I love Hrvatska
I went to Croatia again in September for 10 days with my good friend Hannah. We flew into Zagreb the capitol and immediately felt the urge to be near the sea, to be near water. So we made a cardboard sign and hitchhiked our way to Rijeka. Hitchhiking down the coast from Rijeka to the Islands of Rab and Krk, through Zadar and Split was amazing. We met many amazing people along the way, very helpful and eager to give us some information about this beautiful country.
I for one am now obsessed with Croatia, and no, I am not going to move there and become an Au Pair, but I would love if time and finances permit to travel there once a year. It is cheap, they are not yet using the Euro as their currency, the weather is perfect and it is a significantly less discovered than Italy. Italy and Croatia both share the abundant beauty of the Adriatic sea. Italy settles to its West and Croatia to the East. On the East there remains a relaxed presence of rolling cliffs, rolling roads and dried landscape but the air and the sea make up for the stiffness.
Hannah and I had a ride from a small town where we got dumped off at the ferry dock to Zadar, a more modern, student city. The 3rd largest city in Croatia. Two young students picked us up, and in almost perfect english took us the 3 hours to our destination. They were both studying at the University in Zadar and were returing back to school after visiting some family. I for one would not be able to drive down this winding, two lane road. The scenery would distract me. Mesmorize me. I would crash. Luckily our driver seemed quite oblivious to what I would call overpowering beauty of Earthly creations. Of water, of sky, of mountain.
I will not go indepth for every encounter we had with hitchhiking in Croatia…but all I can say is that it was simply amazing, cheap and never did I feel unsafe or in a bad situation. We even got picked up outside of Zadar on our way to Split by 2 off duty Croatian Police officers. Neither spoke English, but they took us right into the city center and then bid us farewell.
My favourite city in Croatia is Split. And I say that because I travelled there last April, and again in September. It defines beauty. It is compelling and cultural. The people here have seen war and refuge yet they are peaceful. They are natives and immigrants. They are travelers and seekers and strong workers. They are children who have 240 sunny days per year. Who grow up in the water. Who learn to swim when they are babies.
I met some great people in Split. We couchsurfed with a friend Aljosa (pronounce. Al-Yo-Shah), and spent 5 days meeting his family and friends. He made us feel very welcome, and Hannah and I returned the favor by cooking Fajitas for them one night..which I think they’d never eaten before.
I can say “do you speak english or German” in Croatian, “thank you, Please, What does it Cost,” and “where is the toilet.” I think that is the extent of it. It’s a hard language, but a lovely one, and is spoken in Bosnia and Serbia, (well certain dialects but it is understood). German is also widely known. The children after learning compulsory English, must decide between Italian and German as their 3rd language.
There is definitely a reality check when returning to a more modern high paced metropolis. I’m refering to Berlin. Berlin is busy and cold and with winter slowing creeping up on us, I find myself casting my mind back to a time and a place where I was laying on a beach hearing the waves cracking and sand sifting below turquoise waters. But everyone needs their escape. Some people meditate, some people take yoga, some people have to take drugs…I just think of Croatia;)
Well, since September 14th…I decided to be a Vegetarian. I do not eat meat anymore. I do eat eggs though, and Im not sure I can hold out before I eat fish…well I know I can hold out until I come back to Seattle…but if there happens to be a Salmon Fest..Im not sure how strong I can be. I like challenging myself. I stopped drinking alcohol last January until Sam and Ashleys wedding, that was easy. So I think being a vegetarian will be too.
I like having lesser options. I go to the grocery store, and I just have less the buy. Less to think about. Also, a friend of mine and fellow vegetarian said he feels more “in-tune with the world, because he doesn’t need to eat another living creature to survive.”
I’m not quite satisfied or ready to share my reasoning with the world, and would be lying if I said it was something right now to do with Animal Rights, because I am not an activist. Its just a personal choice. I will find my reason some day. But as for now, its only been a few months. I feel healthy, energized and am discovering all sorts of ways to cook Tofu!!!
Love and Peace, and Vegetarianism….
