Bank Holiday Weekend in Stockholm

Stockholm is a lovely city, from the sights to the people, from the its interconnected waterways to its wondrous skies with the puffiest clouds and a perfect sunlight that lasts for more than 14 hours a day. And might I add that all Swedes are handsome/beautiful and very stylish.

I arranged my trip to Stockholm to attend my friends' wedding. Jimmy and Lena decided it was time to make it all official so there I was on Arlanda Express on a Friday afternoon making my way into the center of Stockholm.

First of all, I should mention my hotel, which looked like it was a cruise ship. This meant awful carpeting, single beds, doors and corridor lighting that would rival that of any dirty cruise ship... the doors even opened out into the corridor...weird... Although this could not make my trip miserable because the city and her people are just downright lovely (even the concierge at the hotel!). Pictures can be found at the following link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ysolmaz/StockholmSwedenAug2007

Day 1:
- Walking along Gotgatan street in Sodermalm to reach Gamla Stan, the old town. Along the way, we saw the famous restaurant Gondolen, which is suspended in the air between a shopping mall and the Katarina elevator.
- Having delicious cakes and coffee at Gamla Stan's oldest coffee house, Sundbergs Konditori. Highly recommended!
- Getting lost in Gamla Stan's tiny alley ways. Gozde, you would love this place! One of the alley ways is just under 1m wide!
- Walking towards Normalm, capturing many shots of hot air balloons making their way over Stockholm.
- Having dinner and drinks at this local restaurant mostly frequented by Swedes. We were brought here by Tobias' friends. Good food, good beer, good company.

Day 2:
- Meeting Joyce at Chokladkoppen for the city's best hot chocolate, gossiping and exchanging stories about many of the people who are reading this. Hahah!
- Giving Joyce a tour of Gamla Stan (having explored the small island the day before, I had become an expert on its alleyways). Shopping for goods with moose on them and Christmas decorations.
- Getting dressed up for the church wedding at 2pm. I was blown away by how good-looking all of Jimmy and Lena's friends and relatives were. I couldn't live in Stockholm because I'd be perpetually single due to the stiff competition.
- My first church wedding!! Check out the pics.
- Having champagne at Hotel Rival, which is owned by one of ABBA's members.
- Mingling with the guests at the nearby palace where the dinner took place, oozing intelligence. ;)
- Laughing at jokes and speeches even when they were in Swedish, dancing wild with Natasa, breaking two glasses, kissing Jimmy after a host of women in line, seeing Jimmy shed a tear for the first time.
- Ending the night with some tunnbrödsrulle (Swedish drunken food consisting of a sausage and mashed potatoes in a rolled up pita cone) and some Pilsner beer.
- Slowly making my way back to the hotel at 4am in the morning...

Day 3:
- Having brunch with the newly-weds near the Vasamuseet (might I add this was at 1pm...I could barely wake up.)
- Being awed by the Vasamuseet...check the pics, really! Seeing a 17th century warship is a bit geeky but god damn, it's cool!
- Walking along the Strandvagen to the docks where I caught one of the boats to see the canals and waterways of Stockholm. Natasa came with me and ended up paying to take a nap on the boat. :P
- Meeting Joyce at the best restaurant in Normalm, called Sturehof. Dining on five different kinds of herring, lobster soup with cheese, and grilled turbot with baby potatoes and a creamy sauce. All in all, great food, wonderful company.

Day 4:
- Meeting the Morningstar gang, Jimmy and Lena for a boat trip to the archipelago, mainly Vaxholm and some of the outlying islands.
- Lunching on board with Swedish meatballs, pear cider and traditional Swedish ice cream.
- The lunch was so good, we decided to stay on the ship instead of getting off and made our way back to Stockholm. Total of 3 hours or so.
- Walking around in Kungsholmen, seeing the City Hall and having a cinnamon bun and coffee at Thelins Konditori.
- Dining at the Royal Opera house with salted salmon and baby potatoes, while chatting with a Swedish couple sitting next to me, Ulf and Rositta. Getting a free pear cider from the Italian bartender. ;)
- Shopping at Hugo Boss!!!!!!
- Watching "Knocked Up" with a bunch of Swedish high school students; it was quite the experience!! :D

Then it was back on Arlanda Express to catch the plane to Heathrow. I would definitely come back to Stockholm again, mostly because of the people. Swedes are very beautiful, friendly, stylish, yet they still manage to be modest. Make sure Stockholm is on your list of places to see!!

