Eastern Europe: Poland, Hungary, Croatia

What ever we Europeans would not think, these are Eastern European countries. Ones for which I always have to explain "north of Italy", "south of Russia" or so, here in Asia. Not that it would help for, e.g. Croatia, and Hungary is more known as Budapest :-D. Poland...thanks to ridicule government (twin ducks, kwa-kwa, at present) and Pope (Saint-to-be, past) most people know it is somewhere nearby Russia.

What is visible by this building, picture of which I took for the 1st time by digital camera, I think. Palace of Culture and Science (PKiN), kind'a copy of Lomonosov University building from Moscow, built as a "gift by the friendly Russian People to dear Polsih people", by Stalin. Cute.
After resisting temptation to send the building, brick by brick, to the Russians in 1990 (only because it would cost too much), Poles are slowly turning it into an attraction in otherwise not attractive city of Warsaw. Although, I must say, it is visible that lots of money is pumped into infrastructure, and city became normal city, not postcommunist slums-like gray vomit as it was when I was living there, during 1990-ies. It looks now much better, cleaner, human-friendly and European than ever. Good job, really, even the socrealistic buildings got painted.

"Zlote arkady"="Golden Arcads" building is last in the try to build Manhattan around the PKiN building, in a square of 2x2 km. It is attached to the Central Railway Station, which would need... destruction and re-building. Awful building.

Hungary, obviously, from the train Vienna-Nagykanizsza

Resting of the warriors. After night and half day in train, we all deserved some award :-)
Station in Nagykanizsza, so classical one...

Here I lived one semester, student dormitory "??" in Zagreb. My window is middle of the pic, 1st floor. Awful place, it is visible that it was torture place during Fascist time, Croatian "Lubianka".

Waiting for Duba in the center of Zagreb

Home sweet home

Bridge to Pag, it's deep down under Fortica

Zadar riva and University

Rijeka, main street

Opatia (Abazzia), after a looong time again here, thanks to Dijana

She is the one to show around, literally :-D

This girl had smthing to say, I think. Note that she is smoking.

Lamb? Well, was once...

To go to Plitvice Lakes in summer means...

But waterfalls are still there, reminding large Japanese garden.

Zare, friend from Old Times was a perfect ciccerone, he knows the place well, perfect international tourist guide :-).

Still to be verified, but I think these are Kamniske& Savinjske Alps in Slovenia, above Logarska valley.

Bye-bye Europe. See you next year. Hopefully.

Azores, Portugal

Not so fair to say "Portugal" only, it is 1300km westwards from Lisabon, 2 hour flight, 1/3 way to Washington D.C. I am slowly making my steps accross the Big Water, obviously. Curious I am if I will go there 1st time west or east direction.

Thanks to some nice people in JETSET collaboration, who invited me for the 4th School, although I am already out of it, I was able to participate in this nice event. Yes, I was also giving some presentations, so please remember that nice pics you see here were obtained during free time between hard digging the stars, between lectures and scientific talks. See http://picasaweb.google.com/jetsets4/Jetsets4 for nice pics of some nice people and places, these are official ones for the School.
Thanks, Bruxelles, at least some use of the Bestia of Petty Europe. I wanted to be there, not only because of scientific reasons: Azores is hardly place where you'd go for fun, by yourself. So, Porto people gave us all unique opportunity to see some of jewels of Atlantic. Paulo, big Thanks again!
As most of you probably hadn't chance to see it, and hardly will ever have it, I will do my best to describe what I saw there.

Lisabon airport resembles Athens, probably because of the similarity in landscape: dry.

Then followed 2 hours of clouds, Atlantic was under cover:

Sao Miguel island, one of 9 islands of the Azores archipelage, is closest to the Europe. here one of first glympses:

Approaching Ponta Delgada, site of our School. Sao Miguel is 60km long and 7-15km wide volcanic island, so approximately as big as "my" island of Pag, and it was very interesting for me to compare Atlantic Ocean island (and islanders) with Adriatic ones. I found lots of similarities, especially in psychology, although S.Miguelans should be more crazy than Pag people, because of much larger distance from the mainland Europe (or Americas).

