The Old Town

The city of Krakow, in Poland, is dominated in the centre by the Wawel, the castle where Poland's kings used to rule. North of this, in a rough circle, is the Old Town.
It is surrounded by a park, a green space full of trees, benches and walkways. I had just spent a very cold time travelling through Russia, and coming to Poland was like passing from winter into spring. There was green and sunshine everywhere. Very nice.
The park follows where the walls of the city used to stand. There are some remnants still standing, including some of the gates. The most impressive of these is called the "Barbican." It was covered with scaffolding while I was there, so I couldn't get a real good look at it.

If you have ever seen a movie set in Europe, you may have a general idea of the architecture presented on the streets.

Very old, interesting looking buildings, cobbled streets, and plazas where people gather.

There are also a few churches here and there. I find it hard to express in words just how marvellous these buildings are.

 

There is one close to the Wawel, that has statues of saints and the apostles carved on the front. These churches and cathedrals are impressive just from the outside, but it is their interiors that really take your breath away. Everywhere you look, there is something to awe and inspire you. After a while, it gets to be too much, but is you manage to visit each place with a fresh outlook, you can see art, statuary, stained glass, all dedicated to the worship and praise of God. For me, a person used to a fairly Spartan house of worship, it is like going from the cover of the "White Album" to the cover of "Sgt. Pepper."

In the centre of the town is the main square, called the "Rynek Glowny." This is the largest city square in Europe.

At the southwest corner stands a clock tower.

Cloth Hall (left) and the Basilica (centre)

In the middle is the "Cloth Hall," which is now basically a mall. A mall that has been in business for approximately 700 years. At the northwest corner stands the Basilica of the Virgin Mary. It was from this tower, in 1400, that a guard blew his trumpet to warn of an attacking army. He was killed in the ensuing battle, but the town was saved. A trumpet is blown every hour on the hour in his memory.

There are many beer gardesns on the square (Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm beer), and it is very pleasant to sit in the sun, drink beer, and watch the activity going on around. There are horse drawn carriages taking tourists for a tour, as well as golf carts accomplishing the same task for those afraid of horses.

Krakow has wells situated around the city, with pumps that anyone can use to take as much water as they can carry. It was near one of these pumps in the town square that a young man, protesting against the communist government of the time, immolated himself. There is a plaque commemorating his deed.

To the west of the centre of town, a large, man-made hill rises. it is called the "Kopiec Kosciuski." it was built in memory of a man called Thomas Kosciuski, who fought in the American Revolutionary war, and then returned to Poland to fight for its independence.

Shortly after the mound was raised,  a fort was built around it. It's now a hotel, but you can see a beautiful chapel and climb to the top of the mound for a view of the city.

In the centre of the hotel is a plaza named for Paul McCartney. Who knows what he did to earn that honour.

In my next instalment, we'll visit the former Jewish ghetto, Schindler's factory, and Plaszow.

What the... Starter Salad?!

I went out to dinner with my folks this evening, and we had a terrible time.
The food was okay, but the service was terrible.
We had just come from the Telus Store in the Westhills shopping centre, where my Dad attempted to trade in our old phones for some new iPhone 4's. They're giving away the 4's to make way for the new 5's that are coming out, so it seemed like a sweet deal. The S-N-A-G occurred when the clerk told my Dad that he had to sign up for a three year contract, besides buying out the old one.
My Dad had been told by the clerk in Sundre that he wouldn't have to do any of that, so that's where the deal foundered, and that put a black cloud over us already as we made our way to dinner.
My Mom decided we should go to Moxie's, which wouldn't have been my choice, but I wasn't paying.
Moxie's food is too... trendy for me, too frou-frou, with a lot of flourishes and not enough good solid food on the plate. I'm a basic meat, fire, gooooood type of eater.
The place was crawling with waitresses, but still not very busy at 5:00, so I didn't anticipate any delays in getting our food like we were about to experience. The first table we sat at was pretty wobbly, and it turned they all were. Moxie's has a flagstone type of flooring, so the tables wouldn't stay still no matter where you put them.
So, we ordered some beers and a cocktail, and waited. Looked at the menu and decided what we wanted to eat, and waited. Watched as the waitress toook an interminable amount of time getting the bill for a couple of ladies sitting next to us, and waited.
Finally, she came over and asked us if we wanted to order?
Where's our drinks? we countered.
She checked with the bar, and they hadn't even been "entered." Well, you were supposed to get them for us, didn't you think it was strange?
Got our drinks, and we ordered. I wanted a starter salad and a plate of linguini. Now, seeing as how the salad was described as a starter, you may well see why I was puzzled when it didn't come until the same time as the linguini.
This is something that I've noticed happening in a lot of restaurants, if not all of the restaurants I've been to since I got back from Korea (and even before that!). When you order, all the food whether it's appetizers or main courses, comes all at once. I remember a time when you would have some soup, then a salad, and then your main, and so on. It's like the chef just shoves it all out at once in order to get rid of the ticket and move on. Can't be bothered to pit out apps and then mains.
Even Chinese food places do this. You get your spring rolls with the ginger beef, and not before.
Well, it was a good thing that the manager (a pink sweater wearing motherfucker) served our food, because I was able to tell him I didn't want the salad. He took it back, and served us the rest of the meal. The waitress would stop by and check everyonce in a while, but the PSWM took care of everything.
We got some dessert, and then got out of there, leaving no tip at all. Not a sausage.
Since I've been back from Korea, I've not tipped unless I got really exceptional service, which basically means...
I've not tipped since I got back from Korea.

