If I lived a slow life, closer to myself and my environment, would I then be blogging? I think no. Blogging is a here-today-gone-tomorrow-activity that celebrates the short minded society we live in. The media is the message, and the message of this media is to read, react and forget. 50 years from now, schoolkids will still be reading about the great writers of teh 19th century, not about the great blogers of th 21th..Anyway...
I have had the privilege to spend almost a week in one of the less exploited Bulgarian seaside resorts. It has been a slow life. Nothing else to do than to visit one of the three possible beaches, and ponder where to consume your lunch and dinner. That's not a rythm of life that triggers you to blog.
Anyway... the lunch today did truly deserve a blog post. We spent the morning on a beach, slowly descending into a meditative existance where your body turns into wind, salt and sea. I guess we would never have left the beach, if it wasn't for the thunderstorm. It came. We ran.
Right before the rain started faling on us, we entered a place that looked more or less open for guests.
-Is it open? My fiancee asked.
The face of the man we met int he stairs told us that he made up the answer right there and then.
-Yeah, sure. Welcome up on the terace.
We sat down on a terace with view of the sea, with a roof but no walls. That proved crucial five minutes later when the rain was at its most intensive. We were handed menues, and skillfully picked the cheapest dishes (always go for chicken, and traditional salads).
Not that the menu was much of an advice. When the women in charge came up to us, it appeared that only a handful of the dishes in the meny were actually available. One of them was the "Arabian chicken", a kind of crepe with chicken, ham, cucumbers and mushrooms. I immediately fell for the offer and ordered an arabian chicken, whereas my grlfirend stayed with a traditional sirene po shopski.
The woman went down the stairs and we took a look at the menu. Damn! Of course the Arabian chicken costed three times as much as the chicken dish I had planned to order. For a moment we contemplated to go down to the kitchen and change the order, but what the heck... you only live once, and who wat s to die without haveing tasted the Arabian chicken.
This is when Harry showed up. Harry was a she, a 46 days old boxer puppy who came to us to look for a warm place and someone to cuddle him in the cold unfriendly weather. At this time the thunder was right above us. After saying hello, he decide to take a nap, using my feet as his cushion. Sweet...
The food came. It was tasty, and the people in the restaurant did their best to become our friends, so we were prepared to forgive them the 7 EUR Arabian Chicken. Nice place, we thought, and prepared ourselves to go.
That's when the owner shows up and tells us that because we are the first clients of the season, they had decided to give us a special dish of grilled captain's fish, and half a litre of wine!
We enjoyed the fish and the wine, and Harry enjoyed our company. Pretty soon she found a place to sleep in my fiancees's knee. So there we sat getting drunk on wine that we never had ordered, with the restaurant owner's dog sleeping in our knee. What can you do but to laugh. We agreed - this would never happen in Sweden, and that is a pity.
----------
I am not sure. Maybe this could happen in Sweden, under very specific circumstances. The thing about Bulgaria is that here it happens stuff like this all the time. Yesterday at dinner there was no dog, but well three cats hanging around in the restaurant,making the visit into something else than pure eating.
One obvious reason is that people here are not so neurotic about animals. At the dinner yesterday on cat had parked itself on a restaurant table. The bulgarian customers did not freak out, as Swedes would do, but in stead started to cuddle with it. After all, a cat has never killed anyone. Neither has a puppy.
But it is not only about anumals. The thing is that something happens once you have said hello to the restaurant owner's dog, cat, child or whatever - the professional distance between you and the restaurant owner dissapears, and you start interacting on a human level. My impression is that Bulgarians always wait for this to happen. They wait for something else to come up so that they can start behaving like friends and not customers. Not only the customers - the restaurant owners want it as well.
And as always - when all people involved in a situation want something to happen, it happens. We were treated as friends, and when we were happy to have experienced something out of the normal holiday routine. Somewhere along the line the price of the Arabian Chicken fell to about a quarter of the menu price. Sometimes it pays off to order something unexpected.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Climate, development and a little hygge
--- Poor in wealth, rich in sun ---
Why are some countries rich and others poor? Everyone who is thinking about global matters is bound to come up with some kind of answer, but most likely no answer will be final. Strolling under the Bulgarian sun, I can not help but thinking about Montesqieu's classical answer - the climate makes some countries rich, and other poor.
The theory is 300 years old, and in a way quite easy to discard. In Montesqieu's texts there is so much of the joy of system-building, that it is easy to imagine that the writer bends reality to fit into the system, where necessary.
It is also easy to see that Montesqieu wrote in a certain historical moment when northern Europe was richer than southern - and eastern Europe, and Europe as a whole was richer than the rest of the world. The fact that the world looks similar today doesn't change the basic fact - it has not always been like this. And the only conclusion we can draw from history is that it will not always be like this. Aren't the chinese taking over now, by the way?