Already first impression was familiar: taxi driver drove me towards the city (no public bus airport-Pta Delgada, but taxi is moderately priced, 7 eur) with some 140km/h, OK, it was a freeway, but not exactly for such speed, especially not near the exit...
In the hotel, surprisingly novel welcome. Well, for 130eur/day hotel it should be like this! In general, hotel was up to the task, as our conference and accomodation venue, I am still trying to get rid of these 1-2 kg overweight I earned in the restaurant there, magnificent kitchen and service, really. Even a bit too eager: filling the wine-glass when I drank only half of the wine inside was not the best idea before the afternoon talks...but who could resist? ;-)

This is the lobby in front of the conference room.

And the hotel itself:

Some views from the hotel room window. They were changing a lot depending on light, as you can imagine.

Landscape of S.Miguel is vulcanic:

Most surprising are bunches of hortensias everywhere, as tulips in Anadolian mountains

Volcanoes

It is nice to be a cow here, fertile valleys:

Sunday I joined Dublin gang who rented a car and went around, so for the 1st time I saw geyser

and took a swim and waterfall massage in 35 cels "spa" in open. Here is me, enjoying under the waterfall :-) -thanks Titos for the pic, and thanks for a ride, Emma!

It is a jungle around such places, just wait when T.Rex jumps out:

We went to the other side of the island, to Ribeira, and passed some pitoresque towns

Well, all this made some people tired, so we decided to slowly go back:

Nessie, where are you? Color of this lake was pretty unhealthy

Coast near the city, Atlantic is Ocean, houses have to be protected, not open to the sea, as in Mediterranean, it looks prety claustrophobic

But the sea is magnificent. Water was not too cold, some 20 cels, I think

Monday, coffee break, Greek-Russian talks, both work in Italy, Rome and Palermo, must be some important mafia issues... Rebecca will know, my weapon dealing was flowering...

Church in Ponta Delgada, above the city, serene surrounding

We took a walk to this church during coffee break, and here I zoomed to our fellow astronomers taking rest of hard science

Nice view to harbour:

Periklis after he destroyed double meal and triple desert.

Full ship of fat, rich americans, probably...

It was nice day, so I decided to walk towards the big rock in the sea visible east of the city. I made lots of pics along this 2 hour walk, follow me, it is to S. Roque:
This building just below the hotel I did not manage to find what it was, some fish factory or what?

Street near the coast.

Here I wanted to come:

A bit refurbished slums?

Or just village houses?

Houses near the sea, mostly empty now, seems like some kind of summer houses.

Where I should walk? This is the main street! They seem not to walk here, just drive!

If there is no pilgrimage to the Saint, then at least we can do a pilgrimage to ...a beer-house :-D

Usual iconography in the village.

Top of the smaller rock and view from it:

Larger one, visible from the hotel, is detached.

View back to Pta Delgada:

Main square in S.Roque

My real aim was to find a beach. This is the city one, with nice church on the rock above

Real beach is few hundred meters behind the church:

Weather was quite fresh, and I decided to pass this for now, day later I came in company of one beautiful girl { ;-) } and took a swim.
Atlantic is capricious ocean: next day we came again, and it was impossible even to walk on the main beach, In the small one, which is better protected from the waves, we could swim, but waves managed to expell us from the beach fast, overflowing the beach!

Going back, I took this pic of road sign, S.Roque-as Rocic (nickname for my branch in Kolan on Pag island, style of Corleone) I am always soft to this name ;-)

It seems I forgot to put some pics of Pta Delgada. It is not by chance, it is anything special. Portuguese colonial style. Church above the city:

My usual passion for old stylish buildings:

Final proof that there is beer and there is heineken. I do not like calling heineken beer, it is not, it is some other (bad) drink :-D

I am curious if it will happen to me to be on Azores again in my life. I would be highly surprised, I must say. But, the memory will stay, of the unique remote island feeling I had there all the time. Tourism is there, but does not seem to infect the place too much. Sure, it changed incredibly from what we could imagine before tourism, when it was penitent colony (prison is still in Ponta Delgada) and fishermen village. But some of the spirit is still there. It is not exotic, it is not gorgeous or anything like this. It IS different than other islands I saw. Maybe by chance, maybe not, but it resembles spirit of Macao a bit. Or vice versa, rather? But, then, Azores were uninhabited before Columbus, so, Portuguese date there not so much longer before Macao :-D . Global world of colonies, yes, deja vu.