Bratislava, Slovakia

As I mentioned above, we didnt spend the second day in Vienna, but took a one day trip to Bratislava instead....since they had shopping on the agenda...and the thought of it makes me cringe....and we could have just wandered around Vienna again, but the thought of going to Bratislava was much more appealing :)

                                

Well Vienna and Bratislava are like the two capital cities with the shortest distance between them and there is a train every hour going from Vienna to Bratislava, and the trip takes like an hour, so just really feasible...and off we went...not really a high-speed train, I still haven't been on one of those but it is a train!! There was the option to go by boat/ship whatever...but I told my friends they can go by boat if they want, I am going by train and we will meet in Bratislava, no negotiations there...and of course we all went by train in the end :P

and there it is, the Central Station in Bratislava welcoming you :)

Bratislava is one of those places where you have this Old Part of the town, which IS the touristy spot and worth seeing...and the new part of town that you can see from above and that is just not so appealing...unfortunately most of the Bratislava pictures are with my friend...and I still havent gotten those, so ....

On our way to the castle....oh boy...while we were walking up this street, at the distance, I noticed this cute little cat...and I started calling 'mac mac mac - which is the Macedonian version for 'kitty kitty kitty'....and just when we got closer I realized it was a dog...with its owner...thank God the owner didn't understand Macedonian..or at least I hope :)  (and my t-shirt here is about cats too btw :))))

I think that everyone takes pictures with this fella :)))

the Old Town of Bratislava is really worth seeing and a few hours are more than enough...quite a lot of tourists though...and after all that walking we wanted something to eat an chose something that was supposed to be Traditional Slovak Cuisine at a place called Slovak House...I don't remember the name of this thing I ordered.... but this was simply tasteless...and actually what my friends ordered as well and from what I could try, it was all just tasteless...that is even what I've written on my own card - awful cuisine..awful! :)

they say they have the best beer though, and my friends could confirm that...I am one of those people that just HATE beer :)

and here we were waiting for our train back to Vienna at the Central Station...yep, not one of the most impressive Train Stations...but a cool one...and you have this kind of 'ding-dong' prior to each announcement that we kept laughing about...I don't know why...

Cultural Heritage of Slovakia issued in 2009

Zagreb, Croatia

next comes Zagreb at the end of June...and the amazing edition of InMusic Festival...

I don't know if it is still too early, but so far Im kinda not impressed with this year's line up....I am like all the time praying for Sigur Rós to be announced since they will already be on tour at that time, and they will mostly be playing at music festivals, so it is kinda logical that the guys from InMusic should try and bring them to Zagreb....but so far, they are not even giving any indications for such a possibility even though people, including me, have posed the question...so far, what has excited me the most was yesterday's announcement of Django Django coming (a cool British rock band)...and for that I would consider going...other than that, some of the cool artists that will be playing are Wilco and PJ Harvey, but still not that good enough to take that 800 km something road...though now with Django Django, it may be considered...anyways, this post should be about last year, not this one :)

So first of all, Id like to wholeheartedly thank Agi for making me company during the last InMusic...she was like the perfect company and it just contributed to the greatness of the entire festival.
 It was also my first sleeping-in-tent experience (yeah, I know it is kinda strange I haven't done it yet, but there goes my tent-virginity...) and it is something I'd do it again (well I already did it actually last August when I went mountain climbing, but that is a completely different story  and cannot compare the two).

it is a fantastic surrounding to camp at, dont you think?

and after trying to figure it out for a while..

we were set! voila!!

Anyways, the festival lasted three days, so it was three nights in the tent...and the first and the third one were ok...but oh my the second...that one is unforgettable...to me at least....even though the first day was all sunny and warm, things drastically changed during the second while we were in town...it started raining and there was this wind blowing and we were of course under equipped so we started freezing and were desperate to find some cheap umbrella or a rain coat, but guess what - all rain coats were like sold out..so at last we got into H&M and even though I am the anti-shopping kind of type, this time I felt like blessed and found this sweater for like 3 euros that felt so welcoming on my skin...I still wear it today, it is a nice one...now if we did get through the day, the night was a different issue...I think that I put on all the clothes I had with me, but it was just impossible to warm up...impossible....I think I barely slept that night...well, my mistake, didnt bring any mattress for underneath the sleeping bag...but then again,  I didnt really expect the temperatures would drop down so much that day....
Third day was good...the sun came out and everything felt different....and music-wise it was also a fabulous one, so the whole rain, freezing thing was like just forgotten...

