nazarshowing

She's alive! Alive! (c)

nazarshowing — Mon, 8 Jun 2015 15:51:00 GMT

Have you ever met alive TV tower? I have. It was really strange experience.

From architectural point view Vilnius TV Tower (or also "Vilniaus televizijos bokštas") is a typical soviet project for all TV Towers. The same tower must have been built in my homecity, but it didn't happen. A lot of years ago there was a fire, so all the building processes were stopped. That part of the tower which had been built is the highest object in all the city now. It is also one of mostly mysterious places.

But let's get back to Vilnius Tower. Me and my husband wanted to look at it and to imagine what we would have in our place if there wasn't any fire tragedy some years ago. So we took a map and started our walk to the Tower on one rainy day.

Protecting ourselves with an umbrella, we crossed Neris, found out a student dorm and at least reached Vingis park. It was early morning so the only people we met there were those brave guys jogging across the park in such a rainy day. As far as the Tower is really high we were strongly sure that we were on the way to it and would reach it very soon. When we came into the park it was to the left. So we started walking to the left. We found a giant slain (I wrote about it in my previous story about Lithuanian cats) and also saved a frog which felt down into a refuse bin. We almost crossed the park, and the Tower was in front of us and a little bit to the left for all the time. Then we lost it because had to go between some high pines and some other trees... When we came to the park stadium, we couldn't see the Tower. We looked around - the Tower was gone. We continued walking. Then I walked and turned... And saw the Tower behind us. And it was to the right.

- How's that? - I said. - It must be in front of us according to the map!

It seemed to me that the Tower wanted to play. And hide-and-seek game started.

We turned back to Neris and saw the Tower standing on the other bank of the river. Its top was hidden between big grey clouds.

- Will you swim to reach it? - my husband laughed at me.

- Ha-ha! - I replied angrily. - You know that I can't swim!

We started looking for a bridge and came through all the bank of Neris... But - no way. We had to get back to the park entry - firstly we couldn't see the Tower and believed it was to be to the left, how it was at the beginning of our small journey... But when we left the park it was to the right...

There was a mix of emotions in my head. I was angry, hungry and excited at the same time. This happened one year ago and we still call the Tower "a walking Tower". Probably that's even more interesting than to visit a museum or whatever else having strong touristic meaning...

On the next day we came to Trakai, but still were bearing in mind an idea of visiting the Tower. As far as our first try seemed to be a big mistake, we just came to a hotel assistant and asked her to show us the easiest way to it. She told us to get on a trolleybus and get of in some number of stops. We did it successfully, reached the Tower really easy and even ate ice-cream in the caffee in the top looking at amazing Vilnius.

Thanks a lot for such a happy end.

But I still think that sometimes the Tower starts walking and playing hide-and-seek with some other tourists. And I also feel a little bit sorry about that journey: we weren't stubborn enough to find the Tower on our own, without any help. But on the other hand - who knows? If we didn't try it on our own, we couldn't save the frog and the slain who crept to the middle of the road and could die under some jogger's feet as well.

So... God bless the Tower which walks and which is alive! Alive!

Photos: Lithuania

nazarshowing — Tue, 2 Jun 2015 22:16:00 GMT

The cat who sold the ice-cream

nazarshowing — Tue, 2 Jun 2015 22:15:00 GMT

There are so many stories about cats of Rome and Istanbul! Every time I try to find something about cats via Google, I find out a lot of cats - grey, brown, black, with big eyes and slanting eyes, eyes colored green and yellow... And no one, it seems to me, has written anything about cats of Lithuania. I am a big cat-lover and always miss my cat when I'm on the road or business-trip. I always try to visit my friends abroad - those who have cats, or special places as cat-cafe... But when I visited Lithuania all these habits went wrong. Because... there are so many cats! Of course I can't compare their number to Italy and Turkey and even to the cat island in Japan 'cause I've never been there. Anyway, this country takes the 1st place in "Cats". That's my personal rating :)

The first cat I saw in Vilnius crossed the back yard of the hotel holding a mouse or a small bird in his teeth. The second cat met me on the next day when I was walking in the park in search of Vilnius TV-tower. He was dirty and looked not so happy. He said "Meow" - as if he was laughing at me. And he was right. I didn't manage to find the tower on that day. The only one amazing thing I did on that day was finding a big snail... I met next two cats in the evening of the same day - near the hotel again. The one was shouting at the other protecting his territory.

Later on, in Trakai, I saw a cat with a collar. That was the cat who sold the ice-cream.

The fifth - again in Vilnius, this time a cat owned his cafe for people. Yes, exactly this way: he was sitting on a chair and washing, and people were sitting at the next table and drinking coffee.

Klaipeda amazed me most of all. When I was waiting for a ferry to get to Curonian Spit and the Baltic Sea I counted... of course, cats! I counted 7 cats in 5 minutes... There were black kittens, big black cats and so on, and so on.