Viva la Espana!!!

I must admit this was the most fun vacation I've had in a long time. Nel and I planned a fabulous 12 days around Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, during which we went to the beaches (obviously!), ate a lot of choricitos and empanadas, met a lot of interesting people, made friends with a few Italians (lovely people!), saw a flamenco show, got pick-pocketed at Sagrada Familia, biked for six hours straight in Valencia, went clubbing in Barcelona and got VIP treatment thanks to Nel's connections!

All in all, it was a success! Check out the pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/ysolmaz

Nel, we have to plan a new trip!

A Very Short Story

Inspired by the Kronos Quartet Concert at the Barbican, 29th July 2007, featuring Wu Man

The pipa shone with a cold blue, almost ethereal, light, bathing the whole stage in stillness. Nothing had felt more alone than sensing the resounding notes all around me at that moment, vibrating, almost echoing in the empty space around me. At that moment, I knew I was alone.

The quartet continued playing...

I breathed in and out with each movement of the viola bow. I would stop breathing when they ceased brushing their bows against their strings. I was partly glad and partly sad about this connection. The viola slowed down in anticipation of the end of the piece, dragging out the last four notes of the last musical phrase, aptly titled "Royal Funeral." I counted as the viola player moved his bow in precise time steps, as I breathed in and out. One. Two. Three. Four.

The Democratic Stain

I voted for the first time in my life and they marked my index finder with ink, as they always do, to make sure one person doesn't vote a second time to skew the election results. I will carry that stain now for god knows how long and will always be reminded that half of my country doesn't seem to care about secularism as much as I do.

Even though AKP, the mildly islamist party as it's known in the west, hasn't introduced any islamist agenda during its governance so far, they have also never sworn to protect the secular roots of my country. This is where the core of the issue lies. If AKP had stood by secularism while trying to be the modern islamists that they are, the country might be more at ease. This leaves especially the army at an awkward situation. The people have chosen AKP also to send a message to the army: 'Don't interfere with politics anymore.' I firmly believe in this response and applaud the message that's sent, but people should also keep in mind the reasons for the army to be cautious.

In any case, the early elections were a good and healthy sign of democratic life in Turkey. I just hope that AKP uses their proven support by the people to further Turkey's modern aims instead of slowly taking it back towards an islamic republic, which is the nightmare for many, including me.

Refreshingly Frightening - despite a 1973 release date

Don't Look Now (1973) - dir. Nicolas Roeg - 4 stars

I got the opportunity to see this incredible horror film from 1973 on the big screen thanks to the BFI. It was part of the Julie Christie month, but the film really shines due to Donald Sutherland's acting, the refreshingly frightening script, visuals and audio. This film makes many recent horror films look child's play, and this is an incredible accomplishment considering the film doesn't rely on special effects, heavy make-up or a Japanese script.

It all starts when an American couple, the Baxters, lose their girl in their own backyard as she drowns in the river in her red rain cloak. Taunted by this horrific event, the couple move to Venice to recover. Unfortunately, two old ladies in Venice, one of whom claims to be psychic, don't leave the couple in peace. The ladies' ominous claims of seeing their deceased daughter drives Christie's character into half madness whereas it throws Sutherland's character into more dangerous territory.

The brilliancy of the film is in its cinematography, for which it received a BAFTA award, and editing. The setting, Venice, is used to full effect in the film as every shot is carefully planned out with the city in mind. The juxtaposition of Sutherland's character with the gargoyles of the church he's reconstructing are fantastic. As for the editing, it's highlighted to most meaningful impact in perhaps one of the best sequences I've seen in my entire life. As the Baxters are recovering from their daughter's death, there comes a time when they eventually feel 'fine enough' to embrace life by finally acknowledging each other sexually for the first time since their loss. In this sequence, the images of the couple taking their clothes off and embracing each other naked is intertwined with shots of them getting dressed up. This editing technique in this sequence almost visually proves that the Baxters can only start putting on their new clothes and hence their new life by first taking them off and accepting each other again as man and wife.

This beautifully shot film is surprising in its script and really frightening. Director Roeg doesn't use any cheap scares and special effects to get the job done. He actually relies on the script, acting, locale, cinematography and editing to do the job. I wish more modern directors would follow Roeg's lead and create more refreshingly frightening films.