ezra winton

The next day of the mountain adventure, we got up at 10 AM and packed up the camp. The rowdies who had stayed up until 5 AM couldn’t be stirred to get up and join us, so the four of us (Svetla, Hristo, Vera and myself) put our packs on and started up the rocky trail that follows the path of the icy river. Hristo and Vera had given Svetla and I decent packs to use, and while I was appreciative, the pack that I ended up with was pretty…read more

When Svetla’s friends Hristo (pronounced Christo) and Vera invited us for a little “hike up a mountain,” I expected both the hiking part and the mountain to be somewhat “little.” As it turns out, it is Monday and I am not yet fully recovered from a two day, 13 hour (of solid hiking/climbing), chilly, beautiful and breathtaking (figuratively and literally) adventure. It all started Friday night when Hristo and Vera picked us up in their car at Svetla’s parents. We were leaving late, and from what they were telling me,…read more

Day three in the crazy city of Sofia and all is well (<em>the picture to the left shows the efforts of the Sofia municipality to get sustainable as well as to get in the EU</em>). We’re in an internet café that is big, bright and playing the Canadian singer Feist on the soundsystem, reaffirming this whole globalization thing once again. I’ve had a bit of a culture shock from laid back Utrecht to frenetic Sofia. People drive here like it’s the last trip of their life, and seem intent on…read more

Goodbye to Utrecht’s creepy bunny statue (left) – we’ll miss you! It’s been three days since the last entry, normally we’re more on top of the blogging, but due to our travel from Utrecht to Sofia, we couldn’t send a dispatch. And now that we are indeed in Sofia, Bulgaria, the dispatches may become a little more infrequent (as in, not daily) – as we have some pretty wonderful plans for Jazz Festivals in the mountains, treks to Byzantine and Roman ruins, and visits to the beautiful beaches of the…read more

A Dispatch post from my partner in crime, Svetla: Alas, I finally discovered Holland. Criss-crossed by algae-green canals, covered from end to end by endless, grassy, cow-friendly fields and gently sunken into the calm of the cloudy sky, Holland feels like a quiet yet remarkably vibrant hideaway. The omnipresence of water itself is appeasing and rejuvenating while the beautifully adorned little houses embody the orderly, adept and truly serene Dutch way of life. The only problem is the Dutch didn’t know we were coming, and our bacchanalia in Amsterdam along…read more

Ah Vancouver, er, Amsterdam. The weather here has forced your two fearless travelers under the limited protection of one teeny bright green umbrella – clutching it together as we walk the canal-lined streets of Amsterdam through the winds and rains. Yes, it’s been a wee bit pissy. But our day in Amsterdam yesterday was still great, i got my important interview with Hubb Roelvink, programmer for the EU’s Docuzone (now called CinemaNet), the world’s largest digital cinema distribution and exhibition network. I was quite happy to learn in the interview…read more

Well, after a cheapo flight (no free drinks or newspapers, unless you were wearing a suit) from Montreal to London, a 90 minute $40 bus ride from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport, a three hour wait at the airport, a one hour flight to Amsterdam and a half hour train ride to Utrecht – we arrived! I celebrated being away from the sterility and discomfort of airports by drinking a large can of Amstel on the train ride from Amsterdam to Utrecht. Before I opened it, I had an apparently…read more