Christmas Market – Already?

24 november, 201724 november, 2017 / Leya / 25 kommentarer

Today a short visit to the nearest town and the first market this Christmas.

Raining…when there should be white everywhere…but we had fun anyway!

Many surprises awaited the children of course…and the sweets and almonds got bought – and eaten – by grow-ups as well.

Indoors, first the main building and then the wings. A beautiful old mansion, once belonging to my husband’s uncle. Now, since many years belonging to the city.

Some hundred exhibitions with everything home made – from sausages and marmalade to clothes and candles. I always say I will not buy anything…but…

Let’s go inside the main building…

…in the beautiful rooms

Plovdiv – New Town – A Perfect Combo

8 november, 20178 november, 2017 / Leya / 2 kommentarer

The history of Plovdiv spans more than eight millennia. The numerous nations that lived here have left their traces on the twelve-metre-thick (39 feet) cultural layers of the city. The earliest signs of habitation on the territory of Plovdiv date as far back as the 6th millennium BC…

As we left the Old Town and entered the New…we realized that the whole city is a gem. Walking down the main street, a warm and sunny afternoon, the surprises unfolded – one after the other.

The Ancient Roman Stadium of Plovdiv was built in the 2nd century, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, and lies beneath the main street from Dzhumaya Square to Kamenitsa Square. It was modeled after the stadium in Delphi. The Plovdiv stadium was approximately 240 metres (790 feet) long and 50 metres (160 feet) wide, and could seat up to 30 000 spectators. Below is the entrance to the stadium.

The athletic games at the stadium were organised by the General Assembly of the province of Thrace. In their honour the royal mint of Philippopolis coined money featuring the face of the ruling emperor as well as the types of athletic events held in the stadium.

Only a small part of the northern section with 14 seat rows can be seen today; the larger part lies under the main street and a number of buildings.

But, you can step down through the layers and meet the combination old/new in a very fascinating setting, with café’s, shops and …steps and stairs from different times.

Atlas? Keeping us safe. Holding the World.

Detta bildspel kräver JavaScript.

I do not think I have ever visited a city that manages to combine the Old with the New as gracefully and innovatively as Plovdiv. I more than understand the choice of this city for European Capital of Culture in 2019. I might return then… there is much more to discover here! Maybe I will see you there – 2019?

Wordless Wednesday

8 november, 20178 november, 2017 / Leya / Lämna en kommentar

Sofia – Day and Night

6 november, 20176 november, 2017 / Leya / 16 kommentarer

The symbol of the city, Sveta Sofia – Saint Sophia, stands on a 48 feet high pedestal at a big crossroads in the city centre of Sofia. The 24 feet, copper and bronze statue by the sculptor Georgi Chapkanov, was erected in 2000, and stands in a spot once occupied by a statue of Lenin, and before him, a statue of Apollon.

Sophia was considered too erotic and pagan to be referred to as a saint, and she is not even highlighted, like many other statues are. Still, she carries the symbols of power (crown), fame (wreath) and wisdom (owl). The crown is also a reference to the Goddess of Fate – Tyche, inspired by the old emblem of Sofia dating back to 1900.

I think I prefer this handsome gentleman in traditional uniform…He kindly let me take a photo, and I was so pleased.

A walk with more of my impressions of the city –

The main shoppingstreet is Vitosha – and you can see the Vitosha mountain at the far end

The theatre in an enchanting setting!

In the header – the gem of the city: The Alexandar Nevski Cathedral

We met this old lady walking alone along Solunska Street at night. Later we found her – and a friend of hers – sleeping in the buzzle of restaurants and people

Buying an Icon – someone?

Vitosha Street

The Russian War Monument…was best seen in the late evening light

Of course I have to finish with a gorgeous tram…at least I think it is gorgeous. Not new, emerald green, squeaking and rattling along the street – no risk being run over!

It Is All About… Books!

6 november, 2017 / Leya / 8 kommentarer

Books, books…art and culture. One of the reasons to why I love visiting the eastern countries in Europe is just that. I get my share of childhood joy and my faiblesse for books.

Inside, there are more than 8 million books. Just think about all the catalogues there must be…these were only a few. Do you remember the era before the digital boom?

