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Another week has gone by...
Aug. 6th, 2009 08:25 pmAnd in the meantime Irene has arrived. She's staying at my place until she moves into her own, and so far the cohabitation has been very pleasurable. Irene is one of the very, very few persons I like to have around 24/7, and after 3 years of living in different countries this time together is wonderful.
Besides, she has opted for a flat in my building, so we'll be practically neighbours. Contract will be signed next Monday or Tuesday, and then we'll see when her stuff arrives. Probably sometime around the 20th.
Last weekend was interesting, insofar as I attended the Ilinden ceremony (anniversary of the 1903 Ilinden uprising against the Turks, and also of the 1944 uprising against the fascists). The Ambassador was unsure whether to go or not, and so I persuaded him to treat himself to a quiet weekend, just this once, and send me off to Krushevo.
It's not too far from Skopje, and maybe half the distance is motorway. The landscape is just simply beautiful -- mountains, partly wild and rocky, partly soft and rolling, vineyards, hamlets and small towns. The Ilinden memorial itself is rather high up, at 1400m, so it was nice and cool in the shade. As part of the ceremony, representatives of embassies deposit wreaths or flower arrangements around the memorial -- I'd specifically asked for a rather small arrangement and promptly got a very large one. But I managed a dignified pace and didn't stumble.
The rather funny part was a recitation of more or less long poems by six more or less identical, bearded poets -- no, wait, five poets and one poetess, without beard -- which made me think of A Fish Called Wanda and caused barely controllable hilarity.
This excursion also had another effect: the landscape is so enticing and the country so worth exploring that I decided to get a driving licence. Project will probably start early next year.
Irene means to buy a car, and so maybe we'll buy one together, which we can then share. I'm already dreaming of weekend trips to Thessaloniki and Ohrid.
The ambassador has been on holiday this week in Austria.
A phone call on Monday caused me boundless curiosity, which will probably remain unsatisified.
This is the back story: the ambassador is married, with a daughter aged 9 (I think). Wife and daughter have remained in Vienna; I'm not sure why, maybe because the girl had started going to school there, and they thought a change would be bad for her. Anyway, they're in Vienna, and the last time the family was together was the end of May, for a long weekend.
So the ambassador calls me on Monday, and after we've discussed a few work-related things, he says, "I almost forgot to tell you that my wife and daughter have arrived."
I, slightly unsure what to make of this, say, "Well that's nice for you."
He: "Yes, and they ought to get registered right away!" (Brits and US people won't understand: in most European countries the law requires you to register with the police if you stay longer than 3 days)
I, mystified: "Er, well, I supposed they were registered as residents in Vienna..."
He: "No, they're in Skopje and have to get registered. Could you please see to it?"
Well, that only increased my feeling of mystification. I mean, they see each other once every blue moon, and then he goes to Vienna and they go to Skopje while he's there? He'll be returning to Skopje this weekend, so I wonder whether wife and daughter will be heading straight back to Vienna... I'm incredibly curious, but I really can't ask, as there might be a painful or embarrassing story behind these facts. Charlie the visa officer, who has been here for 3 years, doesn't know anything, and I won't gossip about the ambassador with the local staff. Still, I'd like to know...
Irene and I finally went to see the ladies-only gym. It looks great and, more importantly, smells great (no damp, mouldy smells), and so I'm going to start tomorow. They charge about € 60 a month, which is a very reasonable amoun of money given the quality of the service. What seemed a little strange at first was that 1) they're not up for a 1-year subscription, so you have to pay every month, and 2) you have to choose between either Pilates, Aerobics or Kick-Fit for a whole month and can't switch. But on second thought that's not so bad, and so I'll certainly give it a try. Yayyyy!
Besides, she has opted for a flat in my building, so we'll be practically neighbours. Contract will be signed next Monday or Tuesday, and then we'll see when her stuff arrives. Probably sometime around the 20th.
Last weekend was interesting, insofar as I attended the Ilinden ceremony (anniversary of the 1903 Ilinden uprising against the Turks, and also of the 1944 uprising against the fascists). The Ambassador was unsure whether to go or not, and so I persuaded him to treat himself to a quiet weekend, just this once, and send me off to Krushevo.
It's not too far from Skopje, and maybe half the distance is motorway. The landscape is just simply beautiful -- mountains, partly wild and rocky, partly soft and rolling, vineyards, hamlets and small towns. The Ilinden memorial itself is rather high up, at 1400m, so it was nice and cool in the shade. As part of the ceremony, representatives of embassies deposit wreaths or flower arrangements around the memorial -- I'd specifically asked for a rather small arrangement and promptly got a very large one. But I managed a dignified pace and didn't stumble.
The rather funny part was a recitation of more or less long poems by six more or less identical, bearded poets -- no, wait, five poets and one poetess, without beard -- which made me think of A Fish Called Wanda and caused barely controllable hilarity.
This excursion also had another effect: the landscape is so enticing and the country so worth exploring that I decided to get a driving licence. Project will probably start early next year.
Irene means to buy a car, and so maybe we'll buy one together, which we can then share. I'm already dreaming of weekend trips to Thessaloniki and Ohrid.
The ambassador has been on holiday this week in Austria.
A phone call on Monday caused me boundless curiosity, which will probably remain unsatisified.
This is the back story: the ambassador is married, with a daughter aged 9 (I think). Wife and daughter have remained in Vienna; I'm not sure why, maybe because the girl had started going to school there, and they thought a change would be bad for her. Anyway, they're in Vienna, and the last time the family was together was the end of May, for a long weekend.
So the ambassador calls me on Monday, and after we've discussed a few work-related things, he says, "I almost forgot to tell you that my wife and daughter have arrived."
I, slightly unsure what to make of this, say, "Well that's nice for you."
He: "Yes, and they ought to get registered right away!" (Brits and US people won't understand: in most European countries the law requires you to register with the police if you stay longer than 3 days)
I, mystified: "Er, well, I supposed they were registered as residents in Vienna..."
He: "No, they're in Skopje and have to get registered. Could you please see to it?"
Well, that only increased my feeling of mystification. I mean, they see each other once every blue moon, and then he goes to Vienna and they go to Skopje while he's there? He'll be returning to Skopje this weekend, so I wonder whether wife and daughter will be heading straight back to Vienna... I'm incredibly curious, but I really can't ask, as there might be a painful or embarrassing story behind these facts. Charlie the visa officer, who has been here for 3 years, doesn't know anything, and I won't gossip about the ambassador with the local staff. Still, I'd like to know...
Irene and I finally went to see the ladies-only gym. It looks great and, more importantly, smells great (no damp, mouldy smells), and so I'm going to start tomorow. They charge about € 60 a month, which is a very reasonable amoun of money given the quality of the service. What seemed a little strange at first was that 1) they're not up for a 1-year subscription, so you have to pay every month, and 2) you have to choose between either Pilates, Aerobics or Kick-Fit for a whole month and can't switch. But on second thought that's not so bad, and so I'll certainly give it a try. Yayyyy!
