in the United States, but Mark is willing to watch a movie without asking a lot of questions.)  For those who are interested here is Mark's Review: it was a pretty good summer movie.  Lots of action and special effects.  In fact, Mark will go so far as to say it was the best movie based on a comic book based on a Norse god myth that he has ever seen in 3-D.

Ever.

Astute readers may have noticed slight differences in the two posters for this film posted above.  The version on the left (no, your left, not my left) is the American version.  The version on the right is the poster hanging outside the theatre in Blagoevgrad.  The most obvious difference is the title.  The American version is called "THOR" while the Bulgarian version appears to be called "TOP."  Anne and Mark have been informed that there is no equivalent for an "H" in the local tongue and the written "P" is pronounced like an "R" would be in English, so "TOP" is as close to "THOR" as they are going to get (although it will probably sound more like "tore" when pronounced).  This is a minor difference between the two posters to be sure, but interesting nonetheless.  And it got Anne and Mark to thinking about what other things they have seen that look or sound really familiar, but might not be exactly the same as they are in the U.S.

The first thing that came to mind was the beefeaters.  In England, a 'beefeater' is a name for the royal guards.  This name may go back to the middle ages when the guards received part of their wages in food, including beef, or they may have had the privilege of dining with the royals from time to time, on the better food of the day, which may have included beef.  Whatever the source, the name stuck and now when you tour the Tower of London for example, the beefeater will guide you (*for those who are curious, the beefeater guards are quick to point out that their name is totally unrelated to a popular gin of the same name).  In America, obviously, 'beefeater' has an entirely different meaning.

English Beefeater

American Beefeater

Similarly, there are some things in various parts of Europe that look familiar to Anne and Mark, but upon further review are probably something completely unrelated.  For example, this work of art that Anne and Mark saw at the British Museum is actually a bust of Achilles, the Greek god, not a Pro Football Hall of Fame bust of Pittsburgh Steelers great Franco Harris.  But you can see how one could make that mistake.

1 Significant Ankle Injury

12 seasons, 12,120 Rushing Yards, 91 TDs, 4 Super Bowl Titles

Speaking of pro football (the real kind), Anne and Mark saw this man walking around Blagoevgrad.  They initially assumed that he was a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, but it is possible that this was an erroneous assumption.

A little off center, but pretty sweet.

Butt ugly.

Some things here are very similar to things that we have in the U.S., but are just used differently, like the letter "P" as discussed above.  For another example, around Memorial Day every year, motorcycle riders from around the U.S. converge on Washington, D.C. to ride and raise awareness for veterans' issues in an event called "Rolling Thunder."  Blagoevgrad (apparently) has a similar event - but it's a little different.

Rolling Thunder

Cycles Through Blago

Quick Comparison:


                                 "Rolling Thunder"                              "Cycles Through Blago"

Most Popular Ride    Harley                                              Dink

Main Effect              Raise awareness for veterans issues            Wake up Anne and Mark
                              

Date         Memorial Day, every year                Saturday morning, a couple weeks ago

Where to See It       National Mall, Washington, D.C.     Anne and Mark's kitchen window  




And finally, in Greece, Anne and Mark saw a whole bunch of these:

These were all over the place there.  The locals refer to these as "Smart Cars."  At first, Anne and Mark wondered if this were a new thing, essentially half a car (no back seat or trunk) that probably got great mileage and was 'green.'  However, after stepping on a few of them (like I said, they're all over the place), Mark realized that what the Greeks were calling "Smart Cars" are actually what Americans refer to as empty beer cans.

Easter in the Balkans

As mentioned previously, Anne and Mark spent a couple of days in Thessoloniki in Greece.  They returned to Blagoevgrad on Saturday and then joined their Bulgarian friends at their summer getaway in the mountains.  Krassi and Zlatina had been so kind as to invite Anne and Mark to their Easter celebration.

Easter is a big deal in this part of the world.  Zlatina told us that there is a saying in Bulgaria that translates roughly as "Not every day is Easter."  This saying is meant to warn you away from eating, drinking and partying too much.  The underlying logic is that on Easter you can eat, drink, party, be lazy - whatever and however much you like.  But that is only because it's Easter.  It's a free pass.  The rest of the time - shape up.  So, Easter is the biggest holiday.  The Easter celebration is a big deal and being invited to one was quite an honor for Anne and Mark.

Nice day for an Easter feast.

