I was playing with the low light photo settings on my video camera earlier this evening, mainly to see if I could get a somewhat adequate shot of the brilliantly colored rings around the moon. All those attempts failed miserably but I did like this shot when an airplane decided to whiz by.
Thoughts?
Ljubljana, 10-Oct-2011
More proof that common sense can still prevail on this side of the Atlantic.
So very nice to see people enjoying themselves. Here are a couple guys having a great time at an empty airport terminal. Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), to be specific. After learning that they’d have to spend the night after their connection was cancelled, Joe Ayala and Larry Chen didn’t moan like most people would. They actually had fun. And made a great little film!
You can add Amsterdam’s Schiphol, Vienna and Ostrava, Czech Republic, to the list.
I have quite a few flights scheduled over the next 10 days so am trying to watch the Grimsvotn ash cloud closely.
Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, is doing a pretty good job with updates via twitter. Check it out.
500 flights have been cancelled today, primarily in UK and northern Germany. To give that number some context, about 29,000 flights operate in Europe on an average day.
The Haunting by Robert Longo, originally uploaded by pirano.
Just thought someone, somewhere, might fit that tidbit useful.
En route to Nanning, one of the biggest cities you’ve never heard of. China isn’t WordPress-friendly, at least it wasn’t during my last visit in May, so won’t be checking in here until early next week from Hanoi.
There’s only one reasonable option, the delightfully Austrian-sounding Wine & More.
It’s a comfortable and snazzy wine, cheese and specialty food shop/café with a decent sized offering of wines by the glass. I tried three but only took notes on two cuvees:
Reinisch Reserve 2007 – A cabernet sauvignon/merlot blend from the Johanneshof Reinisch Estate, located just 30 km south of Vienna in the village of Tattendorf. It’s a beautiful shade of ruby, with blackberry on the nose and delightfully chocolaty on the finish. Well-balanced and slightly edgy tannins give it some backbone to store well for the next few years. That’s what I convinced myself when I decided to take a bottle home. Reinisch is particularly known as one this area’s best red wine producers. Their website is here.
Gesselman Opus Eximium 2007 Cuvee No. 20 – This was certainly more ‘Austrian’ in style, given its composition: 60% blaufrankisch, 20% St. Laurent and 20% zweigelt. These aren’t reds you see everyday – unless you’re regularly passing through eastern Slovenia, western Hungary or southeastern Austria. But they do work together exceptionally well. More on Gesselman is here.
Oh, and there’s also a little smoking booth inside, a clean one, where you can enjoy your over-priced Monte Cristo.
Lufthansa 0620 from Frankfurt to Doha stops in Riyadh in late evening. It’s when most of the passengers end their journey.
The last drink service is about an hour before landing. Some thirty minutes after that flight attendants roll their carts down the aisles to collect all alcoholic beverages, whether the passenger nursing the drink is deplaning or not. We’re reminded that booze is strictly forbidden in the Saudi Kingdom. Even on planes that sit on runways for about forty minutes.
A few rows ahead of me, a woman dressed in jeans and a Gap sweatshirt gets up to go to the restroom after surrendering her half-finished glass of red wine. She returns a few minutes later wearing a dark, long, flowing abaya with an equally stylish shayla wrapped around and fully concealing her long black hair.
On the return midnight flight, I was already dozing as we approached the Saudi capital, just thirty minutes after leaving Doha. An attendant nudged me gently and pointed to the seatback pocket in front of me.
“Are there any pictures of women in lingerie or bathing suits in there?”
I had no idea what she was talking about and don’t recall ever being asked such a question.
She pointed again, but this time poked a finger at my mangled copy of the Herald Tribune. Those too, she told me, are forbidden in the Kingdom. Even in transit.
I honestly can’t answer. “I don’t think so, but I don’t really know.”
She took the newspaper and stowed in the overhead compartment.
“Just in case,” she said. “You can read it later.”
redhead 03, originally uploaded by pirano.
Isn’t really all that good. But how important are onboard purchase to these low budget carriers’ bottom lines? According to a story in its in-flight magazine glorifying its bistro selection, GW sells, on average, 400,000 to 450,000 cups per year at €2.60 a pop, totaling €1,040,000 to 1,170,000 ($1,458,420 to 1,640,723).
Just thought someone, somewhere, might find that tidbit useful.
So I stuck my head out the kitchen window yesterday afternoon and saw some guy in the building across the street masturbating. His first floor window was wide open, curtains fluttering in the breeze, and he spanking his monkey in front of his computer screen, for all those above
him across the street to see. My building has 10 stories.
But that’s not why I’m writing.
Today’s Ljubljana Pic of the day is the Adria Girl, the poster girl for Slovenia’s national airline. It was taken at the Transport Markun airport shuttle stop, located just a stone’s throw westward from the main train/bus station. Rides are just 5 EUR each way, not much more expensive than the bus, which runs much less frequently. For an extra 4 EUR, they’ll pick you up/drop you off wherever you want to go. As a point of reference, taxi fare from Ljubljana’s center to the airport can range from 30 to 50 EUR.
The current departure schedule from the center (travel time 25-30 min):
5:20, 6:15, 9:00, 10:25, 12:15, 14:00, 15:30, 17:00, 18:00 and 22:30. The timetable is also online with a listing of departures from Ljubljana’s Pucnik (formerly Brnik) airport.
I’ve never had any major problems, but there are occasions where the vans fill up quickly at the airport, so you can reserve a spot in advance.
And yes, all women in Slovenia look just like her. Just ask my neighbor across the street.
adria_girl, originally uploaded by pirano.
Here’s a cool still life by photog Taryn Simon of food confiscated at New York’s JFK airport over a 48 hour period. I love the hog head center piece.
* that’s pršut in Slovenia
Well, that was fast.
Just six months after beginning service from Maribor, Slovenia’s second city, to London Stansted, it looks as though Ryanair is abandoning the route. Bookings can still be made through 27-March.
It’s not a total loss. Ryanair is one of the Europe’s least loved budget airlines, is notorious for its hidden costs, fleeces customers with its own unique brand of currency conversion, and apparently lists ‘surly’ as a requirement for their cabin crews. [Check out Ryanair Campaign for plenty of testimonials and this tidbit about Ryanair's surcharge for passengers traveling with excess 'emotional baggage'.]
Meanwhile, Wizz Air, the Hungary-based airline, flew it’s last Brussels-Charleroi flight out of Ljubljana on the 14th. There’s no word on whether service will be resumed. Slovenian dailies Delo and Vecer both reported last week that Wizz Air is looking into filling the void in Maribor.