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Sarajevo, The Poet
I wanted to write about Sarajevo, to explain in detail what I saw, what I felt, what I heard. The sounds of this city that can be extremely peaceful in the day and stirring in the night. I got lost through the maze of small cafes and gift shops. I walked up on a hill and sat by a graveyard, where every date was circa 1992, and none of the boys were older than 22. I cried to myself, because here I was, experiencing the aftermath of the Gulf War. I have found an excerpt from a Bosnian Poet about the war, as well as my photographs from April 2009. I want to give credit to this poet, and compassion to the people who live or lived in this courageous and gorgeous city.
Goran Simic
From the "Mourning of Sarajevo" journal The Face of Mourning Well I know mournings's face whom the Sarajevo wind strafes while flipping through newspaper pages stuck together from pools of blood on the street where I awkwardly watch my steps with a small loaf of bread under my arm. It's in the river too when its waves sway a dead woman's body on whose arm I notice a watch as I run across the bridge with a bucket full of milk. And, in the chill of December, I saw that face in a hand motion that stuffed a shoe of a never grown child into a wood-burning stove. It's a face that returns its thanks on the back of family photographs that flutter beneath garbage trucks. And it is the face that rebukes a trembling pencil for being incapable of writing a bulky dictionary of lament. A face which nightly keeps me from sleeping which is why I watch my neighbor who is always awake by the windowstaring into the blind darkness.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Belgrade
Ive started to see a benefit in having chosen German as my foreign language. On the night train from Budapest to Belgrade I found it more common to converse in German than in English. I entered the city at 630 am. The dawn just beginning to break, but I found that Belgraders start their day much earlier than Berliners. Already at 7am were people walking around, cafes were starting to open and the side walks were looking alive.
I strolled around for a bit looking subtly for an Internet cafe where I could pass time till i met my host at noon. It will be nice to hang out with some locals. I’m not sure what to think of this Balkan city quite yet, but I’m intrigued by the polluted and strange city. People don’t look you in the eye as they do on the streets of Berlin, but I’m under the impression that they are friendly. There are early morning smiles.
The sun is shining, the sky is blue. I found market and bought some fresh fruit from the vendor and tried to take some inconspicuous pictures, which is always hard in a foreign country, as you never know if the locals enjoy the publicity or if they will say nasty remarks about you in a language that you definitely do NOT understand. However, the whole market reminds me a bit too much of Neukoln back in Berlin.
Ana, the girlfriend of my host Strahinja met me at the station at noon. She is studying what Serbians call Sceneography. I think its like Cinematography. We rode a few stops on the tram and pointed out to me an underground Elektro club that is literally under a hill where an old fortress used to be. We met up with Strahinja and his twin brother Stefan and drove back to their home. They have a very cozy little house situated in a residential part of Belgrade, id say on a hill, but there are dozens of hills here. They with there family, 2 dogs, and 5 puppies. They have lived here with their parents and older brother as long as they can remember. Through happiness and tears and war and peace, and it seems to hold them together quite well.
They took me to a man made lake outside the city where Belgraders flock when it is warm. It was 25 degrees (about 77 F). We rented bikes are rode around for about an hour, at ice cream and just hung out. The hospitality is wonderful!
I must mention that Belgrade driving, and traffic is insane! Its like New York mixed with LA and Cairo, with some other city and that Belgrade. I think all the drivers have to be certified race car drivers here.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Gregory, a very dear friend of mine recently came to visit me for 6 days in Berlin. I sometimes go crazy when I have visitors because I have to somehow show them and reveal all that is fabulous and all that I hold dear in this fabulous city. Gregory has traveled a lot and now lives in New York, is a very successful hairstylist. I then stopped trying to prove that Berlin is this artistic and diverse city, and just tried to enjoy the moment, having him here to at least see what I do, how I see the city. I don’t need to justify why I like living here, and thats something that he really helped me to come to understand. Everyone who travels will have different experiences. Everyone does different things and sees different people, different sights. Berlin is no better or no worse. There are certain options that it embraces which I would say are more convenient. It is not better than Paris or New York or Barcelona. It is different and there are wonderful people and things to see and perceive and experience in all of these place. However…if you DO have a chance to come to germany and come to Berlin…please do, I can promise you a fabulous time! Here are some pics from our Friday and the outdoor market in Neukoln, the east side gallery (the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin wall…most of the current grafiti is NOT authentic)…the labyrinth at Karmanoi Bar ( http://www.karmanoia.de/ ), the great Makeover ( gregory was dying to cut my bangs one night, which resulted in giving me a temporary Mullet..), and some more!
Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment
London City, January 2009
Time to make the most of it. It’s not that easy to appreciate what you never can imaging. Coming through a blindfold, eager, anticipating, the people, the greetings, the accents. To them its us that talk with peculiar pitch, good bye to our undetected voice. There is not much communication. Little or none. A simple “hello, may I take your order.” It seems as though everyone has way too much to do. To much to do and definitely not enough time. But them time stops. Suddenly the underground doesn’t seem so crowded. The weather is not so cold. Leicester Square starts to glow. This is the true London that can only be seen if you try to stop time yourself. From within, your body, soul and mind become overwhelmed by culture. The future is withing arms reach, a sound away. Slowing down is easier said than done, but in the midst of Londons hustle and bustle, in the middle of the busy crowds above and underground, you eventually find yourself walking down the same alley your walk down everyday. Everyday the narrow road, the cobblestone, the old english homes look the same. But one day it will change your perspective. One day time will stop and the harmony of a beautiful place called London will flow.
Excerpt from March 2004, My first visit to London, pics are from January 2009.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
The Belgian…
I recently had a guest from Antwerp Belgium stay with me for a week. A graphic design student working on his Master program. I am part of this a Couchsurfing group where people from all over the world who are traveling request to visit, to stay with you and so that they can meet interesting people, who are local and know there way around. I enjoy this, but I do not host people that often, I really like to have my space and my time and lately I have been too busy, but I thought, ok, maybe I will learn something and he could help me with some ideas for my portfolio. I think it was his young, charismatic and fresh way of looking at the world that has made me really think about what I am doing with my design and artwork. He really inspired me to look at things in new light, and observe the world from different angles. At first I was envious of the fact that he will be backpacking throughout Europe for the next 3 months, but then i told myself… “Anna, you’ve already DONE that”…and I felt a bit better. There are just those people that you meet, who are complete strangers, who leave after a short time, but really make an impact on you. It makes me wonder a bit about social unpredictability. How many encounters are out there, awaiting us, just waiting to change the direction of our daily routine?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Berlin day 760
So, here it is…my first Blog entry! I am going to go back when I have time and do excerpts from my travels in 2005 and 2006 before I even moved to Berlin, when living in Europe was still a fragment of my imagination. As now, I have been here from over 2 years. I have seen, done and learned so much. I think though it will be hard to go back and remember how to write about the past in a way that feels fresh in my head, that portrays some sort of hope and some sort of stroy. I don’t think I will write a lot about what has happened in Berlin in the past 2 years. I think things need to be current. They need to have some sort of direction. I will summarize it, but I dont want this to be a diary. I want it to be more motivational for myself as an artist, well aspiring Artist. Actually I will call my self a designer. I recently listened to a Podcast about the difference between being an Artist and a Designer. Designers play with Type, with typography, we are problem solving, creating solutions, concepts. It is hard to define people, or design or Art in any way. I remember from a class at FIDM in Los Angeles, that art is there to create a response. Whether that be a positive or negative response, it is there, and the general public can emotionally or physically generate an opinion. I will try here to post some of my work, some of the things that I experience living here in such a diverse and artisic city, as well as some things that I read and listen to for inspiration.
It is March 2009, and I am applying for school. Again, but thank heavens the Germans study so late, I wont be 26 and the oldest undergraduate for sure! I am applying to the Universität der Kunste in Berlin, that is the Art University in Berlin for a Visual Communications program, as well as 5 other schools that offer either Graphic Design, or some sort of Communication Design program. It is hard work, but I am enjoying updating my portfolio and learning new technique and concepts as an artist. Im trying to let Berlin just inspire, to just be. The world, the chaos, the people, the graffiti, the culture. I’ll upload some of the designs I am turning in in for admission.
and…European travel archives, coming soon
Podcast of the week
Read Between the Leading.
http://readbetweentheleading.com/post/76474516<img src=”http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/rbtl/~4/bKCvy-9_RjE” height=”1″ width=”1″/>
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Here are some work examples from what I thinking about sending in as part of my portfolio. At first, I thought that a lot of my work from LA was outdated and just leisurely work that I had produced at a crazy time in my life. But now I actually like it, it has grown on me.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Search
-
Events
Graphics
Illustration
magazines & publications
Photography
travel
Typography