This is the outside of the National Library. Slightly resemblance to…books on shelves?

The outdoor book market was a dream – even though I did not understand much and could not buy that many books. You can always look, and be tempted! As you can see in the header, many other things could be bought here as well.

The ordinary library for grown-ups had a typical touch of the communist era. (Bulgaria was not liberated until the 1980’s.) Colours, shelves, floor and …books. Almost all the books were paperbacks – no hardbacks. And they were all ”well” read.

Even the benches outside were dedicated to books!

The entrance to the childrens library had an unmistakable sign…our Swedish Pippi Longstocking. Did you know she has been translated into 92 different languages? Astrid Lindgren still belongs to the future!

The children’s library was much more modern, and the reading rooms had furniture and curtains from IKEA.

The ladies working here were very helpful and informative. We had an invigorating chat about children and books. No problem in this country with reading – most children love it. And for small children the books are free to borrow. Older children had to pay a very small sum/year.

Beware of book worms – Bulgaria is a dream country!

Cultural Café

5 november, 20175 november, 2017 / Leya / 18 kommentarer

We wanted to visit the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, but it was closed and a veritable construction site. I was dying for a nice cup of coffee along with some cultural events…but the building seemed totally abandoned.

Nothing wrong with a construction site…if you can find a place like this when you step down into the underground..

A slight drizzle, and my stomach was making sounds…but when we had totally given up on this place and walked down some steps to get to the street again – suddenly there emerged a big window with BOOKS. From nowhere. Nothing with books can go wrong, so we opened the door and stepped inside…

…a café! A place reminding me of my university years with not too expensive coffee’s, nice company and working in two’s or more. My eyes and spirits went up and I just took it in…..feeling the coziness and the warmth instead of the by now rather chilly, hostile weather outdoors.

We stayed for an hour at least and left with big smiles on our faces ;-D

It went on drizzling – but we felt good all the way home! Keep reading! And…some tea is OK as well…

Picture Critique

21 oktober, 201721 oktober, 2017 / Leya / 9 kommentarer

For a couple of weeks, Otto von Münchow kindly shares his expertise if you want an opinion about a picture – here is mine. Some suggested changes are not possible, the shot was situational, but the cropping is. So, I have followed his advice, and by comparing the photos you can see the difference it makes. I attended one of Otto’s online courses this summer, where he also stressed the importance of waiting for the right moment. I will have to practice that more… Thank you again, Otto!

Hi Otto! This is a photo taken in a cafe´in Lodz, Poland. I loved the colours and the people there, but how do I make the best of it? Thank you for taking your time and skills for this!

Otto von Münchow

Leya

12h sedan

This is a fun photo, playing with forms, shapes and colours—both natural as part of the room we look into as well as indirectly and as a juxtaposition in the mural on the wall in the back of the room. I think your framing is enhancing the playfulness in the room. You have a frame with in a frame by looking through a opening between two rooms, and not the least you have included a tiny bit of a red box to the right—probably a piece of furniture—and the blue seat to the lower left. It ends up being a composition with primary colours (from a traditional painters palette and not the additive primary colours), respectively yellow, blue and red. In contrast to all these geometric shapes, we have the organic forms of the people sitting in what is obviously a café. In fact, there is a hint of a fourth person around the column to the right. I like the smiling expression of the face of the woman obviously in conversation with this fourth person. It’s a little pity that the woman behind her, all the way towards the rear wall, is in her face, so to speak. Some separation between the faces would have made both of them stand out more clearly. You could have accomplished this by moving to the left, but then you would have left the bit of red furniture to the right out of the frame. The best thing would have been to await the situation, wait until the two faces had moved away from each other (but then of course you might have lost the smiling expression I mentioned before). One more detail: I think I would crop off a little bit of the yellow support in the upper part of the photo. Give it a try, at least this is easy to accomplish. In the end this is another captivating photograph.

WPC: Pedestrian

4 oktober, 20174 oktober, 2017 / Leya / 25 kommentarer

Walking down Piotrkowska – our street (the 5 km main street) in Łódź – we met many lovely pedestrians. This lady was no exception, only a very bright and colourful one. Maybe the background might be called a bit pedestrian (adj), though?