Krakow: Extra Pics

These are some extra pictures of the Wawel that weren't included in my previous post. These towers were situated just before you pass through the outer wall into the inner keep.

This is where the Royal Apartments are. The interiors (where taking photographs is VERBOTEN!) have to be seen to be believed. The luxury and incredible artworks are fantastic. 

One of the steeples on the cathedral.

The other steeple.

Equestrian statue of Ladislas II, I believe, which you can see at the northern entrance to the Wawel. This is where I exited, and went down a ramp into the Old Town to find a bar and get some beer.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm beer.

Krakow, Poland

In my round-the-world journey in the spring of 2003, I travelled by train across Russia, enjoying the sights to see in the cities of Vladivostok and Moscow. I hope I have described these adventures adequately, as I now turn to the sights I saw in Poland.
In my first year teaching in Korea, I had made many good friends. One of these, an English girl I'll call Alice, was at that time living and teaching in the city of Krakow. As I was in the neighbourhood (the European continent), I decided to take up her offer of a place to stay while I visited.
But first, some history (Yay!).
Poland first came together as a nation in the late 10th century, when various Slavonic tribes in the Vistula River basin merged. There were two centuries of internal strife and civil war that followed, but the nation's fortunes began to rise with the 1320 restoration of Krakow as the capital.
In 1386, the country was united with Lithuania when that country's Grand Dule, Ladislas, married Poland's queen, Jadwiga. This family's descendants ruled until the 1570's, and is credited with beginning Poland's golden age. The Poles expanded to the north and east, and defeated the Teutonic Knights (a great rival) at the Battle of Tannenburg in 1410.
Poland became Europe's granary, supplying much of its food. It was a country where the kings were elected, and the parliaments held most of the power. The great wars that disrupted life in the 17th and 18th centuries sapped much of Poland's strength, and the country was partitioned by Austria, Prussia, and Russia until it disappeared from the map. 
There were many uprisings that followed, as the Polish people fought to regain their independence. This was not to occur until the aftermath of World War I, when the Poles were able to carve territory from revolutionary Russia and defeated Germany.
Poland disappeared from the map once again during World War II, and had to sruggle for freedom during the years it was a satellite of communist Russia. The Solidarity movement, born in the shipyards of Gdansk, eventually helped bring about the end of the Soviet empire.
There are many sights to see in Krakow, not the least of which is the castle that dominates the old town, called the Wawel (pronounced Vavel).

Alice's apartment had an excellent view of this castle from just across the Vistula River, only partly spoiled by the floating tour boats tied up on the bank.

The Wawel, according to legend, sits atop a dragon's den, and there is a metal sculpture of the dragon as it looked in its heyday, complete with real flames occasionally shooting from its mouth.
There are two seperate entrances, on the east or west sides. Walking up the east side, you pass through a massive gate beside a six story tower covered in ivy.

 

 

The battlements overlook the river, and the buildings are well preserved. This is where the kings of Poland ruled for over three centuries, and where the Nazi governer Hans Frank instituted a reign of terror and became directly involved in the mass murder of Polish Jews.
Tourists can "customize" their tour so that they can see what they want, and pass over the rest. Perhaps the best sights to see are the State Rooms, and the Private Apartments, which give a good idea of how the kings used to live. There are fabulous works of art, furniture, and architecture that are literally "jaw-dropping."
The armoury houses a vast collection of various types of weaponry, including swords, cannon, and musketry.

On the west side of the castle is the cathedral, which is just as interesting, and with just as much to see. There are no less than 18 chapels built as additions to the main building, featuring artwork, statuary, and tombs for many of Poland's kings and queens, bishops, and other notables. It was quite something to see the tombs of Ladislas II and his queen, who I had written about in a university paper 15 years previously. To actually see their final resting place, as well as the castle they ruled from, is something the historian in me cannot adequately describe in words.
After all that, I needed a drink. It is fortunate that Krakow has many places to rest and relax after doing "the tourist thing." We will explore them, and much more again soon.    

Battlestar: Galactica Spoiler Alert

So let me get this straight.

Starbuck...

was a ghost?!