Chillin' out with some JJ Cooler if I recall correctly (Agi discovered this one and it was really cool!)

The very main reason I decided to go to the last edition of InMusic were Placebo...and they played the very last like for closing the event...and boy were they awesome...awesome!!! I even managed to get myself in the very first row and was like aaaaahhhhh....yeah, I always do that at concerts...if it aint first row, doesnt count :) And Brian Molko is still one of the most charming and charismatic men out there....and yes, they played "Running Up that Hill" - even though it is a cover song (Kate Bush sings the original...sorry Kate, but Placebo beat you to this one)

yes, his majesty, Mr. Brian Molko

me after it was over...and there were fireworks marking the end of the 10th InMusic Festival

So as I said, Placebo were absolutely fantastic...but if it wasnt for them or if I was not so biased maybe, I would have announced the appearance of Of Monsters and Men as the absolute best - an Icelandic indie folk band that sounds sooo powerful on stage, cannot find the words to express that...so if you ever get the chance to watch them live, I ABSOLUTELY recommend it...they are just way too amazing!!
Another appearance worth mentioning from Day 3 would be the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - kinda pity I haven't listened to them much before but gave them more credit once I got back home...

As for the other two days - day one started with Paulo Nutini....Scottish guy with some Italian origin...found out about him before the festival, gave him a listen and loved it...and yeah, a great appearance on stage, great voice, charming guy...he played my favourite, Iron Sky...downside, he didn't play "Diana" but I may be asking too much...
Another band for that night which I learned about prior the festival and loved them...and which proved to be awesome, "Future Islands"...an American synth-pop band which have something so unique in their sound and stage appearance and that is so haunting and so catchy...one of those bands that I regret not having discovered earlier (they've been around like since 2006 and I discover them almost 10 years later =[

In the end I will mention FFS (or Franz Ferdinand and the Sparks) - they were like headliners I think but FFS is NOT the same as FF...it just isn't =/ I don't wanna say I was disappointed cos I didn't have expectations on this one, but it is like they have the popularity based on the good old glory days...

After all those concerts, Agi and I went to this Silent Music party that turned out so cool! You know, you have these headphones with like four different music stations and you choose which one you like most and you like dance and sing to it...but of course nobody listens to the same thing and everyone moves in his/her own rhythm...kinda really cool....well now there were groups of people that were singing altogether but still...loved the concept...too bad we couldn't do it the other two nights...but on the second night after having frozen during the day I wasn't really much into it...

Speaking of Day 2, I'd mention Death Cab For Cutie (aside from Placebo, another reason I decided to go to InMusic, since I've been listening to them for ages)....and you know,  everything kinda fit together that night...with the rain falling, their music and lyrics were just right...and you have this slow music and the rain falling on your face...though they have some strange lyrics..I mean who else would sing something like
'Love of mine, some day you will die' or
'But I'm thinking of what Sarah said that "Love is watching someone die" So who's going to watch you die?..'
I don't know where that obsession of love and death comes from...kinda wicked and creepy, but I still say they are a fantastic band...

But most importantly, they played "Transantlanticism" - that is like my all time favourite by them and I almost cried when they played it....oh and I ended up with a guitar-pick as a souvenir :D

ok, apart from the festival, we spent some time in the city as well, and this was when Agi showed me the beauties of Umami - an awesome Asian-Fusion restaurant...delicious food and reasonable prices!


wondering if Id know how to eat with chopsticks (that is the sweater that saved me btw =))

yummie!! yummie! yummie!!

and then there was this great pancake place (Milky whey or something) but the pancakes were awesome...and so rich that I didn't manage to finish mine....I tried, but I just couldn't...

and the great cakes at Amelie and the kind people working there (I think I will tell you that story in some future post cos I already talked way too long here, Im kinda sure I lost you somewhere on the way :))

so, as with all good things, this one came to an end..but hoping for a new edition this summer

farewell...

*bonus photo and the million dollar question, what the hell was I doing here...

I don't know how relevant the stamp would be after so much rambling, but it is a lighthouse, so I cannot not mention it (yeah, Agi took me to the philately shop so I could choose some nice stamps for the cards ;-)

It is from the set of 4 lighthouse stamps issued in 2015 - this one shows the Grebeni lighthouse.

Photo credits within this post go to Agi! Big hug to her for letting me use them here :*


huh, I seriously need a break before moving on to Turkey...and I actually started all this two days ago...

