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 |   ON THE WRITE PATH: travel journal for Around-the-World in 2015, 16, 18. |
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For there are many paths.  A tlog. A travel blog. A keeping-track of my trials, er.. travels. February 26, 2015 until ... June 18,2015. January 12, 2016 until February 15, 2016. November 13 to 30 2018 ... 2019, 2020: Taiwain. I went nowhere in 2021. 2022: Portugal, Thailand. Will include: Hawai'i, Japan, Australia, South Africa, Untied Arab Emirates, Portugal, Norway, Ireland and... (2015) ... Norway and Estonia (2016), México (2018), Taiwan, Balkans, Baltics, Turkey, Costa Rica, Nicaragua. Vi får se.  "Where I have traveled, stayed and visited. Over 181 places."     |
You have an opportunity to distribute an etiquette primer to every passenger on your next commercial flight. What does it say? 1. Be courteous. None of us are getting off this flight without the others. Courtesy may vary according to custom. Know where you are going and be aware that passengers fly both ways. 2. Follow the rules. Do what the stewards or pilot tells you to do. Arguments are best settled in court, not at 30,000 feet in the air. Safety is truly their #1 concern. 3. Be prepared. Know what you need beforehand to get on the plane, what you need in flight (like medications), what you need to get off. What you may need if connections are missed. Worry may make you miserable. Most airlines try to make your flight as comfortable as possible. Consult your steward. 4. Be aware of others. Strong odors, loud sounds, inappropriate clothing... anything that impinges on your seatmates may create issues and delay your flight plans. Don't become a character in someone's horror story. Consult your steward. Don't fly drunk. 5. In conversations... know that others may hold views contrary to yours. If you can have a quiet civil conversation few topics are verboten but... never joke about hijacking, hostages, or make fun of fellow passengers. This is neither the place nor time. Eye masks and earplugs, a polite smile can be your friend. Faking sleep... or actually sleeping can resolve many issues. Advice: A. BOOK THE SEAT YOU NEED. If you need an aisle seat, book an aisle seat. Expecting others to get up a dozen times is not okay. On the other hand, if you book an aisle seat be prepared to get up. Practice the virtue of tolerance. B. If you have personal issues make sure that the stewards know. However, this should be done before you get on a plane, not after. An example is peanut allergies or special food requests. If you weigh 400 pounds then you need to understand the size of the seats. 1st class may be your only option... or paying for two or more seats. This should be done beforehand. Some seats are 17" across. Be advised that this is uncomfortable for many average sized people. (It should be illegal imho, but hey...) As is 28" legroom. Try to book seats with 32" on long flights if this is an issue. Consult SeatGuru. Speak to the airlines. Once seated there is little that anyone can do. If you are literally scared of flying talk to your doctor and therapist beforehand. Or don't fly. Posted in
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| In the last two days I visited Hungary, Syria and Lithuania before taking a flight home from Poland. It started in Buda... or was it Pest? Yesterday I talked to a lady feeding cats, visited the grandeur that once was Buda... and still is. I crossed the bridge to Margaret Island and watched the musical fountain for what seemed like hours. It must've been only 45 minutes. We talked about how BudaPest was a blue dot in a sea of red. How people's fears made no sense. How a lack of education and contact with the outside world may be a factor. It sounded familiar. But today it was Syria and harissa (basbousa) made with coconut, yoghurt and pistachios. I washed it down with coffee. The coffee didn't need sugar.  No photo! Therefore no evidence other than crumbs. It was a short but pleasant visit. Then, it was off to Lithuania to talk about Vilnius, Šiauliai, and the Hill of Crosses. Jonasz sells sheep cheese and lamb. He was out of curds.  But... he knew about donkey milk! He smiled when I mentioned pink soup. Lithuanians seldom smile. We spoke about some people prefer cash, others plastic. Poland is plastic it seems; Berlin is cash. Tomorrow it would be nice to visit Wrocław before taking my flight from Warszawa. We shall see. Note: I may not have left town for over a year but thanks to meeeting a Hungarian at an art show last evening and men from Syria and Lithuania at the farmer's market I felt like I had. I've actually been to Budapest and Lithuania. Unfortunately, not Syria. For
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| Any trip to the Balkans is fraught with confronting an uneasy history. And one of the controversies concerns Mother Teresa. In 2017 I visited Kosovo, Albania and Makedonia. It's impossible to move among Albanians and not be aware of Mother Teresa. But let's go back in history to Roman times. Even then Christianity was a potent part of the regional culture. It began in Ulpiana, a Roman crossroads on the Illyrian plains rebuilt by Emperor Justinian (most likely an Illyrian) after the earthquake of 518.  [photo of basilica, baptistry and me] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1812766338757982&set=a.1672757769425507 Christian Illyria was already established in present day Kosovo near Prishtina. The church ruins lay under Serbian cornfields for centuries, some still do, but the Illyrians weren't Slavs. Slavs came later and may have mixed with Illyrian peoples. But who cares you might say? The Albanians, the Greeks, the Bulgarians... Because of their arguing even the new cathedral (2017) in Prishtina was opposed by some.  [bas relief of Mother Teresa inside the sacristy] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1738525219515428&set=a.1672757769425507 Nënë Tereza did not establish peace in her homeland. Her mission lay elsewhere. She went to Ireland at age 18 to learn English and then India her adopted land. Her life began in 1910 in a house in Skopje, now in Makedonia where Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born to Albanian parents. The house stood until 1963 when Skopje was leveled by an earthquake. The spot is outlined on the pavement. Nearby they constructed a memorial house and chapel.  [Memorial House and Chapel]  [another view] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1731865290181421&set=a.1691460280888589 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1731862930181657&set=a.1691460280888589 Everyone writes about the missions and spiritual side of Mother Teresa but it's impossible to visit regions where there are Albanians and not know about her. She has become a cultural icon as well. The airport of Tirana, Albania (TIA) is called Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza. The main pedestrian mall in Prishtina, Kosovo bears her name and has a statue of her.  [Mall Nënë Tereza statue] https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1639241332777151&set=a.1672757769425507 And you won't miss seeing her to the left as you approach the sanctuary in St. Stephens Cathedral in Shkodra, Albania either.  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1726100607424556&set=a.1691519717549312 Because most Albanians are Muslim, not everyone was eager to embrace her. Because she was Catholic this was a problem among Orthodox Serbians. So much for spirituality... The entire region is still deeply divided into tribes which believe fighting over religion for the last 500 years is appropriate... except perhaps for the more peaceful Bosniaks, and Montenegrins. Then there's the Albanian concept of besa (a pledge of honor). For instance, during World War II under German occupation, Albanians rescued and hid over 2000 Jews from Nazi persecution, motivated in part by the cultural institution of besa that emphasizes aiding and protecting people in moments of need. Most assuredly, Mother Teresa grew up with this spiritual concept of honor and providing sanctuary. So, it's sad that the legacy of Mother Teresa cannot bring the Balkans together spiritually like Josip Broz Tito did politically. Without a spiritual underpinning that too did not last. © Copyright 2021 Kåre Enga [178.96] (29.qershor.2021) ~490 words For
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