Puppy Update

Just a short note, as work at school is very heavy right out of the gate. Complaints to the profs elicit no sympathy, so I just get on with it.
I just wanted to say that the dog I talked about in "A Mystery" has shown up safe and sound, still in the yard of the mooks across the alley.
It was let out into the yard to do its business, saw me doing some yard work, and charged, barking away noisily with the owner in tow. The dog didn't mind her. He stopped short when I confronted him and ran away when I advanced, so I don't think it's too dangerous. The yard is still open to the neighbourhood, so I wonder if the mooks don't let it run around free to do its business anywhere and everywhere. I'm not there to keep tabs anymore, so I can't say for sure.
Nice to know it didn't end up as coyote shit, though.

Korean Interlude

   I just watched a History Channel documentary about the Trans-Siberian Express. I downloaded it from eztv.it. It was fascinating to see the photos from the history of its building as well as contemporary shots that reminded me of my trip.

The next columns will be about my travels in Poland, but I'm not sure as to the schedule, as I go back to school next week. I'm looking forward to getting back to class after a summer of boredom.

I did get a lot of TV in.

 

World Adventurer (December 19, 2003 Chautauqua)

 

   As my plane took off from Moscow's Sheretmetyevo Airport en route to Krakow, Poland, I reflected on how far I had come on my journey. I had left Korea by ferry, rode the rails in Japan, crossed the East Sea once again by ferry, and travelled the Trans-Siberian Express across the continent of Asia, from one end of Russia to the other.

   Since that time, I have returned to the starting point, and am once again teaching English to little monsters... er, adorable Korean children.

   In the months before I left Korea in the spring, a crisis had blown up over the revelation that North Korea had re-started its nuclear program, and was threatening the world with missiles equipped with atomic warheads.

   In this corner of the world, several important nations border the Korean peninsula. To the north lies Russia's Far Eastern provinces. To the west looms not-so-Communist-anymore China. To the east are the islands of Japan. All of these countries are attempting to bring North Korea to the bargaining table, but the North (and its erratic leader, Kim Jong-Il) are pursuing negotiations with the one country that matters to them: the United States. The North's most pressing demand is for a non-aggression treaty that will guarantee their freedom from invasion.

   The Americans (and their even more erratic leader, George W. Bush) are pre-occupied with the Middle East, and are not paying enough attention to what is being said.

   The Americans have been a very strong presence here ever since the 1950-53 Korean War. In recent months, they have tried to re-position their forces so that more will be available for duties in Iraq. The main U.S. base in the capital of Seoul is in the process of being re-located south of the city, as are some of the units that patrol the de-militarized zone.

   The relations between South Korea and the U.S. have been strained of late over these preparations, and anti-American sentiment has been building ever since two Korean girls were killed by an American tank last year. Things were not improved when a G.I., allegedly driving under the influence, was involved in a hit-and-run that left a Korean woman dead.

   Also weighing heavily on the relations between the two countries is the American request for Korean combat troops to assume duties in Iraq. The government has been attempting to come up with a response to this request with little success.

   All of Korea, including the government, have been caught up in a scandal involving illicit campaign funds being paid to both parties during last year's presidential election. The loser in that election, Lee Hoi-chang, recently returned from a holiday in the U.S. and said he was "shocked, shocked" that the president would be involved in something like this.  It was ironic that he himself was under investigation not more than a week later.

   When I first came to Korea, I was told that this is how they do business here, and that they are all corrupt: government, businessmen, everybody. Well, the man that told me that was an idiot, but it is still very distressing to wake up to a new set of charges seemingly every day now.  There used to appear occasionally in the paper a section called "Scandal Round-Up." That headline is not so funny to me as it used to be.

   Life is pretty good for me in Korea at this time, I must say.  I have a nice place to live. I am making a decent wage, and managing to save a little. The kids that I teach can be a handful at times, but I like them, and I think they like me.  The weather here has been pretty good, for the most part. Living close to the sea has its advantages, not the least of which is the ability to just sit and watch the waves.

   And Christmas is coming! There is a lot more "Christmas-y" stuff in evidence this year here than formerly. Mostly it's Santas and trees, but it just makes me miss being home all the more. I hope all my friends, family, and readers in Alberta have a happy holiday season.

   There are many other things going on in Korea at this time, not all of them as dire as the headlines.   I will tell you about them soon, including my own personal experiences at a Korean wedding.

   Next time, however, I will pick up the threads of my ongoing story as I land in the ancient, former capital of Poland: Krakow.

Comments

I've had a coupla stupid comments sent to me.
Flint wrote the response I would have used over at Flint's Follies, so go there if you're not too fucking lazy.