The people in Bulgaria now live considerably poorer than their Swedish counterparts, especially if you compare lower income Bulgarians with lower income Swedes. But in the 13th century they did not, and they probably were not worse of in the 16th century either, depending on who you ask.
When Montesqieu wrote his texts Sweden was enjoying an export boom - this corner of northern Europe was the world's biggest exporter of iron at the time. Bulgaria then suffered hard from the corruption and anarchy in the decaying Ottoman empire. The scars from that hard period has not yet healed completely in the Balkans.
--- Montesqieu is dead. Long live Montesqieu! ---
And still... the idea that the climate decides what countries are rich and poor is outdated. But still there is something appealing about it. Bulgaria has had a lot of bad luck with its governments, but when it is 30 degrees outside and your garden blossoms, you might care more about the good luck to have direct access to tasty tomatoes.
Bulgarian life is filled with what the Danish call "Hygge". Swedes are very jealous of the Danish hygge, so my description is not at all objective. Moreover, there is no Swedish word for the concept, so there is a possibility that we don't know what we are talking about, but anyway.
Hygge is something like a relaxed way of doing nothing with friends. The classical form involves beer but I guess that is not necessary. There are no achievements involved, no demands, and there has to be something improvised about it. You could maybe agree with someone to meet later this week for a "hygge" situation, but you couldn't plan 2 hours of "hygge" every friday for example.
When you walk between the panel houses somewhere in Bulgaria, this is exactly what you see - neighbours sitting outside, cracking jokes, not doing very much at all. I am not implying that they are happier than other people, but they do seem to have a good time.
A harsher climate kills the opportunities to "hygge". It might be less confortable outside, and in a harsher environment good planning might make the difference between survival and death. WSwedish summers, improvising must have been dangerous in pre-industrial times.
The struggle to stay alive also gives an incentive to demand a just government, as bad politics could easily be lethal. And there is not much of a garden to retreat to when times get rough. Could this be the reason that people seem to lose very much of their political sense when their lives become comfortable.
--- So what do we want? ---
It is obvious that people without "hygge" and whose toil in the fielsd give meager results have more to win from industrialization, and maybe we can establish some sort of historical relation between climate and development. But the world has changed a lot since Montesqieu's days, and other forces are probably in play now.
Still, some question about priorities linger. We might need development, but isn't hygge what we really want?
Why are some countries rich and others poor? Everyone who is thinking about global matters is bound to come up with some kind of answer, but most likely no answer will be final. Strolling under the Bulgarian sun, I can not help but thinking about Montesqieu's classical answer - the climate makes some countries rich, and other poor.
The theory is 300 years old, and in a way quite easy to discard. In Montesqieu's texts there is so much of the joy of system-building, that it is easy to imagine that the writer bends reality to fit into the system, where necessary.
It is also easy to see that Montesqieu wrote in a certain historical moment when northern Europe was richer than southern - and eastern Europe, and Europe as a whole was richer than the rest of the world. The fact that the world looks similar today doesn't change the basic fact - it has not always been like this. And the only conclusion we can draw from history is that it will not always be like this. Aren't the chinese taking over now, by the way?
The people in Bulgaria now live considerably poorer than their Swedish counterparts, especially if you compare lower income Bulgarians with lower income Swedes. But in the 13th century they did not, and they probably were not worse of in the 16th century either, depending on who you ask.
When Montesqieu wrote his texts Sweden was enjoying an export boom - this corner of northern Europe was the world's biggest exporter of iron at the time. Bulgaria then suffered hard from the corruption and anarchy in the decaying Ottoman empire. The scars from that hard period has not yet healed completely in the Balkans.
--- Montesqieu is dead. Long live Montesqieu! ---
And still... the idea that the climate decides what countries are rich and poor is outdated. But still there is something appealing about it. Bulgaria has had a lot of bad luck with its governments, but when it is 30 degrees outside and your garden blossoms, you might care more about the good luck to have direct access to tasty tomatoes.
Bulgarian life is filled with what the Danish call "Hygge". Swedes are very jealous of the Danish hygge, so my description is not at all objective. Moreover, there is no Swedish word for the concept, so there is a possibility that we don't know what we are talking about, but anyway.
Hygge is something like a relaxed way of doing nothing with friends. The classical form involves beer but I guess that is not necessary. There are no achievements involved, no demands, and there has to be something improvised about it. You could maybe agree with someone to meet later this week for a "hygge" situation, but you couldn't plan 2 hours of "hygge" every friday for example.
When you walk between the panel houses somewhere in Bulgaria, this is exactly what you see - neighbours sitting outside, cracking jokes, not doing very much at all. I am not implying that they are happier than other people, but they do seem to have a good time.
A harsher climate kills the opportunities to "hygge". It might be less confortable outside, and in a harsher environment good planning might make the difference between survival and death. WSwedish summers, improvising must have been dangerous in pre-industrial times.
