Author: Ian

Zadarts

Ian

Zadar was one of the few places we went in Croatia that seemed to take an ongoing interest in public art installations. They had two really cool things. The first was the “Greeting to the Sun,” an LED installation that stored up solar power during the day and put on a light show at night.

greeting_to_the_sun

Still waiting for my light cycle

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Gračišće, town of nightmares

Ian

On the winding road out of Istria we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by a dense, swirling fog. Visibility dropped to mere meters; with the road rendered hazardous, we had little choice to pull over. Trapped by the thick blanket of haze, we ventured on foot into the small town of Gračišće.

What we found there gave us pause: Gračišće was utterly devoid of all living creatures, while evidence of struggle abounded. Our explorations left us with the grim certainty that some great horror had been unleashed upon this place.

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Five Crazy Prague Sites

Ian

 

Prague is famous for its many historic landmarks and sites of cultural significance. But we’re not interested in those. Here are our top five trivial and bizarre things we spotted while walking between the actually famous stuff.

#1: Door Covered With Creepy Heads

Door with rows of creepy head protrusions in Prague

While it probably does deter burglars, I can’t say I’d feel safer living behind this door.

As far as we could tell this didn’t belong to any business or museum, it was just some random door.  I can only assume that behind this door is an onyx pedestal draped in black velvet holding the Necronomicon.

#2: Statue of a Giant Pixelated Pregnant Woman

Giant pixelated statue of pregnant woman in Prague

Careful observers may notice the empty beer can resting on her inner right thigh. Stay classy Prague!

This was on the walk from our AirBnB to Old Town, so we got quite familiar with it.

#3: Crane Tow Truck

Car being towed by vertical lift via crane in Prague

Need a lift?

 

If you’ve been to Europe you know it’s full of narrow streets and tight parking spaces. Maybe you’ve thought to yourself: “I can park here. How could they possibly tow me even if they wanted to?” And now you know the answer.

#4: Animated Statue of Peeing Men

I think this art piece speaks for itself.

Trdelník Making

This one is not as weird as the others. But it is impressive how quickly this lady was able to whip out Trdelník (pronounced “turtle-neck”, I assume).  Delicious.

Trdelnik being baked in Prague

Here’s the zoomed out shot showing the roasting station where the Trdelnik take on a lovely golden brown hue.

Honorary Mention: Anonymous Bar

anonymous_redux_4

This already got a full write-up. But… gah! So creepy.

Cantillon Zwanze 2015 and Westleveren 12 – Belgium Beer Wrap

Ian

Zwanze Day is an annual Cantillon event where a special beer is simultaneously released at 50+ bars around the world.  Zwanze means “joker” in Dutch, and the event reflects the “wild card” spirit. The special beer changes each year, and tends to be an experimental lambic. This year was a “wild Brussels stout.”

celebratory drink for zwanze 2015

Toasting with the 2015 Zwanze beer

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The Bus Driver’s Song

Ian

We take a lot of buses. There are good companies, like Polski Bus in Poland, or Student Agency in the Czech Republic with modern, clean, wi-fi enabled buses. They also have bus stewards/stewardesses, kind of like an airplane. On one particular bus we were treated to an announcer who liked to deliver all of her lines in a sort of liturgical chant. I recorded a snippet, so you too can experience the joy of busridership. Enjoy.