A Tale of Lust

Flint's recent post about not shitting where you eat made me think about a situation when I was in peril.
I was working in a restaurant that employed a blonde waitress who was absolutely beautiful. She reminded me of Marilyn Monroe, and she did dress up as her one Halloween (her boyfriend was dressed as JFK). That night, I kept thinking about strategically placing a fan in a position to blow her dress up over her head.
That Christmas, she and her boyfriend went somewhere sunny, because she was very tan when she got back. I kept wondering if it was an all-over tan, and when she mentioned that she'd been to a nude beach, I was in danger of completely losing focus several times during service that night.
I was besotted, and having dangerous thoughts about expressing my feelings. I was wandering around, wrestling with my conscience, and generally having a real tough time. It didn't help when I found a swimsuit catalogue that featured a model who looked a lot like this waitress. Seeing pictures of her in the almost altogether didn't do much for my cool.
Well, waitresses attract suitors like a flower attracts bees, and this woman was no exception. I remember one middle-aged businessman coming back to the restaurant time after time, always wanting to sit in her section, and even going so far as to bring her flowers.
One night he convinced her to let him sit with her at the staff table, and she implored me to help her out, and never let them sit there alone. I would have done anything for her at this point, but something happened as I sat there watching him watching her. I could see myself in that same position, as being practically the same guy, mooning about like a lovesick calf for someone who had absolutely no idea, and no inclination in that direction.
She was embarrassed by this guy's attentions, and it came to me that she would be just as embarrassed by my own attentions. It blew my mind, and I was never in any peril after that. I'm glad now that we were both spared the humiliation that would have occurred if I had been stupid enough to declare myself.

Global Does It Again

Fuck up, that is.
Yesterday, the national evening edition featured a report on Prince Harry's latest shenanigans in Las Vegas. The anchor, Dawna Friesen, reported the "facts" as they had been outlined in a report from TMZ, and then talked to another reporter "on the scene" in England for the reaction from Brits and the Royal family.
Who the fuck cares about this shit?!
A young man behaves badly in Las Vegas. Where the fuck is the news in that kind of story? It must happen all day, every day, and so many times that reporting on all of them would be a full time job. That's why we have organizations like TMZ, scum and carrion eaters who delve into the muck and bring up the shit for assholes who like that kind of crap to glory in.
I've always hated paparazzi ever since they killed Princess Diana, and I've tried to ignore the bile that they spew. But now, here is a national news organization, one that is supposed to be dedicated to reporting the news, bringing this crap into my home and spreading it all over my nice clean floor.
I've been watching Aaron Sorkin's new show, "The Newsroom," where he does for cable news what he did for the presidency in "The West Wing." He idealizes the situation, and presents people trying to do a good job, in contrast to how things are perceived in real life. The latest episodes feature the news team having to report on the Casey Anthony trial as a sop to the network, so that they can get ratings, and get a chance to host a Republican party debate. The tabloid journalism gets to them, and they eventually redeem themselves, and get back to "real reporting."
If only real life could reflect the ideal presented on TV sometimes.
Sigh.

Inside the Kremlin

World Adventurer (December 5, 2003 Chautauqua)

 

   In Russia, a "kremlin" is a Russian town's fortified stronghold, and Moscow's was built in the 1150's with a low, wooden wall. It now features high red brick walls 2.25 km long, with Red Square on the eastern side.

 

A map of the Kremlin

 

   The Kremlin's power grew with that of Moscow's princes, and became the headquarters of Russia's churches in the 1320's.

   The "White Stone Kremlin" - which had limestone walls - was built in the 1360's with almost the same boundaries of today. This lasted until 1475-1516, when an era of rebuilding was undertaken by Ivan the Great. Master builders from Pskov and Italy supervised the building of new walls and towers, many of which still stand.

   Even after Peter the Great shifted the capital to St. Petersburg, tsars were still crowned here. Catherine the Great contemplated building a new, classical Kremlin in the 1770's, but she ran out of money.

   Napoleon's troops were making preparations to blow it up, blow it up good, blow it up real good, heh heh heh; but were foiled by rain and the timely arrival of Russian soldiers.

   Hitler had planned to raze the entire city of Moscow from the face of the earth, but it was his fate (and that of his vile regime) to be consigned to oblivion.

   I contemplated my "assault" on the site from one of the most visible monuments to Russia's new capitalism, McDonald's. It sits in a trendy "mall" just across from the western wall, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Mogila neizvestnogo soldata).  The remains contained inside are that of a soldier who died in December 1941 at Kilometre 41 of Leningradskoe shosse - the nearest the Nazis came to Moscow.

 

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

   Stretching south from the tomb is the Alexandrovsky Garden, a pleasant little park, with a variety of fountains featuring characters from Grimm's Fairy Tales.

 

 

   The main visitor's entrance is the Kutafya Tower on the Manezhnaya ulitsa. It stands somewhat apart from the main walls, at the end of a long ramp over the park. It is the last survivor of a series outer bridge towers that once stood on this side of the Kremlin. There is a left-luggage office below where you must leave any large bags before entry.   Tickets are good for entry, and you must pay for the sights inside you want to see separately.

 

Trinity Gate Tower

 

   Walking up the ramp, I passed beneath the Trinity Gate Tower (Troitskaya bashnya), heading towards the Sobornaya ploshchad in the centre, where the main sights are located.

