EAST OF ETON
Not that it rhymes, but...
I have found something: I love the East of Europe. It is surmised that I have blood of Czech (bohemian, they rhapsodize) origin in my veins, among other things...but even tho' i hate the cold...I love the warmth of the people I have been meeting from Ljubjana on down. Unfortunately my enjoyment of these places has been slightly dampened by a nasty cold that has been chewing on my lungs since Milan, but I have managed to get out and walk at least a little bit in these cities...in Ljubjana I hiked up to the castle on the hill, where one can view this jewel of a city...there are 3 bridges within about 20 yards of each other, like touching each other....I guess traffic was pretty bad in the 1800s there...in Zagreb, I had a delegation of REM fans (thank you Jo, Matea and sis of Matea!) to show me the town in daylight (Zagreb is also centered around an unassailable mount--methink there has been some hackin' and slicin' going on since the early days...)
By the time we arrived in Belgrade I was feeling well enough to meet up with my email friend, Popism Radio's Goran Obradovic (who gave me a CD of his band Popcycle, which is excellent!!) and then visit the legendary B92 radio, where I discovered there are Posies and Ken Stringfellow fans in place...outstanding! I did a brief interview but unfortunately I had to decline an offer to perform on air, as I was still afflicted with a deep cough. The next day I visited Radio 94.9 which is part of a group of stations nestled in the top floor Belgrade's highest building...think of the J.G. Ballard novel 'High Rise' meets the set of 'Alien' ... the director and I had a long chat, and he played me some tunes on his amazing speakers made by the in-house engineer in some previous decade. I did a brief on air chat and then lunched with Ivan and Svetlana from the station and Cepa from B92--who also took me out to a wonderful Serbian dinner that night. All in all, I was overwhelmed by the hospitality and musical savvy of all the people I spent time with there. I hope to bring the Posies/me there this year....
Budapest I was more or less resting after going for it (i.e., getting out of bed) in Belgrade...and I slept in til 2 today in Prague...i hope to get over this feeling of my head being stuffed with old socks soon.
this was written quickly on a laptop borrowed from Mike Mills--much thanks
Get well soon Bob Weber
Love
KS
Prague