The struggle to stay alive also gives an incentive to demand a just government, as bad politics could easily be lethal. And there is not much of a garden to retreat to when times get rough. Could this be the reason that people seem to lose very much of their political sense when their lives become comfortable.
--- So what do we want? ---
It is obvious that people without "hygge" and whose toil in the fielsd give meager results have more to win from industrialization, and maybe we can establish some sort of historical relation between climate and development. But the world has changed a lot since Montesqieu's days, and other forces are probably in play now.
Still, some question about priorities linger. We might need development, but isn't hygge what we really want?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Maladets! lands in Bulgaria
I am the kind of guy who always, even if I bring nothing else than my passport and an issue of the Economist, must give away something at the security check when i try to board a plane. I guess it is my left wing history that shines through...
About a year ago, when I left Bulgaria, I had packed my much loved swiss army knife in the hand luggage, which I had to give up, of course. That is kind of understandable, as it is not hard to imgagine how an able terrorist could threaten the pilot with a Swiss army knife. This time, however, I was forced to hand two Risifrutti rice-meals over to the authorities.
It really gets me thinking... how on earth could I hijack a plane with a Risifrutti? Isn't my belt a better weapon. Theoretically, on the James Bond level, I could shred my T-shirt, and use it to strangle the pilot. But a Risifrutti? If I threw it and hit him, it wouldn't even hurt.
Airport rules are silly. Every day thousand of people are checked, their bags are turned inside out and schampoos and rice meals are confiscated. I wish some sociologist would examine how people accept such humiliation treatment without a complaint. Imagine if someone told you that you can't bring a bottle of water on the train - most people would just laugh at that.
Maybe it is some kind of feeling that you are important, and that flying is a special activity that makes people accept anything on an airport. Maybe it is their own fear of terrorist who can turn water into bombs that creates this enormous confidence in custom-servants.
I don't know. Once I was in the plane, everything was just fine. I got to sleep, to read and to eat the parts of my food that was not liquid. We flew low cost, so there was no food on the plane, but I can't say that I missed it. I missed the Risifrutti, though.
And once in Bulgaria... what can you say? This country has an ease and a charm that is just conjuringg, especially in the summer. some firend surprised us with meeting up at the airport. Then we spent the mellow evening in Borisovata Gradina, eating the mandatory fried potatoes with chees and kebabche. A beer to that - and life is as close to perfect as it gets.
This trip has begun more than well.
About a year ago, when I left Bulgaria, I had packed my much loved swiss army knife in the hand luggage, which I had to give up, of course. That is kind of understandable, as it is not hard to imgagine how an able terrorist could threaten the pilot with a Swiss army knife. This time, however, I was forced to hand two Risifrutti rice-meals over to the authorities.
It really gets me thinking... how on earth could I hijack a plane with a Risifrutti? Isn't my belt a better weapon. Theoretically, on the James Bond level, I could shred my T-shirt, and use it to strangle the pilot. But a Risifrutti? If I threw it and hit him, it wouldn't even hurt.
Airport rules are silly. Every day thousand of people are checked, their bags are turned inside out and schampoos and rice meals are confiscated. I wish some sociologist would examine how people accept such humiliation treatment without a complaint. Imagine if someone told you that you can't bring a bottle of water on the train - most people would just laugh at that.
Maybe it is some kind of feeling that you are important, and that flying is a special activity that makes people accept anything on an airport. Maybe it is their own fear of terrorist who can turn water into bombs that creates this enormous confidence in custom-servants.
I don't know. Once I was in the plane, everything was just fine. I got to sleep, to read and to eat the parts of my food that was not liquid. We flew low cost, so there was no food on the plane, but I can't say that I missed it. I missed the Risifrutti, though.
And once in Bulgaria... what can you say? This country has an ease and a charm that is just conjuringg, especially in the summer. some firend surprised us with meeting up at the airport. Then we spent the mellow evening in Borisovata Gradina, eating the mandatory fried potatoes with chees and kebabche. A beer to that - and life is as close to perfect as it gets.
This trip has begun more than well.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Heading south
The time has come to once again visit maladets! home country - Bulgaria. That means that maladets! in Bulgaria will come to life again.
As last time, the ambition is to serve the world wide web with more pictures, less analyzes and more personal writing. The context behind wathever comes up will be sea, sun, traffic jams, tsatsa, Shumensko and other Bulgarian niceties. And who knows... maybe I will find my MP3 player somewhere?
Enjoy!
As last time, the ambition is to serve the world wide web with more pictures, less analyzes and more personal writing. The context behind wathever comes up will be sea, sun, traffic jams, tsatsa, Shumensko and other Bulgarian niceties. And who knows... maybe I will find my MP3 player somewhere?
Enjoy!
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