   The lane to the right (south) immediately inside the Trinity Gate Tower, runs between the 17th century Poteshney Palace (Poteshny dvorets) where Stalin lived, and a great glass monolith of a building, the 20th century Palace of Congresses.

 

Poteshney Palace

 

   Looking north, I could see the 18th century Arsenal, which is ringed with 800 captured Napoleonic cannon. East of the Arsenal is the 18th century Senate (Senat), where the offices of the President are located, and the 1930's Supreme Soviet (Verkhovny Soviet).

 

The Arsenal, with Napoleonic cannon (on carriages),

and tubes (lined up between the carriages)

 

The Senate (left) and the Supreme Soviet (right)

 

    All of these buildings are off limits to visitors, and there are plenty of guards to whistle down any trespassers.

   Grouped in the centre of the Kremlin are its chief glories, the cathedrals.

The Assumption Cathedral

   The Assumption Cathedral has five golden helmet domes and four semicircular gables facing the square. This was the focal church of pre-revolutionary Russia and burial place of most of the heads of the Russian Orthodox Church from the 1320's to 1700. In 1812, French troops used it as a stable and looted 295 kg of gold and five tonnes of silver, but much of it was recovered.

Entrance to the Assumption Cathedral

 

   Beside the western door of the Assumption Cathedral sits the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, which was built between 1484-6 as a private chapel.

   Just to the south is the Ivan the Great Bell Tower (Kolokolnya Ivana Velikogo), the Kremlin's tallest structure. It is visible from 30 km away, and before the 20th century, it was forbidden to build any higher in Moscow.

Ivan the Great Bell Tower

 

   In front of this cathedral are the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon. The former is the world's largest bell, a 202 tonne monster that never rang. It was cast in the 1730's for the Empress Anna Ivanovna. As it was cooling off in a foundry casting pit, water being poured to cool the fires nearby came into contact with the bell, causing an 11 tonne chunk to fall off.

Tsar Bell

 

   The cannon was cast in 1586 for Fyodor I, whose portrait is on the barrel. The bore is 89 cm!

Tsar Cannon

 

   The Archangel Cathedral is on the square's south-eastern corner. It was formerly the coronation, wedding and burial church of the tsars. The tombs of all of Muscovy's rulers from the 1320's to the 1690's are here (except one: Boris Godunov).

   Ivan the Terrible lies here, but his tomb is out of sight behind a wall of icons, as are the tombs of two of his sons: Ivan (whom he killed), and Fyodor (who succeeded him). From Peter the Great onward, emperors and empresses were buried in St. Petersburg.

   The Annunciation Cathedral (Blagoveshchensky sobor) at the southwestern corner of the square has what are described as the "greatest icons by the greatest icon painter, Theophanes the Greek."

   Icons are depictions of saints and other characters from the Bible. Some of them are indeed quite beautiful, but the multitude that are on display in these and other churches can lessen a person's appreciation for what he is seeing.

   The one other sight to see in the Kremlin is the Armoury (Oruzheynaya palata), which houses a vast array of the treasures accumulated by the tsars.  There are nine rooms: rooms 1 to 5 are upstairs, 6 to 9 downstairs.

   Room 3 has the renowned Easter eggs of precious metals and jewels by the St. Petersburg jewelers Faberge.

   Room 6 contains thrones and royal regalia, including the 800 diamond throne of Tsar Alexey, the jewel-studded, sable-trimmed gold Cap of Monomakh, and the coronation dresses of 18th century empresses.

   Room 9 holds many coaches, including the sleigh that Empress Elizabeth rode from St. Petersburg to Moscow for her coronation. It was pulled by 23 horses at a time - about 800 in all for the whole trip.

The Great Kremlin Palace

   Between the Armoury and the Annunciation Cathedral stretches the 700-room Great Kremlin Palace (Bolshoy Kremlyovsky dvorets), built in the period from 1838 to 1849 as an imperial residence. It's now the official residence of the Russian president and is used for official state visits and receptions. It's not open to the public.

   Once I was finished seeing all these sights, my day in Moscow was just about done. I had planned to cap it off with a visit to the Moosehead Canadian Bar, but it had been closed and reopened as a milk bar! I had to settle for a steak at the American Bar and Grill. I made my way back to my hotel, and packed for the next (and next to last) destination on my round the world jaunt: Poland.