It is always good if you have a cat near you. All of the cats I've described here did some useful work: sold ice-cream, protected their territory of another cats or mice, laughed at me (if this can be called "work":)), were just lying on the sand and protected their Klaipeda harbor of mice and, probably, people. And all this is without street artists selling pictures with cats and statues making your dreams come true (if you touch its tail or whatever else).

I think that every cat described in this story deserves to have his or her own fairy tale. I think, I'll do it one day - many-many stories of these cats. And every cat over there will be happy.

In the wild North... (c)

nazarshowing — Tue, 2 Jun 2015 17:40:00 GMT

Actually Jena does not look like the wild North. But at one moment it did. Let me start from the very beginning.

Lobeda was almost a city during Medieval - it had appropriate rights and a duke, who was very rich. But in the 14th century something went wrong and Lobeda became a district of Jena. It is still the same. There is one thing which reminds us of it.

Lobdeburg is a castle located within Jena. It is possible to get there, to the top of the mountain, on foot. So did I.

I would say that this place is really sad. The castle ruins have not been restored and you can see empty windows instead of Rosamund waiting for her knight on the balcony. This is a mix of times. On the one hand this is the land of knights and kings. On the other hand, you can see windmills and many-storied houses surrounding the mountain now. It looks like the time stopped here destroyed by feudal wars.

There is a poem by Heinrich Heine about a pine tree which is alone and thinks of a palm somewhere in a warm land. It seems to me that I could see it near the castle:

In the wild North a pine tree stands alone

On the bare top of the mountain.

It slumbers and sways, covered with

Powdery snow like a mantle.

And it dreams constantly: that in faraway wilds

In the land where the sun rises,

A cheerless and lovely palm stands alone,

Growing on a gloomy cliff.

*translated by Dmitri N. Smirnov

On my way down I saw vineyards. Snow almost melted away so I could see something near my foot. It was a shell. There were no any rivers and sees near Jena but probably it was left by a Burgundy snail. I took it with me and the shell still reminds me of that short trip. Someone says - if you take a shell with you, you will come back to that place. I hope that I will.

Photos: Lobdeburg

nazarshowing — Tue, 2 Jun 2015 17:32:00 GMT

Photos: Czech Republic

nazarshowing — Mon, 1 Jun 2015 21:36:00 GMT

Fascinated by you

nazarshowing — Mon, 1 Jun 2015 21:18:00 GMT

It was almost a usual evening - except of the fact it was the day of the trip to Olomouc.

Olomous is a small town in the South of CR. First of all, it looked like a typical european town - with round square, fountains, small restaurants, spreading taste of coffee all around. I am used to this type of sightseeing - a church, another church, wonderful gardens. It is such pity if a town you visit can't give you something more... I was almost dissapointed and going to get back to Brno, but...

The evening came very unexpectedly, and the dark november sky covered Olomouc with its blanket. Small and nice town changed itself into something more mysterious: the sky was dark-blue, and the Moon was so close - so that it seemed to me: I can touch it. Right here. Right now.

I was really amused at that Moon, so bright and white, shining in this deep sky. There was a small yard on my way, and I came in. The Moon was still shining, and then I heard music. There was someone playing violin. The melody was not too fast and not too slow - something in between. But it was enough to make me happy. I even imagined a young man with dark eyes and blond hair holding the violin tight and tender. At least I realized that Olomous gave me more than just some interesting sightseeing - it showed me its mysterious side. To be honest, I still can't call Olomous "it", because at that moment, in a small czech yard, under czech sky I met town with soul. And I could feel it.

Actually, there were a lot of events happened to me in Olomouc. It was 6 years ago and a lot of names, places and faces have already left my memory. Though, there is a thing about you, that I will always remember. You fascinated me so much. I am still fascinated by you, Olomouc.

Photos: Lost treasure of Siberia

nazarshowing — Tue, 26 May 2015 16:01:00 GMT

Lost treasure of Siberia

nazarshowing — Tue, 26 May 2015 15:39:00 GMT

Me and my husband have a tradition - every New Year we visit places which are different from our homecity. This is our 4th year we met in a different place, and I can say that this year is our "Omsk year". Omsk is a city in Siberia named after the Om' river. It is not really big in comparison to Novosibirsk, but it is worth visiting. I am sorry for such a typical phrase :) Let's get back to the 31st of December.

It took us 14 hours to get to Omsk from Yekaterinburg by train. Omsk was built along the bank of the river Irtysh slowing into Om'. That is why it takes much time to get from point A to point B. Let me explain - we wanted to go to the Omsk fortress and we saw a lot of interesting things on our way there which we didn't plan to see... But that's a stem for another story.

Omsk is well-known for its cheese, subway having only one (!!!) station, it was also the second capital of the country during the Civil war. "Thankful" to its location it was also a place for prisoners during existence of the Russian Empire. These old prisons are still there, within the territory of the Omsk fortress. Fyodor Dostoevsky was in this prison, too. Unfortunately not so many people know about it. Omsk is not a well-developed touristic place at all. And we couldn't even imagine what treasure we would find there.