... an honor that almost did not happen.  Anne and Mark were going to meet Krassi, Zlatina and others up at the summer house in the mountains shortly after returning from Greece.  The problem is that Anne and Mark had never been to the mountain house before and did not know how to get there.  Anne and Mark assumed that this would not be a problem, as they would enlist the help of one of the many local, highly-qualified taxi drivers.  Unfortunately, the taxi driver was not a local.  She knew the general area, but did not know exactly where Anne and Mark needed to go.  What solution did she come up with?  Get out here.

I got nothin.

Anne and Mark were stranded 25 minutes outside of town in front of a hotel that had long-since shuttered its doors.  Uh-oh.  Not long after the cab left, a passer by stopped to help the lost-looking Americans.  The interaction went like this:

Passer-by: a bunch of Bulgarian words.
Anne and Mark: No habla
Passer-by: more Bulgarian words,
Anne and Mark: show the guy a piece of paper with the name of the destination written on it.
Passer-by: points up the hill, offers use of cell phone
Anne and Mark: use the cell phone, call wrong number, make no progress.
Passer-by: motions use of cell phone, points up the hill.  Then he motions to the back of his truck where he shows that his truck is full of milk cans
Anne and Mark:  unsure of proper response ... "those are some nice milk cans, sir"
Passer-by: shows signs of frustration.  Now drops pointing only and engages in a full blown game of charades.  First word, two syllables.  Cell phone.  Then walk up the hill.
Anne and Mark: we need to go up the hill and buy a cell phone?
Passer-by leaves.

Anne and Mark then debated whether he was suggesting that the destination was within walking distance or that he would go there and tell our friends that we were on the road.  Fortunately, it was the latter and Krassi arrives shortly thereafter to take Anne and Mark the remainder of the way to the cottage (Anne and Mark never got an explanation as to the importance of the milk cans).

As mentioned earlier, Easter is a big deal in this part of the world.  Anne and Mark can attest to this fact in both Greece and Bulgaria.  The population of each country is primarily of the Orthodox Christian religion (although there are differences between the Greek and Bulgarian versions, Anne and Mark are not familiar with what exactly they are).  One common thing that Anne and Mark have noticed about Orthodox churches, as opposed to Catholic or Protestant churches, is the use of icons.  These are usually paintings of Jesus or saints, but can also be other small items that are related to them.  The icons are visible all over: large churches, people's homes, car dashboards... One other common place to see them is in small shrines.  These shrines are most commonly found outside churches, but can be located pretty much anywhere.  Most will have an icon or two and a place for worshippers to place lighted candles or flowers.

Small shrine in the city walls at Thessoloniki on Good Friday

The last day that Anne and Mark were in Thessoloniki was Good Friday, sometimes called "Holy Friday" around here.  (This year, Easter falls on the same date for Orthodox and Catholics, but usually it does not.)  Anne and Mark were out for an evening stroll through Thessaloniki when they ran into a huge crowd blocking the street.

Anne and Mark could not see what has happening, but guessed that this was related to the holiday (the cross gave it away).  Anne and Mark whipped around the corner and caught the procession as it approached the church.  After it passed, Anne and Mark started to head back to their hotel, only to run into another procession.  A brief clip of both processions is below.

To Hellas and Back

Give them a couple of days, and you can bet that Anne and Mark will travel.  The University decided mid-semester that Good Friday was going to be a holiday.  This creates a long weekend for Anne and Mark, but one for which they had a limited period to plan.  The result - a quick trip to Thessaloniki.  Thessaloniki is about a 3 hour drive from Blagoevgrad, but Anne and Mark had not visited there yet.  They rented a car from a friend's landlord and made the trek.

Thessaloniki is a city that was founded in honor of Thessa - the Greek god of overpriced restaurants.  (*Editor's note: the previous sentence is not intended to be a factual statement).  The city is located on a natural port and has been a center of shipping and commerce for quite some time.  The city is an eclectic mix due in part to having been populated and/or ruled by many different people over the years (founded in the times of Alexander the Great - then occupied by Romans, Christians, Jews, Turks, Greeks (duh) and several other groups), each of which left their respective marks.

Eclectic mix also due in part to total lack of zoning laws.

Probably the  most famous landmark in Thessaloniki is the White Tower.  It is old and has served many purposes for the different regimes that have controlled the city over the years.  As you would expect of a tower built near a port, it has served as a look-out and military position.  However, over the years it also served as a prison, administrative office and now, a museum.

Prior to serving as a prison, the White Tower served as a rook in several European chess championships (1850-1863), as Mark demonstrates by moving the Tower to queen bishop 4.

Modern visitors (hey - that's Anne and Mark!) can climb to the top of the tower for a view of the port and the city waterline.

