Bratislava, Slovakia

We stopped at the Ridder cafe in Vienna for breakfast before heading to the train and, yes, the waiters are always wearing tuxedos and the food is served in style. And we are off...It doesn't take to long to get from Vienna to Bratislava.  Vienna and Bratislava are supposedly the two closest capital cities in the world, only a short 64 km or 40 miles away and the local trains depart often. Bratislava is a city of 1/2 million people located on the Danube river.   It is the political, cultural and economic center for Slovakia. Our visit was only one night so we choose to focus on the historical center or old town.

Surrounded by the modern city this walled in section is a refuge to the city noise. Entering through the St. Michael's Gate we are thrown back in time. We wandered the small allies to the main square and we found a place for lunch under the  shadow of St. Micheal's spire.

Rena ordered duck and I had the traditional Bryndzove Halusky, which is a big name for small dumplings made of potato dough with sheep cheese and topped with scrambled bacon....delicious, and of course a Saris dark ale to compliment the entrees!  It was a bit cold today so we decided to stroll the allies after lunch, stopping into little boutiques and seeing the historical sites of the Church and Convent of St. Claire, St. Martins' Cathedral, and  Old Town Hall  to name a few.

 

 

 As evening approached we headed up to the Bratislava Castle which stands on a strategic hillside overlooking the Danube. It has been strong hold as far back as the 450 BC and the south east tower of today dates to 13th century, so we had to climb on top of that!  It is a beautiful place to get an overview of the city and reflect on the day.

 

On our way down, and needing to warm up we stumbled upon a tavern dating back to 17 century. Looking a bit more like someones home we were hesitate to enter. Sure enough this tavern was incredibly homely. Some of the furniture and decor probable has been there since the 1600's. What better a place to indulge in some authentic absinthe, and munch on some authentic Slovakian chips...And some of us stumbled out of the tavern as well!

(this is a staged staggered photo)

 Now it was time for dinner and we found a great place with wood fired pizza (of all the thing) and since living in Turkey this specialty was quite a treat.

Tomorrow we are off to Budapest....

November Holiday

Its our second year here in Turkey and we continue to do what we set out to do, travel! During our week off in November we flew to Vienna, Austria and enjoyed a few days there before heading on to two other countries. It is a short 2 and half hour direct flight to Vienna from Izmir. Upon arrival to Vienna we took the train to our hotel near the museum quarter. We quickly choose one of the local coffee houses to have lunch in. Cafe Ritter is one of the oldest running coffee houses, where the waiters still wear tuxedos. You can order coffee, of course but they also have a full traditional food menu and serve local wine (they boast over 200 different wines are made in Austria) and beer.

Inside the Ritter Cafe

With our bellies full of Schnizel we set off on foot to explore the city. We walked past many grand buildings and enjoyed the horse drawn carriages passing us by through the old quarter. Overall, we found Vienna very nice but a bit too touristy. At times it felt a little "too clean" and lacked the grit and commotion of a real city.

Walking around the museum quarter

Part of the old city that remains has a very complex medieval layout. In the center of all of it is the Stephandsdom Church. It is from the 13th century and features many amazing details. We took a short ride up the small elevator to the bell tower and were able to get a good look around the city from there. The most impressive feature about this church is the tiled roof. It is covered with over a quarter million glazed tiles. Much of it was destroyed in World War 2  but has been restored. The roof was our favorite part! That evening we went to an old opera house and watched a traditional Joseph Hayden opera set in a modern scene. It was very interesting and a good nap for some of the other weary travelers.

Outside of Stephansdom Church

A view from the bell tower of the tiled roof.

Another bell tower view

Looking across Vienna towards the Dunabe River

Sculpture in the Belvedere Gardens

The Belvedere from the outside.

Vienna has amazing museums. High on our list was a visit to the Belvedere.  The Belvedere is a palace with extensive gardens that houses an impressive collection of Austrian art. It holds the worlds largest Gustav Klimt collection that was very impressive along with work by Schiele (a new favorite of Rena's) and Kokoschka. It took us nearly all day to walk and find the museum and to see the exhibit. By the time we left it was time for beer and dinner. After dinner, Rena was on a quest to find a slice of the famous Sacher Torte. What better place to find it than the Sacher Hotel. The torte has been around for a few hundred years and is a grand piece of chocolate cake with a layer of apricot jam beneath a thick smooth layer of chocolate coating. It was fabulous!

The famous Sacher Torte!

Graffiti on the train.

After eating, drinking and touring around Vienna for three days we were ready to head to our next destination, Bratislava (the capitol of Slovakia). Worried you didn't hear enough about Vienna? Don't be. We head back here at the end of our trip for another few days. Stay tuned. Next up? The historic Bratislava!

Artist in Residence...UKKSA Datça

I just returned from my first International Art opening! I'm excited to say my work was exhibited in the Istanbul 20th Art Fair. This is a huge exhibition with 100's of artist from around the world. How did this happen??

  Well,  in early October I was invited to attend a two week residency program, with some friends from Dokuz Eylul University, at UKKSA facility near Datça  (Uluslar  Knidos Kültür ve Sanat Akademisi). The facility provided us with housing, home cooked meals, 24 hour studio access and all the materials we needed including fantastic hospitality. Our job was to make art!!

We arrived at UKKSA and settled into our stone housing. I was eager to get to work, but the water was shut off and after a 6 hr. drive we decided to tour the facility and we hit the beach. There were too many of us for the car so I was offered to borrow a scooter. That ride down to the water,  on a windy road through olive grooves...tears of joy, folks,tears of joy!  It was October, it was a beautiful day and the weather was still great for swimming! Is this a dream?? We were all buzzing with excitement for the creations ahead of us...so tomorrow we begin.


We quickly feel into routine, stating with traditional Turkish breakfasts then into the studio to work until 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Then we would sit down to a big home cooked meal and after çay we were off to the beach. Returning to the studio after dinner to work until 1or 2 am. What a life! Eat, sleep, make art. Could I ask for anything more?? Falling into the routine and staying in constant creative mode progresses the work quickly.  My notebooks were filling up and clay forms start to gain success. So here I am, surrounded by Turkish people all day, everyday.  At first, I was constantly trying to translate conversations, but that can be exhausting. So I found myself tuning into my work, driven with creative thoughts and concepts. Diving deep in ideas and ...
! Boom!    Someone would asks me a question - in English...I'm so involved in my thoughts  I have to come too out of the fog, like waking from a dream,  and come back to this external reality. It was really strange...and wonderful. So, after one week I agreed I would not speak any more English, IF everyone spoke extremely slow and simple Turkish. Agreed. Now the fun really begins!


 I made rocks,- ceramic vases/vessels.... one series inspired by the sea washed stones and  another series on the mt. landscape of the area. These forms soon morphed into a third series of stones influenced by the 100 yr old olive tree trunks..but enough art babble....
Here are some photos of the facility, my friends and the some of our work. All I can say is..it was fantastic!

Kitchen House

The Grounds

The Gallery

The Studio -day 1

Artist at work

The Artists at Breakfast

The Artist at Work

My Stone (saggar fired)

My Mountains (in process)

Morphed Olive Trunk Stones

The Inspirations

Oslem's Faces

Mujde's forms (saggar fired)

My landscape bowl

 My Mts. (finished)

My Olive Wheel

The Gallery (Leman's piece)

Serkan's forms(top)  / My Stones & Mts(bottom)

Ismet's forms (saggar fired)

Ismet's forms(saggar fired)

Inspirations

 The question now is...can we return??