Kuşadasi,Turkey

So summer time came...and Marija, Sašo and I thought of going somewhere...and our first idea was actually Romania, but that kinda turned out complicated to be organized, since we had to do the entire organization ourselves...and then as a second best option, but which I think turned out perfect, was Turkey (and my FIRST time in Turkey!! Yay!!!). We found this cheap offer through the travel agent's (by bus again, of course) and we set out on the long journey to Kuşadasi....I don't mind long journeys, but with this one I almost lost my sanity....cos of the two families who decided to go as well, with their small little children, age btw 2-5.....it was a brain-torture, and no I am not overreacting...and we had the luck to be sitting like just across them...one of them was like constantly crying...the other one was constantly just talking some gibberish (something of this type 'dad!' 'what?' 'dad!' 'what?!' 'dad!' 'what?' 'dad!' 'what?!' 'dad!' 'what?' 'dad!' 'what?!' 'dad!' 'what?' 'dad!' 'what?!'
no actual conversation, just playing tennis with words...and the  third one kept either talking or playing games on her iPad, with the volume as loud as possible, and would start objecting each time some of her folks would try to turn it down...after which she immediately would turn it up....and it all went on and on...and just when we kinda fell asleep, the father for some reason didn't feel like sleeping, so he was just like standing above our heads, talking to his wife, or whatever she was, who was sitting two seats ahead...I mean, Jesus!!!  What a f***ing way to start it all...instead of feeling relaxed since, we are going on holiday, right? They managed to stress me out to an enormous extent! Arghhhhh!!!

So finally we arrived..got to the hotel...and with our luck, turns out that they had to move us to another one since there was some technical problem with our room??!! But on this I'm not gonna complain since we went to a better one..well at least it was more spacious...the fact that there was no cleaning lady or change of sheets or anything for 10 days, that is a different story :)

Now, I think I won't be making a long post here, since even though we stayed for like 10 days, half of the time we traveled some place else, so I will talk of that in some future post (no cards sent from the other places btw, so I will have to manage with something received).
Speaking of postcards, no great choice in Kuşadasi frankly...I expected more...but tried from the not so good selection to choose the better ones...and here is part of it (this corner was like our resting place on the way back to the hotel, since all the time you are like going uphill and eventually it starts getting tiring..)

funny thing, there is no Post Office...the one that was marked on the map was actually non-existent (closed some time ago)...no mailboxes in street...so all the mail goes to this mailbox in front of this shop....and you just wonder if this thing is actually working or all your cards will go in vain...and funny though, it was working!  Took a while for the cards to arrive, but at least most of them have arrived...
So this is the place where the fate of all cards is decided....had to be documented

As for Kuşadasi itself..well it is mainly a touristic spot....not much to see...and this place we wanted to see, was like closed for the public....but thing is, it is by the sea...and when I am by the sea, I am like a completely different person....I feel like newborn...so in general, I don't need much else but the sea and the sunshine...and just hoping for a not-so-crowded-yet-clean beach :)

chillin' out...

being foolish....

what I loved about one of the beaches was that they had this small library! And I did well the first day..but during the next ones I could barely concentrate and would like immediately fall asleep right there on the beach bed...

another thing you will often come across are things like this....

....and the greatest choice of fake Converse you could ever imagine...where a pair costs like 7 euros (I ended up buying 4 different ones with these being my absolute favourite - these were actually a love at first sight! )

if you are a cat lover (like me), then youd enjoy the fact that wherever you go, there would be some stray cats (sad for them though...I remember on our first morning while having breakfast at the terrace, we witnessed this dog almost killing one of those poor stray cats since it dared to step onto his territory)

                                                                           this one is at the exchange office....

I must mention the Turkish cuisine, that I absolutely love! LOVE!! Esp all kinds of Gözleme (the one with Tahini is heavenly!) + Ayran!!

And the drink that rules, Yeni Raki :)

just that it is insanely expensive in Turkey...5 euros for a glass...here in Skopje I have it for 1.5 euros....but every pleasure has its price...

and ok, I seem to have talked way too long again...we were lucky a day or two before we left, there was this street market in the vicinity of our hotel...and boy do I love street markets! We bought some fruits, that eventually we didn't eat...not because we didn't like them, but because it was too much at the moment and there was no fridge in the room, so you get it...