Hey, right behind you! You can see the spot where you took that silly picture of the White Tower as a chess piece.

Aside from historical venues, the aforementioned dining, and the boardwalk along the port, the other thing Thessaloniki is known for is shopping.  Most of this fame is due to the high end shopping available in this port city: Armani, Dolce & Gabbani, etc.  Unfortunately, the fashion stylings of Anne and Mark are not conducive to this type of shopping, so they were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to pay $500 for a pair of leather pants.  They were able to shop more productively in other areas, however. Anne found some hippy-esque artisans selling homemade jewelry, which was pretty cool.  Anne and Mark conclude that the guy was from Ecuador and the girl was a local.  There was a bit of other conversation, but nothing that made any sense.  Anyway, Anne got a cool necklace out of it.  

Thessaloniki, where "pick up some olives" is WAY too vague.

Anne and Mark also made it to a farmers market in Thessaloniki.  This market was interesting and displayed lots of fresh food (in the case of the butcher stands, maybe a little 'too fresh').  Later Anne and Mark found one of the permanent merchants that was working hard to ensure fair prices for the customers.

Discount Market: Cutting unnecessary costs and passing the savings on to "E".

Are You Ready for Some Futbol?

A couple of weekends ago, Anne and Mark made the trip across town (actually, about 5 blocks) to the local soccer stadium.  It is a fairly short walk from their apartment and they can actually see some of the grandstand seats from their living room window.

When they arrived at the stadium and took their seats, Anne and Mark realized that they could see their apartment.

Casa de Anne y Mark is just beyond that tree in the middle.

Almost from the opening tip, Anne and Mark had some issues with this event.  First off, the language barrier.  For some reason, on this side of the pond they refer to soccer as "futbol."  Must be part of the metric conversion or something.  But they do not likewise refer to the NFL as a soccer league.  They call it "American Football."  Crazy Europeans.  Where do they come up with this stuff?  In any event, there were a few other lessons to be learned.  Anne and Mark made it to the game match.  It was a beautiful day out on the field pitch and there were a fair number of local fans supporters.

Aside from not speaking the language of soccer futbol, Anne and Mark were in trouble because they did not know which team side they were going to cheer for support.  Eventually, they decided on the green team side, for multiple reasons - none of them related to soccer futbol.

Reason #1: The photo above was taken during the pre-game match festivities.  Anne and Mark spent a little time looking around and scoping out the crowd.  Then they noticed the sign written in green that reads "Cannibals."  Word to the wise - if there are two groups of people and one of them self-identifies as cannibals and the other one does not, and you have to choose which one to be a part of - ALWAYS JOIN THE CANNIBALS.  always.

Reason #2: There was evidence that the green team was called "Pirin" and the mountains around Blagoevgrad are called the Pirin Mountains.  Anne and Mark put 2 and 2 together and reached 22.

Reason #3: Anne bought a scarf containing the logo and colors of the green team side.

So, having established their strong loyalties to the Green Pirin Cannibals, Anne and Mark sat back to watch some exciting soccer action.  Anne and Mark were informed that Pirin is somewhat equivalent to a minor league team.  So this match was the equivalent of a minor league game.  As such, Anne and Mark had somewhat lower expectations regarding the quality of play.  What they did not expect is that apparently, the minor leagues are especially thuggish.  Large stretches of this game involved players running into each other, often for the purpose of gaining an advantage, but sometimes probably just because they were a bit clumsy.

Fight! Fight! Fight!

You may have heard unconfirmed reports that Mark may have dozed off in the stands during the match.  Anne claims to have witnessed this event.  Mark is less sure.  Mark admits it is possible.  He specifically remembers that the game was tied at 0-0 (that's zero-zero nil-nil to you non-sports fans).  And then later, he re-gained consciousness and felt like a great deal of time had passed.  But then he looked up to the scoreboard.  0-0.  Apparently, either no time had passed or Mark had missed nothing.  You be the judge.

Eventually, however, someone scored a run touchdown whatever.  Then another and another.  By the end of the whole thing, it was a three-nil blowout.  Root, root, root for the home team, if they don't win it's a shame.  Or something equivalent and more suited for soccer futbol.

I bet it goes in.  Eat em up, Cannibals!

Macedonia for a Day

Not very far.