Audiobooks

I used to listen to audiobooks quite a lot. After I bought a car in Korea, I needed to listen to something other than the radio, which oddly enough was in a language foreign to me.
The noises that passed for pop music over there caused me to  bleed from the ears, and eventually my head would explode in a welter of gore. If I didn't want to end up cleaning the car like Vince and Jules, I needed an alternative to K-Pop.
So I bought an iPod, and filled it with my kind of music. And then I had the idea of adding books so I could listen to them, too. I think my favourite books to listen to were the Harry Potter's read by Stephen Fry. It helps if the person reading the book for you has a good voice, and Fry's is delightful.
I remember the episode of "Seinfeld" where George gets an audio textbook because he can no longer sit down and read a book. The audio textbook is read by someone with a voice that sounds like George's own, however, high and whiny. Oh well.
I also listened to books by Churchill, Dashiell Hammett, Dickens, and P.G. Wodehouse. I listened to Dracula, I, Claudius, The Lord of the Rings, and War and Peace.
It was great, but I don't listen to audiobooks anymore. I think I burned myself out on them, besides having the misfortune to have the reader's voice turn out to be as bad as George Costanza's.
There were three sets of audiobooks that finally soured me on them.
The first was the five books that (so far) make up the "Game of Thrones" saga. I really enjoyed the mini-series, despite some facebook mook revealing the ending. So I downloaded the rest of the series from Demonoid and set about finding out what happened next.
As I said, the reader had a really annoying voice. His Khal Drogo sounded like one of those B-movie Russian commie villains, and not at all very heoric. His women were even worse. About as sexy as Keith Richards' voice.
The best voice he did was for the crow mascot of the Black Knights on the Wall. He did that croak very well.
But I persevered, and tried to make sense of what was happening in Westeros, and what might happen next. SPOILER ALERT! I centred on Eddard Stark's son as the "hero" of the tale, and I figured he would be the final victor until I listened to the the disaster that befell him and his mother at the Red Wedding.
That episode really took me by surprise, and I don't think I've recovered from it even yet.
The next set of books I listened to was the "Hunger Games" trilogy. I had never even heard of them until last fall, when a classmate told me how excited he was for the movie to come out. I took his enthusiasm for the book as a recommendation and downloaded the series.
The first book was okay, but it had the disadvantage of being read by a woman with the most unctuous voice imaginable. And the second book had a lot of mooning about by the main character, a teenaged girl. She was unsure about which boy she loved more, and spent a lot of time agonizing over her choice. I started to think of this series as another version of "Twilight." That was enough to put me off right there, but I soldiered on and eventually finished the series.
I can just about tell you what happened.
The third book that did it for me was Stephen King's "The Stand," which I really enjoyed reading when it first came out. The audio version was another matter. The reader had an annoying habit of mispronouncing words and names. For example, Nadine didn't come out as "Nay-deen," but as "Nah-deen," and so on.
I got so fed up that I didn't even finish listening to the book, and I haven't even thought about listening to a book from that day to this. Maybe some day, but when? Who can say?

A Mystery

Sundre is a town on the edge of the foothills. There is a lot of wildlife around. Deer roam through the town, eating roses out of people's gardens. There're even reports of bears on the outskirts, so a person has to be careful when going out for a walk on the trails down by the river.
Every once in a while, I hear a pack of coyotes howling at the moon, and I think about the dogs in the town. Most of the dogs I see are those little lap dogs. Not too many of the larger variety around.
The mooks across the alley from my folks got a little dog a few weeks ago. It was a little noisy, but not annoyingly so. It reminded me of Frisky, the pup in a coupla Waner Bros. cartoons. He was introduced into the household of a corpulent,complacent cat called Claude (nice alliteration, eh?).
Just when Claude would start to relax, Frisky would come out of nowhere, barking excitedly, sending Claude up to the ceiling.
But, I digress.
The mooks didn't have a fence at the rear of their property, so they jury-rigged a flourescent orange net to keep the pup in. He would bark at people who passed by, and one or another of the mooks'd come out and yell at it to be quiet.
A few weeks after the dogs' appearance, I saw one of the mooks taking it for a walk. The "fence" had been folded back. I guess that was their version of a "gate."
A coupla days later, I saw the dog running around loose, I think with another dog or two, and I wondered if the mooks were just letting it roam the neighbourhood, pooping wherever instead of their back yard.
About the same time, maybe even the same day, late at night, the coyotes set up such a racket of howling, yowling and savage barking that I figured they must have been having their version of a gang fight.
And ever since that day, the mooks' dog hasn't been seen or heard from.
Did the mooks get tired of the dog?
And let it get eaten, rather than take care of it?
I wouldn't put it past them. They are mooks, after all.
But that's just speculation on my part. I witnessed a series of events, and came to a conclusion. Not neccessarily the right one, but one that fits the circumstances.
As I said, a mystery.

A Cathedral and a Corpse

World Adventurer (November 21, 2003 Chautauqua)

Red Square, featuring (from left to right):

The GUM Store (barely visible),

St. Basil's Cathedral

The Spasskaya Tower

Lenin's Tomb

and the walls of The Kremlin

    Tuesday, May 6th, was grey, wet and rainy in Moscow as I stood at the entrance to a 400 by 150 metre area so central to Russian history, Krasnaya Ploshchad - Red Square.

   It lies immediately outside the northwest wall of the Kremlin.  I entered from a street called ulitsa Nikolskaya. To my right was the Resurrection Gate (Voskresenskiye Vorota), which was rebuilt in 1995. It is an exact copy of the original completed on this site in 1680. The original was torn down in 1931 because Stalin thought it was in the way of the parades and demonstrations held in Red Square.