*bonus picture - Marija had her birthday while we were there, so we went to this bar chosen at random...and before we knew it, we realized we had a stripper for free.....:P

the thing about the stamps is that they will charge you differently at different places...for the EXACT same stamps, and always MORE than the actual value...but it is just impossible to debate about it, since they like don't understand English or pretend not to understand English, so it is like 'take it or leave it'....

the stamp on the left is from 2010, from a set of four definitives featuring Ataturk. The other one was issued in 2012 in a set of 8 Tourism stamps - this one features Izmir, and that is one of the places we went to, but for that story in some other update :)

ok, just one more post...which blogger just doesnt want to put it on the same page...I really need to change something about this template...it has been misbehaving for a while...

Belgrade, Serbia

...and a week later, the concert in Belgrade was on schedule...unlike the one in Sofia, here I stayed for a few days with my uncle, and his family, so it was also a great way to enjoy some bits and pieces of lovely Belgrade..the bronchitis was still nasty though...I could perfectly tell it when i was running for the first row..I could barely catch my breath...but thank God my cousin did her job perfectly well (well it was me who convinced her we should get fan pit tickets and get early at the venue...and she never regretted that ;-))

another awesome performance by DM...and for me, better than the one in Sofia...it wasn't raining for starters...and somehow I felt emotionally different...and when the concert ended I just started crying..unlike in Sofia when I was just 'oh wow, that was great'...I didn't get that emotional cos I was aware that another concert is coming...but now in Belgrade I was all like 'damn, this is the last one, I won't see them again...won't get the chance to experience all this again...yeah, like a girly teenager who has a crush on some celebrity...just that here I have a crush on an entire band and their music...and such a farewell is much harder to deal with..blah blah blah...:)

Well, once the concert was over, Belgrade brought a bunch of more chill out and relaxing moments...I just love going to the city centre...sitting down in some cafe..munching on some cake or pizza or slurping down some nice coffee or shake...and just observing the people around...something that for some reason i never feel comfortable doing here, but abroad it's all fine...stupid mentality id say

Belgrade inevitably brings some evil acts and attacks with my partner in crime...and this time was no exception, te-he-he :D

And of course, had to shoot a missile my way as well...was wondering what would be the most appropriate...and in the end I chose this card because it does show the place where the concert was held...I mean, what more could I have asked for? Plus, it wasn't that easy to find a Belgrade card I don't already have, khm khm khm :))
So here I can remind myself that i was eating a marzipan cake during this meeting...yumm yumm yummie...at least my partner in crime has resisted smudging some cake over the card...as we have the habit to do sometimes :P :D

The downside...as time was passing by, I was getting better and better...barely any traces of my bronchitis...and...regrets started of why I havent booked a ticket to Zagreb...Zagreb was few days later...and I could have simply gotten on the bus or train in Belgrade and go there..but nope, I missed the opportunity...first the excuse was, ok Ana, set some limits, two concerts are enough...then it was, well, no, two concerts are not enough, but in this condition, I rather be home...and of course, another wasted opportunity...down to this day I still regret the decision, but oh well, I'll know better next time...hoping that there will be a next time :)

I still cant believe it that I got to hear "Only when I lose myself" live...it was like a dream come true..since this is the only one of the concerts that I attended, where Martin performed this one...sorry for the audience noise..but that's how things go with such concert videos...for an amateur video, the quality of the picture is great..not too much shaking or anything

of course, the card came with a stamp...I may be rambling here about concerts and all, but lets not forget the stamps...this one comes with the 2013 Lunar horoscope issue, for the Year of the Snake

hugs to my partner in crime for the great time spent...and all those fun evil plans :D

Prague, The Czech Republic

So Zagreb didn't happen...and despite all the regrets I just had to accept the fact I had missed a great opportunity and that it was me to blame..and just had to face the fact that that was it..no more DM until the next tour...if there is one in the first place..

well, that's what I was thinking...but then Nataša came to ruin my plans..and Ill be eternally thankful she did...she had this idea that we go to some place else and enjoy DM once more...she needn't have said things twice...I was all up for it...the only problematic thing (for me at least) was the destination and how to get there..we narrowed things down to Milan and Prague...the idea of going to Milan wasn't really appealing to me for two reasons - 1. I've already been to Milan  2. I didn't really like it...so just going to a place I don't really have nice memories of didn't make sense...Prague on the other hand..well I haven't been there...and I so much wanted to go...so Prague it was...and though Nataša may not share the same sentiments, I fell in love with Prague at the very first sight...and it has become my favourite place ever visited, dethroning Vienna after holding that spot for years!  And yes, I dreamt last night I had gone to Prague, so it was like a sign that I should finally get this post done..and I was soo absorbed with emotions in that dream...emotions that only Prague can invoke...need I tell you about my disappointment when I woke up?