Macedonia is just a hop, skip and a jump from Blagoevgrad (Anne and Mark can literally see it from their office window), but Anne and Mark had never visited that country.  Until now.  Shortly after seeing the production of Moulin Rouge, Anne and Mark had the opportunity to visit Macedonia for an afternoon lunch.  Anne and Mark were not terribly familiar with the geography or history of this area prior to the visit, but were aware that the people who live in Macedonia share some common ancestors and culture with the people who live in Bulgaria.  Upon traveling into Macedonia with their friends Krassi and Zlatina, Anne and Mark were informed of the major differences between Bulgaria and Macedonia: Macedonians speak Bulgarian with an accent and they have much redder roofs.  Wow - such dramatic differences, will Anne and Mark be able to adjust?  Actually, on both counts, Anne and Mark had to take their guides' word for it.  Anne and Mark do not speak Bulgarian (with an accent or otherwise) and frankly, the roofs looked equally red, although you are all welcome to judge that fact for yourselves:

Maybe a touch of crimson, but nothing to write home about, right?

So what do you do if you have an hour or so to kill before lunch in Macedonia?  That sounds like just enough time to head down to the ATM (bancomat) and then head to the farmers' market.  Mark who is well known as an international financier - basically the Donald Trump of Eastern Europe (but without the political/reality television aspirations) - handled the bancomat duties.  Unfortunately, the money in Macedonia was on the metric system or something, and he had no idea how much to get out.  When the choices came up on the bancomat screen, Mark selected the second lowest amount.  It was 500 denars.  This sounded like a lot, so Mark was happy.  (Later, when reading his bank statement, Mark found out this was equivalent to $11.50 - makes you wonder how much the lowest amount would have been worth in USD)

So, flush with cash (or, at least, believing themselves to be flush with cash), Anne and Mark headed to the farmers' market.  Although it was only early April, the produce at the market looked fantastic.

One significant difference that Anne and Mark have picked up on while in Bulgaria is that the local diet is much more closely aligned with what is 'in season.'  The diet is very much concentrated on whatever is fresh at the time, so the new vegetables of spring are a welcome sight after the long winter of cabbage, snow and coal ash burgers.

The market focused on fresh vegetables, but there were assorted other items.  Anne was able to purchase some flowers.  Mark noticed the rooster above, apparently tied to a hitching post while out for a walk.  And, I know what you're thinking - this is all well and good, but what if we need a pair of tennis shoes named after an organ in the human digestive system?  Don't worry, we got you covered there, too.

Liver shoes - Just do it.

After blowing a few hundred denars at the farmers' market (sounds like a lot, anyway), Anne and Mark headed over to the restaurant where they were meeting friends for lunch.  They greeted a few locals along the way...

Nice hat.

The innocent fun of playing with a two liter beer bottle in a ditch across the street from the restaurant.   Good times.

Finally, Anne and Mark made it to the restaurant.  Their friends knew the establishment and made the order for the entire table.  Anne and Mark enjoyed a nice salad and what is best described as a pizza boat (it looked like a canoe with the outsides being deep dish pizza crust and the inside filled with tomato sauce and some kind of sausage).  Anne and Mark ate and were fully satisfied.  It was a very filling amount of food.


Then the meal arrived.

Apparently, all of the hype that we hear about Americans having the largest portion sizes is a load of Bull- garia.  There was food on this table all day long.

Meat served on a bed of french fries.  Who are you trying to kid with those onions on top?

The meat platter set down on the table - excuse me, the two meat platters - were overflowing with all matter of grilled meats: chicken, kabob, pork chops, and even a Macedonian version of a Juicy Lucy (not as good as the original found at Matt's in south Minneapolis, but not bad).  All in all, it was a meal that would have made Bill Swerski and the superfans proud.

Da Bulls.

Moulin Rouge!

Shortly after returning from England, Anne and Mark were treated to some theatre right here in Blagoevgrad.  For the last several years, the students of the University have put on a musical.  Last year it was Hairspray and this year it is an adaptation of Moulin Rouge.  The entire thing is run by students and it is a fairly impressive display.

Anne and Mark can report that the play went off with only a few minor hitches (still working out the kinks last week - now they are on their national tour).  Anne and Mark can also report that this adaptation even has a happy ending, as the female protagonist somehow overcomes her tuberculosis (or whatever it was) and lives happily ever after.  Unfortunately, Mark is unable to report much else, as he found himself distracted to the point that he was almost unable to see the stage.  What was so distracting?

What a view!

Easily the most awesome thing he has ever seen.  A combination 'Bruce Willis' shave-it-all-before-it-goes-on-its-own and mid-mullet hairstyle.  Obviously, this is the first time this has ever been seen in captivity.

Even with full effort, Mark was unable to look away.

There it is again!!!!