   To my left was the GUM store. I passed through the concrete barriers and stepped onto the cobblestones of a place very far away from my Canadian prairie home. The square is closed to vehicular traffic, except for government limousines.

   The name Red Square has nothing to do with either communism or the blood that has flowed here. Krasny originally meant beautiful: only in the 20th century did it come to mean red, too.  The place used to be a market square, and has always been the place where the Kremlin's occupants made several important statements to their people.

   Ivan the Terrible publicly confessed his misdeeds here in 1547, built St. Basil's Cathedral to commemorate his victories in the 1550's, and later had numerous perceived enemies executed here.

   The Cossack rebel Stephen Razin was dismembered here in 1671.

   In 1698, Peter the Great had 2,000 members of his palace guard, the Streltsy, executed en masse. The spot is marked by a round, walled Place of Skulls (Lobnoe Mesto).

   Soviet rulers chose Red Square for their twice-yearly military parades. In November 1941, they held one in which the tanks rolled straight off to the front line outside Moscow.

   During the cold war, lines of ICBMs rumbled across the square to remind the west of Soviet military might. The leaders of the Soviet Union reviewed these displays from the top of Lenin's Tomb ( a practice begun by Stalin).

Lenin's Tomb

   Made of red granite, the tomb stands at the foot of the Kremlin wall. Lenin has remained on display here since 1924, apart from some time spent in the Urals during World War II. From 1953 to 1961, he shared his tomb with Stalin, until Krushchev had him removed. There is some talk of having Lenin removed, as well, and having him interred somewhere more appropriate, but no-one is willing to provoke the hard-liners who want him just where he is. There is also some talk of whether the body is real, or just something you might see at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. I cannot give you my opinion, as the tomb was closed when I was there, as was the Kremlin wall, where many worthies are resting, including:

Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Cheka (forerunner of the KGB)

Yakov Sverdlov, a key organizer of the revolution

Inessa Armand, Lenin's lover

John Reed, The American author of a first hand account of the revolution, Ten Days That Shook The World

Yuri Gagarin, the first astronaut

Marshal Georgi Zhukov, the commander who defeated Hitler.

   Preparations were under way for the celebration of V-E day on Thursday, with many guards around overseeing the workers setting up seating for dignitaries, and barriers to hold back members of the public.

St. Basil's Cathedral

   I proceeded south, towards a building that everyone visualizes when you say Russia, St. Basil's Cathedral. The cathedral was partially covered with scaffolding while I was there, so I did not get a complete appreciation of the multi-coloured, multi-shaped domes. To some, they suggest something from the Orient, but they are the culmination of a wholly Russian style that had been developed in building wooden churches.

   St. Basil's was created between 1555 and 1561, replacing an existing church, to celebrate Ivan the Terrible's taking of the Tatar stronghold of Kazan on October 1st, 1552. This was the day of the feast of the intercession, hence its official name, the Pokrovsky (Intercession) Cathedral. The architect is thought to be Posnik Yakovlev, who was blinded by Ivan so that he could never build anything comparable.

   The cathedral owes its usual name to Vasily (Basil) the Blessed, the barefoot holy fool who predicted Ivan's damnation and added (correctly) that the day the army left for Kazan, Ivan would murder one of his sons. Vasily died while Kazan was under siege, and buried in the church which St. Basil's soon replaced.

The cathedral from the south

   The many domes are arranged over nine main chapels: the tall, tent-roofed one in the centre; four big, octagonal towered ones, topped with the four biggest domes, on the north, south, east, and west; and four smaller ones in between. A couple of extra tent roofs were added over the stairways, and another on the north-eastern chapel over Vasily's grave.  Only in the 1670's were the domes patterned and St. Basil's given its present, highly colourful appearance.

   The interior is fairly close, and gives the impression of great age. The walls are painted cement except for the areas in the chapels that have icons displayed. The ceilings under the domes go up quite high. There is a model of the cathedral in the entrance lobby.

   Out in front, there is a statue of the butcher Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, who together raised and led an army that ejected the occupying Poles in 1612.

   My steps now took me towards the place where all Russian roads eventually lead, and where all political power emanates from, The Kremlin.

The Spasskaya Tower

The Big Village

World Adventurer (November 7, 2003 Chautauqua)

    Moscow is the capital of Russia, and has a population of about 9 million people. The centre of government is the Kremlin, a red-brick walled fortress where the city has its beginnings.

   The area was probably first settled during the 10th or 11th centuries. In the following years it was the site of many battles between the natives and the Tatars, descendants of Genghis Khan's Mongol Horde. Eventually, Moscow became the centre of power, and began to expand into the surrounding areas. It was not until the 15th century, however, under a prince known as Ivan III (the Great) that they were able to free themselves of the Horde's influence. Ivan rebuilt the Kremlin, bringing in Italian architects to design new cathedrals.

