TRAVEL DIARY

A weblog regularly updated by Jodi Rose.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

11:14 PM
Posted by jodi rose

i caught the train to berlin again yesterday.
really must stop getting out at bratislava!
having discovered the key to travelling in style on my last trip
this time again headed straight for the restaurant car
no awkward negotiation of compartment spaces or seating
just full hungarian lunch service with wine and coffee
fabulous yellow/orange/maroon/purple pleated curtains
cute waiter in vest who looked like he has been on the train since 1952
very stylish semi-circular perspex lights and molded plastic chairs
it really is the most glamorous 90 minute train journey ever.
going to newcastle was never like this!

Bratislava had the desired therapeutic retail effect, with cosmo, friday's guardian and last sunday's uk telegraph from the carlton newspaper store, small but excellent english section in bookshop one street along yielded 'the master and margarita' which is always on someone's favourite book list, and alain de botton's 'kiss and tell' ruminating on the art of biography from a subjective, personally involved viewpoint - which I think will prove useful for my current unenviable project of trying to create some kind of lucid coherent narrative from these stream of consciousness ramblings, and some great trash from the europress english bookshop; the girls guide to hunting and fishing', and 'the tea house on mulberry st'. plus zakon pritazlivosti, fantasticka 4 and sekretarka on dvd.

think I will make it through until arrival of care packages, although it was touch and go for a minute there. really needed the day off, was getting way too stressed by various projects and writing tasks.
negotiated a month's leeway on the newspaper article - will be far ore indepth and philosophical, I promise - and now concentrating on finishing the budgets for these proposals. and being human again.

everything got way too hard on friday, woke up early to get the 9am train, booked the taxi, it didn't come, rang again - yes, 5 minutes, waited - waited - waited. oh well, missed that train, back to bed.
cranky, so called the other taxi company, discovered they spoke no english and didn't know who the hell this hidor was - walking towards green pub to arrange them picking me up from there, ran inside, threw my phone into zoltan's hands and said, please, tell the taxi to get me here, now! he obliged, and thankfully the train was delayed as I still got there late. It's frustrating being reduced to the level of a two year old in basic life skills, not being able to do things without assistance.
And the contradiction of then managing this insane art career - no wonder I need some trash to chill out. That, and the more sophisticated level of language and emotional involvement through movies.
On return at 9pm, had the taxi drop me straight back to the pub, couldn't face going home to an empty house (a bit melancholy and still cranky on the train, weeping not howling at the full moon) but ran into Tommi (gyuri's son) there with some friends and had a riotous evening, was offered a trip to italy with a truckdriver (which I strangely declined) and enjoyed being the centre of attention for a minute.
Came home and had drunken conversations with friends in sydney and london, tone of mind almost recovered now.