My journey to Prague started with a short stop in Zagreb, to 'pick up' Nataša, and I used the opportunity to meet a dear friend as well...which caused some delays but I hope Nataša has forgiven me by now ❤
Prague captivated me at the very first glance..staying there for five days just made my feelings grow stronger and removing any doubts about our relationship...would love to go back there again and just chill out, exploring restaurants, bars and coffee shops while writing postcards...

the concert itself was fantastic of course..and it was on Martin's birthday too, 23 July! Can you believe it?? We didn't have fan pit tickets (they were all sold out of course), but it didn't matter..I wanted to see how it feels to enjoy them from the back..and it was good...and we sang Happy Birthday to Martin.....probably my favourite part of the entire concert since it was in-between "Higher Love" and "Shake the Disease"...two awesome performances by Gore himself...and yes, I do feel extra happy that I got to personally witness the HB moment...totally unplanned, I got to pick a Prague show on Martin's b-day...here's the clip if someone is curious...I know I've watched it over and over again, because both of the songs are among my favourites as well..


it feels so heartwarming to see all those people holding the b-day wishes for Martin (well for me, if you aren't really a fan, then it probably means nothing), and then, as a cherry on top, comes Gahan with a kiss for Martin...and the audience goes wild :)
yes, here I got to listen to "Shake the Disease" live...at each concert there was one new song, so don't tell me it wasn't worth going to all three of them...:P


back to Prague and the postcard...of course I had to send one to myself...ok, actually it was Nataša who wrote it and sent it, I picked it..and that's why i am showing this card in its almost full size...ive already mentioned that it is not always easy to choose what to send to yourself...but I still cant figure out why oh why did I choose this one...cos it was huge? cos I was all like, well I have so many cards from Prague already and this one or that one is very likely someone's gonna send it to me..eventually (I've gotten psychic all of a sudden)...the Jewish cemetery was cool but not like my favourite place in Prague..so yeah, a rather illogical choice...and a proof that size does not matter, so don't fool yourselves about it...

some facts and figures while we are already here...
the cemetery lies in the Josefov, the Jewish Quarter of Prague. It was in use from the early 15th century (the oldest preserved tombstone, the one of Avigdor Kara, dates back to 1439) until 1787. Its ancestor was a cemetery called "The Jewish Garden", which was found in archaeological excavations under the Vladislavova street, New Town. The numbers of grave stones and numbers of people buried there are uncertain, because there are layers of tombs. However, it has been estimated that there are approximately 12,000 tombstones presently visible, and there may be as many as 100,000 burials in all.
Here you can also see the Klaussen Synagogue, located at the entrance of the cemetery.

the stamps sold at the post office were of course, nothing fancy and without the possibility to have a few to choose from...so as usual, it is a boring one...issued in 2011 in a set of two Folk Architecture stamps...and the funny moment when the lady at the counter starts measuring every single postcard...I will never, ever ever understand why someone even thinks of measuring them...i mean, they surely do not exceed the standard of 20 grams...

and funny that earlier last year I also received a card of the Jewish cemetery...but who could have remembered that while in Prague....not me obviously...

and this one comes with a lovely Mucha stamp, from a set of two stamps issued in 2010 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birthday...
When it comes to Mucha, that's a story about itself...and seems I haven't posted any Mucha cards so far, so should change that in the future...

edit: with so many cards, and an avalanche of thoughts, it was bound to happen...i overlooked this one more card from the Jewish cemetery, giving us a close up of one of the grave stones:

CZ-420453

arrived as an official earlier this year...if you can tell me what's inscribed in here, go ahead..it will be highly appreciated :)

and the card arrived with some gorgeous stamps! a
the great train stamp from a set of two issued in 1995, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Olomouc-Prague railway line. Next to it is a car stamp from a set of two Means of transportation stamps issued in 2013...and the last one is just soo beautiful!! Issued in 2002 in a set of two stamps representing UNESCO whs cities. This one shows the chateau complex in Litomyšl
So it would have really been a pity not to include this card as well...even though now this post became even longer than it initially was :)

geez, I just realized how long this post is...ouch! sorry sorry sorry...blame it on Prague! :)
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