So, we came to the Fortress and looked at Irtysh. It didn't flow at that time because it was winter. But its size is really terrific. And at that moment I realized that Dostoevsky stood here, too, during he was a prisoner. I just saw it - in the same cold and white winter, he was here. And he described it in his book "Crime and Punishment": "Siberia. On the banks of a broad solitary river stands a town, one of the administrative centres of Russia; in the town there is a fortress, in the fortress there is a prison. In the prison the second-class convict Rodion Raskolnikov has been confined for nine months. Almost a year and a half has passed since his crime."

Stay there. Stand there. Look at the river and feel yourself as a part of history. Find lost treasure of Siberia.

Photos: And it doesn't mean we're lost! (c)

nazarshowing — Tue, 26 May 2015 15:23:00 GMT

This is for my 2nd story about the Wartburg castle

It doesn't mean we're lost! (c)

nazarshowing — Tue, 26 May 2015 14:38:00 GMT

This trip took place some years ago, when I came to Germany to visit my friend. We came to many places that time, including Berlin, Erfurt and some other cities and towns in the East of Germany. I must say that every journey of mine has a single trip, which has words: "Oh, I think, we're lost"... And that was it.

So, we came to Eisenach in order to visit the Wartburg castle. As far as I remember, Elizabeth of Hungary lived here. Besides, according to a legend, Martin Luther fought the devil here. I think there are a lot of other mystic stories connected to this place... And probably I can add another one :)

We got to Eisenach by train, and on our way there it started snowing. Show was falling and falling without going to stop. There was too much snow, and at that time we got to the city, buses stopped going to Wartburg, too. We decided to get there on our own. And we started walking.

It was really mysterious - to step into this lonely forest, very still and snowy. It seemed to me at that moment - we're alone here, just we and this white snow. We continued walking despite it was really hard to get on the top of the mountain. And we reached it in thirty minutes. Though it seemed to us that we were lost. The road was the same all the time, and we couldn't see the top of the mountain. Maybe, if the weather was better on that day, we could meet other people or even cars. But not that day. Definitely.

The castle looked (and was, I'm sure) mysterious. It was lost in fog, and I felt like I was in "Beaty and the Beast" - one step in, and these giant gates will lock me and my friend inside. Forever. But it didn't happen, of course :) We came in instead and heard medieval music and saw some white doves sitting in a special cage. It was foggy so we couldn't see landscapes of the valleys andn forest laying down there. But anyway, it was worth seeing this magical fog around the castle.

It was time to get back to Jena. We went down the mountain following our steps and the route we'd created on our own. Do you remember that I told you about mystical stories? It's not about fog. When we were walking down to the town, we saw giant steps of an animal following our steps on the snow. These animal was too big to be a dog and, besides, there were no any other steps of a human, except of ours.

Are we lost? No, we are safe and fascinated with enchanted forest and the Castle :) Maybe that was a magical wolf who saved us and helped to reach the castle... But who knows, who knows... :)

White as Snow

nazarshowing — Thu, 21 May 2015 18:17:35 GMT

White as Snow

You have to be strong to make your dreams come true. Once I did.
At that time I did not realize it at all, but that was a miracle. A dream came true. White as snow.

I don't know yet that it will be a miracle. I am just getting on the bus in Prague following to Hamburg. It is mid-October and the weather is not good at all… But it won’t spoil my mood. I am ready. I have been dreaming of such journey for a very long time. There are only 9 hours left.
The bus is leaving for Hamburg now and I can see Czech landscapes. They are so much familiar to me. I know and love every village I see: small houses with red roofs and church domes, mostly white. I am looking at it and still can’t believe that there is a life in such place. It must be a fairy tale.
It becomes one more fairy tale when we get closer to the Czech-German border. Just look to the right! There is a lake at the foot of the mountain, surrounded by giant trees. And a castle, standing at the top of this mountain, so proud and so high. It seems to me that I can see its foundation, somewhere deep in the mountain, between ancient stones. I am lost in this beauty. Between all these hills, which look so young, green and endless. And I want to go to the top of the mountain. I really do.
But… It is time to make my dream come true, and we drive into a long tunnel. I know that afterwards I will be in Germany. I am leaving Czech far behind now. At least.
We are leaving the tunnel. It is getting so light. Bono is singing in my Walkman:

Now the wolves are every passing stranger
Every face we cannot know
If only a heart could be as white as snow

White as snow. Not my heart (unfortunately?), but everything around is white as snow. I can’t see mountainous landscapes of the Czech Republic anymore. I am in Germany. In a flat German landscape, covered by snow, and only snow. And I start to cry. I have never expected my dream to come true in such a fascinating and tremendous way.
I wish I could tell you more: about my few days in Hamburg and the moment when I saw sea for the first time in my life. It was the Baltic Sea. And how I met my best friend who I had not seen for 5 years at that moment. How I rose – not to the top of that mountain in Czech, but to the top of St. Peter’s Church and could look at Elbe flowing far away. But I won’t – because these are stories which can be watched by everybody. My main story is invisible. My main story is white as snow.