   Ivan IV (the Terrible) greatly expanded Moscow's power east into Siberia and south to the Volga. By 1571, the population was about 100,000, one of the largest in the world. There followed a "Time of Troubles:" false tsars, civil wars, invasions, and Moscow being occupied by the Poles, before 16-year-old Prince Mikhail Romanov was elected Tsar. He founded a dynasty that ruled for over 300 years.

   Peter the Great built a new capital, St. Petersburg, on the Baltic to open up Russia to new ideas from the west. He disliked Moscow, as do most St. Petersburgers, who think of it as "just a big village, not a real city."

   It was important enough to be Napoleon's main goal in 1812. After his troops began their occupation, though, a fire broke out that burnt most of the city, including the food. The French had to pull out after only one month. Moscow rebuilt itself, and replaced the defensive works with tree-lined boulevards and parks.

   Fearing the occupation of St. Petersburg by the Germans, the revolutionary government moved the capital back to Moscow in 1918. Stalin began a comprehensive rehabilitation campaign, building many broad thoroughfares, demolishing half of the city's artistic and historical landmarks, and erecting seven great, grey neo-Gothic skyscrapers called, the "Seven Sisters."

One of the "Seven Sisters"

   The Nazis came close to Moscow during World War II, and a huge monument marks the spot, just outside the international airport Sheremetevo-2.

   After the war, huge housing projects were built. Planners shifted to building high rises in an attempt to keep the area of the city within its outer ring road.

   Since the fall of communism, these housing and state businesses have been sold off, and the old system of street names has been restored. There has been a great influx of luxury goods, advertising, bright lights, casinos, restaurants, and night life. It is an interesting mix of "new Russians," enjoying the spoils of capitalism in one of the most expensive cities in the world while the majority remain among the lowest paid. This is where I woke up on the grey and rainy morning of May 5th.

   Before I could enjoy the sights of the city, I had to worry about getting out before my visa expired. I went to a travel agency recommended by the "Lonely Planet" guide, called "Infinity Travel." They were very helpful, and got me some cheap flights to Poland, and then from Poland to Canada.

   After that, I headed to the centre of town to take in what I thought were the most important sites to see.

   I traveled around Moscow via the subway, which is a something to see in itself. The first station opened in 1935, and much of the early work was overseen by Nikita Khrushchev, who drove the workers as hard as possible, and more. Nowadays, as many as nine million people ride every day, more than London and New York combined. The first stations were dug very deep, so that they could double as bomb shelters. After someone realized you couldn't dig deep enough to escape a rain of American missiles, stations were built closer to the surface.

   Some of the deepest are quite an experience to get to, riding an escalator that goes down five stories. Once on the platform, riders can enjoy great artwork before their trains arrive. The Komsomolskaya station has mosaics of Russian military heroes (as well as the heroic metro workers).  There are chandeliers to light the way. The Mayakovskaya has a central hall that is all stainless steel and marble (it won a prize at the 1938 World's Fair). The Novokuznetskaya has military bas-reliefs and ceiling mosaics, and the Ploshchad Revolyutsii features life-size bronze statues that illustrate the idealized roles of common men and women.

   My first stop was Lubanskaya Ploshchad ("ploshchad" means "square").

The Lubyanka

   This is where the Lubyanka Prison is situated. The Lubyanka was formerly the headquarters of the Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee for State Security), or KGB. This is where enemies of the  Soviets met their fate. From 1926 to 1990, this square was known as the ploshchad Dzerzhinskogo, after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the KGB's founder. A statue of him dominated the square until it was removed by a mob in 1991.  There is now a humbler "Memorial to the Victims of Totalitarianism" in a little garden in the south-eastern corner.

   I left this area by a street called "Nikolskaya ulitsa," which passes through a neighbourhood called "Kitay-Gorod" (Chinatown). There is nothing Chinese about it. "Kita" refers to the wattling, or palisades, that reinforced the earthen ramp that used to surround the area. This is one of the oldest parts of Moscow, settled since the 13th century, and long a trade and financial centre. It ends by passing between the GUM and the Kazan Cathedral.

Kazan Cathedral

   The GUM, or Gosudarstvennoy Universalny Magazin (State Department Store) was to my left (southwards). It was built in the 19th century to house over 1,000 shops. GUM once symbolized all that was bad about Soviet shopping - long queues to look at empty shelves. It is now bustling with all manner of consumer goods.

The GUM store, with VE Day posters

   The Kazan Cathedral was originally erected in 1636 in thanks for the expulsion of the Polish invaders. It was a highly popular symbol of Russia's survival until Stalin had it torn down so that it would no longer impede the parades that were held in celebration of the workers and the revolution. It was rebuilt in 1993.

   The day was still quite grey, windy, and wet as I stood at the entrance of a 400 by 150 metre area so central to Russian history, Krasnaya ploshchad - Red Square.