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Eastern European Travel, News, And Discussion
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| Prague |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|07:40 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  okay | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Azra - Tko To Tamo Pjeva | ] |
I'm going to assume that "east of Prague" includes Prague itself.
I'm thinking of running a game set in Prague. I was wondering if anyone here could point me towards any good books about the city and its history, and Czech/Slovak history in general. I'd like to focus on things from the late 1700s to before the outbreak of WW1.
Feel free to recommend travel books, since I'd like to get a feel for the city itself, but it'd be nice if they're heavy on history, folklore, and culture.
Thanks. |
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| Russians closing down European University in St Petersburg (EUSPb)... |
[Feb. 22nd, 2008|08:47 pm] |
Dear colleagues.
By now many of you will have heard about the situation at the European University in St Petersburg (EUSPb). The university has been suddenly closed by the Russian authorities due to a reputed "violation of fire codes". The classes have been suspended indefinitely and the rooms have been sealed by fire marshals.
The University faculty and students, whom many of you know as colleagues and friends, have appealed to us, the international academic community, to write collective letters to support the university and to urge the authorities to reopen it.
There have been many speculations as to the real reasons for the closure of this university, known for its high level of scholarship and independent social and political analysis.
You can read about these various theories and explanations on the Live Journal web site (and also here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/12/russia — and here:
http://www.sptimes.ru/story/24991).
However, colleagues at EUSPb have asked us "not to politicize" the situation, in order to avoid creating more problems. Right now time is an issue – this is the middle of the semester at EUSPB, as elsewhere –and we must act quickly.
We have written a petition, and invite all of you who agree with its content to sign it. The text of the petition is provided below.
We plan to collect as many signatures as we can in a speedy fashion and send this petition to administrative and educational institutions in Russia.
Thank you,
Alexei Yurchak, Department of Anthropology, University of California,
Berkeley
Michele Rivkin-Fish, Department of Anthropology, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill
====================
Thanks to U~ for the information.
x-posted everywhere... |
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| Krakow |
[Oct. 9th, 2007|06:13 am] |
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Visiting 1 to 5 November & staying in apartment in Old town. Any suggestions on things to do? Do you still need to buy tickets for luggage? |
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| Northeastern Slovakia |
[Oct. 8th, 2007|09:14 am] |
Hi! I need some advice about travel in Northeastern Slovakia, specifically to the towns of Habura and Stropkov. I'm Canadian, but my grandparents were born in those villages, and next summer, I'm hoping to head that way and see where my family originated from. So, I have a few questions...
1. Accomodation - based on my limited Google searches, it doesn't seem that there's too much in the way of accomodation in either of these towns. Am I just missing the right sites online, or am I going to have to stay in a larger city and drive in?
2. Arriving in Slovakia - I'm going to be coming from London, England (will be studying in England for two months before this trip); what is my best option for cheap travel to Slovakia?
3. Language - I've been told that the dialect of Slovak that my grandparents spoke is much closer to the Ukrainian language than it is to the Slovak spoken in Bratislava. Before I go, I'd like to gain at least a working knowledge of the language - would I be better to study Slovak or Ukrainian (or something entirely different?) to be able to communicate effectively in this region?
4. Anything else I should know??
Thanks :) |
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| Welcome News from Sofiya, Bulgaria |
[Jul. 24th, 2007|07:27 pm] |
Medics jailed in Libya arrive home
By VESELIN TOSHKOV, Associated Press Writer
24 minutes ago
SOFIA, Bulgaria - Five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were pardoned by President Georgi Parvanov upon their arrival in Sofia on Tuesday after spending 8 1/2 years in prison in Libya. ( Read more... ) |
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| Archaeological News from Bulgaria |
[Jul. 17th, 2007|05:59 am] |
2,400-year-old golden mask unearthed
SOFIA, Bulgaria - A 2,400-year-old golden mask that once belonged to a Thracian king was unearthed in a timber-lined tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, ( Read more... ) |
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| News on Bulgaria & Romania from the BBC . . . . |
[Jun. 27th, 2007|02:32 pm] |
Bulgarian enthusiasm for EU wanes
By Nick Thorpe
BBC News, Sofia
Last Sunday's Euro election failed to excite Bulgarians ( Read more... )
New EU states attacked over graft
By Oana Lungescu
BBC News, Brussels
The European Commission is to criticise Bulgaria and Romania for failing to tackle deep-rooted corruption and reform their judiciary.
Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU six months ago.
A report by the Commission highlights the lack of convictions in high-level corruption cases and voices concern about contract killings in Bulgaria. ( Read more... ) |
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| Bratislava/Slovakia - worth a visit? |
[Jun. 10th, 2007|06:14 pm] |
I'm thinking about holidays for later this year - I'm a teacher so I can only go in school holidays, and flights tend to be very expensive so it's usually a case of finding out where is cheap and seeing if we like the sound of it, rather than deciding in advance where we want to go! Our last travel experience was a bit of a wash-out (Easter in Andalucia - it rained for 3 days, then we both got terrible food poisoning for the rest of the trip!) so we want a really good trip to make up for it! Anyway, we're moving house over the summer so we don't want to go away then, the next chance we'll get to travel is the last week in October.
The only cheap flights I've managed to find are to Bratislava in Slovakia - I don't know anything about this area at all, so I'm hoping to hear from someone who's been there before. I've travelled around the Czech Republic - is Slovakia fairly similar?
How much is there to do in Bratislava or nearby (we'll only be going for 5 days at the most so we don't want to spend too much time travelling)?
Any idea what the weather might be like at the end of October? Is there enough to do if the weather's not good?
Thanks for any suggestions!
x-posted to a few travel communities - sorry if you end up seeing this more than once. |
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| News Items from & about the BBC |
[Feb. 7th, 2007|09:18 am] |
Poles and Slovaks in cheese stink
The Oscypek tradition goes back centuries in the Tatra region
Poland and Slovakia are engaged in a European Union row over the right to register a traditional smoked cheese, called oscypek.
Oscypek is made from ewe's milk, soaked in brine and smoked. Poland had wanted it added to the EU's protected list this month.
But Slovakia has objected, meaning that neither country can lay claim to it.( Read more... )
---------------------------
And, though I can't find the link, I read in the Slovak Spectator that the Slovak government has pulled the BBC's broadcasting license -- for violation of the Slovak-language broadcasting law, which means the BBC lost its license for broadcasting too much English-language programming. Depressing. |
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| Budapest |
[Apr. 10th, 2007|11:01 pm] |
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Wife & I are visiting Budapest in mid-March for four days. What suggestions would you make for things to see & do? |
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| Literature Recommendations |
[Dec. 28th, 2006|09:53 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  curious | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | none | ] |
Hello all,
I'm hoping that you could help me by giving me your recommendations here.
I'm looking for more fiction (or autobiographical non-fiction) to read by Eastern European authors. Authors I'm not looking for, as I've read them already or they don't fit my criteria: Milan Kundera, Franz Kafka, Ivo Andric, Christa Wolf, Mikhail Bulgakov, Eugen Ionescu, and the big Russians like Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, etc.
Qualifications:
- preference for writers from smaller countries (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Albania, etc.), but from bigger countries is all right too
- either writing about the Communist times, or about post-Communist times (so published in the last 60 years or so)
- available in either English or Latvian (French is doable as well, but previous two preferred)
Thank you for your recommendations. |
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| BBC News Item on Property Investment in Bulgaria, Romania & Hungary |
[Dec. 12th, 2006|08:52 am] |
Expats risking it all in Bulgaria
Brits Abroad
By Ben Richardson
Business reporter, BBC News in Sofia
Sofia has kept its charms despite years behind the Iron Curtain
Property is a key factor in the march of expat Britons around Europe. But the reality is far removed from the dream of massive returns in former Eastern bloc nations.
James Flint is a property developer in Bulgaria who does not mince his words when talking about some of the would-be UK real estate investors jetting in.
