TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

4:25 PM
Posted by jodi rose

soviet concrete jungle

friday night
I have an strange craving to watch sandra bullock - any movie, the trashier the better. While you were sleeping, Miss Congeniality 2 perhaps - there's something very soothing about Sandra, she's so everygirl, and perky but nowhere near as annoyingly perky as JLo in her fine romantic comedy roles. When I meet Gyuri at the Fabo computer shop to buy a multifunction printer/copier/scanner for the residence, I ask if there is a video shop in town. He describes the location for me: on st stephen ulica, past the Billa supermarket, before the Coop, you turn left at the french bakery (what! usually I can smell a good patisserie at 20 miles... have to investigate) go through a very special 1970's built retirement village; and there is the video store. Hmmm, considering my addiction to the Mesnovik (5 layer sponge and cream honey cake), I need the walk so after getting new geek toy home (still unplugged and uninstalled) decide to investigate.

Walking.. walking... walking.... past featureless concrete soviet apartment blocks, distinguished only by their height (4 or 8 storey) and either red or yellow paint flaking off the sides, next to aluminium windows bristling with satellite dishes. The Terno coop supermarket is up ahead, welcoming christmas tree lighting up the parking lot.. still no sign of either bakery or video store. I probe the range available in the supermarket - but only the music section has any dvd's, and they are luciano pavarotti, some heavy metal (very popular here going by the jukebox at the green pub) and a diva compilation. Oh well, Sandra will have to wait. Getting home at 6, I have an indulgent night in, with frozen pizza - quite good once extra mushrooms, tomato and fetta are added - and a few episodes of 'coupling' which is painful but funny. It was part of my winter survival package from the ever fabulous philippa, who sent a very funky down jacket (Sofie tells me today I look like a flower in it :) with a series each of 'coupling', 'black books' (which I have to ration to two episodes at a time, or everything hurts from laughing) and 'cutting it - hairdressers at love work and war'. I decide to try and find the video shop again in the morning, but to no avail. There is just no reading the buildings here, and of course I don't know the word for video or dvd rental in either slovak or hungarian - yes, a dictionary at this point may be an excellent purchase, will add it to my list for the english bookstore on my next trip to Bratislava. Likely to be Monday, since this Sandra craving just isn't going away. I know, it's very strange, but try being stuck in a small town with very limited entertainment options and you start missing the weirdest things. Like the Haloumi bagel at Cafe Gyulia - or being able to catch a bus to the ocean. Magic.

There are advantages to understanding almost nothing of what is going on around you - it definitely cuts out the advertising white noise, and all the conversations you inadvertently overhear in public places are just so much gently bubbling background hum. Still, it's high time for a trip to the capital, where I can stock up on trashy dvd's and the english newspapers. Last time I looked they were full of bad news, the glaciers in greenland melting miles faster than anyone expected, end of the world due soon, power shortages expected in the UK with sudden cold snap, governments still trying to justify the unjustifiable. Maybe it's better not to know.