I’m still alive

I’ve been M.I.A. lately, mostly because of my very heavy freelancing schedule. Everything else has been shoved to the back burner as I attempt to keep about 10 balls in the air at the same time. I did manage to cap off Saturday evening with a nice dinner at Union Jack’s pub in Bethesda with my friend Susan—after working a good nine hours on-site at my old office—but aside from that, it has been work, work, work.

Mentally/emotionally, there has also been a bit of…errr…shall I say turmoil. There are some work issues, some insecurity and paranoia issues, some speculation that perhaps depression is managing to leak through cracks that may or may not be developing in my Effexor wall, and so on and so forth. I won’t go into specifics here—they’re being saved for my journal and maybe an elite corps of my closest friends, if I end up feeling like I need to talk to someone who can actually talk back to me.

I need to focus on something solid and positive, so I’m turning my attention to traveling, which is really the only thing for which I still feel a modicum of passion these days. Domestic travel is essential; I want to visit David in Chicago, Angela in North Carolina, and Annida in Georgia. And I want to figure out a way to squeeze in a budget visit to Richard in York, England.

Biggest of all is the trip for which I began saving back in October. Originally this was supposed to be my spend-three-weeks-driving-around-Iceland trip with Missy, but that may take longer than expected to accomplish, due to budgetary constraints. So I emailed Richard and asked if he would be interested in revisiting Eastern Europe with me in two years or so. We worked well as travel partners during our 2005 trip and I’d love to explore new territory with him. What I said to him was this:

What I’m most keen on doing is visiting Krakow (with a side trip to Auschwitz) and Kiev (with a side trip to Chernobyl). Then I thought I’d try to work one or two more destinations into the mix. There are so many other options that are appealing: Prague, Budapest, Romania (Cluj and the countryside [including Dracula’s castle and the Transylvanian Alps] moreso than Bucharest), Vilnius, Riga, and Dubrovnik, to name but a few.

All have their advantages. For example, Dubrovnik is said to offer a spectacular coastal views on top of a beautifully preserved Old Town and ancient city walls that “are among the best preserved and most attractive on this planet.”

Riga has medieval architecture and cobblestone streets out the wazoo, as well as a Museum of the Occupation and other sites devoted to the memory of Soviet and Nazi victims.

Vilnius is stuffed with spectacular Baroque architecture, has a statue of Frank Zappa (!), provides access to the fabulous-beyond-words Stalin World, and could offer a side trip to Kaunas, which looks like a beautifully historic place and has some cool-looking destinations: the Devil Museum, the Medicine and Pharmacy Museum, the Museum for the Blind, and the Museum of Exiles and Political Prisoners.

Meanwhile, Kiev has some Soviet-themed restaurants like the ones we hit in St. Petersburg, and these two activities are also available:

Drive the Soviet party boss’ car
To feel as a Soviet party boss, call Ukrainian Express travel at tel. 536 12 37 to rent Chaika or ZIM brand of a limousine-class car. In the past, Chaikas could only be purchased by the Soviet communist party or government offices, and were not available to the members of public (who probably couldn’t afford one anyway). Chaikas were one step down from the more prestigious ZIM limousines, and were issued to the elite few top professionals, party officials, top scientists, academics, and other celebrities. For their massive size Chaikas were also purchased in some quantity by the KGB. Nikita Kruschev, although entitled to a ZIM, was known to prefer Chaikas, and kept Chaika M13 at his summer dacha.

Drive the Soviet tank
14 years ago, after obtaining independence, as part of former Soviet Union’ military heritage Ukraine received the most complex military bases with the most advanced armament of that time. If you feel enthusiastic about monstorus tanks and roaring high-powered military vehicles, you may as a crew member participate in a real test drive of an old and modern machines, even the most exotic ones, at one of the Ukrainian Army’s proving grounds. You may also take part in the real combat shooting exercises on one of the real shooting ranges of the former Soviet Army. www.ukrainianexpress.com, www.alaris.com.ua.

Wow, now that would be hot. “What’d you do on your summer vacation?” “Oh, I drove a Soviet tank, engaged in some combat shooting exercises, and went to Chernobyl.”

At this point all I can do is continue setting aside money in my travel fund and wait for a response from Richard. There are lots of places where I’m willing to travel alone, but Eastern Europe ain’t one of them. Besides, as much as I love being alone, traveling with a friend can be a rewarding way to add more juice to the travel experience.

And hopefully, in the meanwhile, I won’t completely lose my fucking marbles. Hang in there, Effexor, baby—just hang in there.


song heard most recently before posting:
If I Fall—Aqualung