"The way many of them act, there must be a locker at Heathrow where they check their brains in before boarding a flight," he says over a drink in a worn but prettily European quarter of Sofia.( Read more... )
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6210430.stm |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 30th, 2006|03:57 am] |
NATO leaders back ties with Balkans trio By Mark John and Patrick McLoughlin
44 minutes ago
RIGA (Reuters) - NATO offered Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro on Tuesday a first step toward membership despite unresolved war crimes concerns, in a policy switch cheered by the region but condemned by the top U.N. prosecutor.
The 26-member alliance had, like the European Union, until now required Serbia and Bosnia to show full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal on tracking down top indictees still at large before winning closer ties.( Read more... ) |
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| Article on Bulgaria by the BBC |
[Nov. 17th, 2006|03:26 pm] |
Bulgaria hit by population slump
By Mike Donkin
BBC News, Bulgaria
There is no morning rush to clock on these days at the Gotse Delchev electronics factory - one of the last bastions of Soviet-era industry in Bulgaria. Once it had 5,000 workers - now there are just 66. ( Read more... ) |
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| EU News from Yahoo . . . |
[Oct. 17th, 2006|06:06 pm] |
Fears of 'two-speed Europe' still exist
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
Mon Oct 16, 5:29 AM ET
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Miroslav Fasik is an EU citizen by chance and a chauffeur by choice, and he's frustrated at being stuck in Europe's slow lane. After emigrating from Serbia a decade ago, Fasik, 40, had high hopes of prosperity and opportunity when his adopted Slovakia joined the European Union. Two and a half years later, he feels duped. ( Read more... ) |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 27th, 2006|02:46 pm] |
EU sets bar high for Romania, Bulgaria
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer
BUCHAREST, Romania - Romania and Bulgaria won clearance Tuesday to join the European Union on Jan. 1, capping an arduous journey from the chaos of communism's collapse but still facing some of the toughest terms ever for membership in the bloc.
The recommendation from the EU's administrative body to add the two nations was expected to be the last for some time, leaving Turkey, Croatia and other hopefuls on the sideline.( Read more... ) |
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| BBC Analysis of Hungarian Rioting . . . . |
[Sep. 19th, 2006|11:04 pm] |
Economic woes fan Hungarian riot fires
By Ben Richardson
Business reporter, BBC News
Hungary has attracted a lot of investment despite the problems
The admission by Hungary's Prime Minister that he lied to voters may have sparked the country's worst riots in decades, but the violent street protests have deeper-reaching economic and political roots. ( Read more... ) |
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| More Montenegro pics |
[Aug. 29th, 2006|05:41 pm] |
Budva
Sometimes you just feel proud to be Norwegian!
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| Days of Thunder in Piestany, Slovakia |
[Aug. 29th, 2006|01:38 am] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | "Life in the Fast Lane," Eagles | ] |
Slovak leader crashes race car, unhurt
Sat Aug 26, 11:07 PM ET
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic crashed his race car during a test ride on Saturday but was not injured, his spokesman said.
Gasparovic, 65, has been racing for about 30 years and has refused to quit even after his election in June 2004, his spokesman Marek Trubac said.
Gasparovic swerved off the track during a test ride ahead of Sunday's Slovakia Grand Prix in the western town of Piestany, Trubac said.
"This is not his first such incident," Trubac said.
He said Gasparovic's specially adapted and reinforced car slammed into crash barriers at 40 to 50 miles per hour.
After a medical checkup, Gasparovic said he hopes his car could be repaired "so I could race again," Bratislava's private TA2 TV quoted him as saying. |
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| Tip for travellers in Cetinje |
[Aug. 10th, 2006|03:24 pm] |
Should you want to spend the night in the old capital, you should be able to find a cheap room (ten euros) in this house, located in Ulica Baja Pivljanija.
Here is the sign, if you do not read Cyrillic.
You should, however, not be too late since the owner (an old lady) seems to have a tendency to go to sleep at an early hour. No amount of doorbell ringing or shouting will wake her up after that. |
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