Rocks and stones

Here in the village I’m surrounded by old stones. Our house is made of stone just like the others here in the ‘old town’, as well as in other towns and villages all over Istria.

In the countryside, old walls made of stacked and interlocked stones separate fields and enclose properties. Many of these stones have been sitting one on top of the other for decades, maybe even centuries. Very often these are dry stone walls built without mortar. The typical cylinder-shaped kažuns which dot the countryside here and there and date back to Roman times were built with the same ‘dry stone technique’.

It’s not surprising that Istria’s houses and walls were traditionally built with the materials available locally: mostly stone. Istria has a lot of it. Its landscape is a rocky one made of marlstone and sandstone, while its many hilltop villages sit on beds of hard limestone.

Our village was built on top of a hill on a rocky outcrop, the evidence of which is easily visible. Pieces of the big rock can be seen at several spots around the village, peeking out from underneath houses, buildings and churches, and even occupying cellars. While we were renovating the house, workers spent two months battling it out with the rock, painstakingly breaking it up into pieces and hauling away 15 truckloads. 

Battling it out with the rock!

We have a few remnants of some of the hardest and most stubborn pieces which are now permanent fixtures in our house: a big chunk of rock protrudes from the wall under our staircase. And another remnant is visible in our hallway. I like these centuries-old relics of stone which connect our little house firmly to the earth.

Stay informed about updates to my blog by signing up for email updates here. You will receive a confirmation message - don't forget to click on the link to confirm your subscription!

Summer Festivals in Istria

It’s summer! It’s flip-flop and cherry season, there are more and more foreign cars on Istria’s roads, and the beaches are filling up with tourists and locals.

Summer is also the time for festivals. From food to film to theatre, music and dance, there are all kind of events happening all over the peninsula all summer long. The website of the Istria Tourist Office has an extensive list of all upcoming events. Many of these festivals are held in fabulous settings on the scenic squares of Istria’s charming hilltop towns and among the ancient stones of historic monuments and buildings.

Here’s my selection of the cultural events I won’t be missing this summer…

Labin Art Republika

When: June 27 to August 31, 2015

Where: Labin

Labin is one of my favourite old medieval towns (take a walk through Labin here). Its atmospheric squares in the heart of its old town will be the venues for an eclectic art festival that lasts all summer long. On the programme this year is more than 40 concerts, plays, exhibitions and other special events, including a 3-day jazz festival, circus and street performers, African dance performances, classical music concerts, a documentary film festival, art exhibitions, children’s theatre and a night tour of the old town. The full schedule is available here.

TRADinETNO

When: July 17 to 25, 2015

Where: Pazin

This is a festival of world and folk music featuring concerts, dance and music workshops, and lectures on ethnomusicology with Pazin’s majestic medieval castle as the magical venue. The events are free, while the workshops cost a nominal fee. This year the programme includes musical groups from Italy, the UK and Chile, and as usual, a not-to-be-missed concert by Pazin’s own Veja, a very cool world music group – the members of which organize this very cool festival every year. Check out the programme here.

Pula Film Festival

When: July 18 to 25, 2015

Where: Pula

At this summer film festival, you can watch films while seated under the stars among the ancient stones of a Roman amphitheatre dating back to the 1st century. This is not the only venue where films are screened during the festival, but it’s certainly the one that offers the most magical experience. The festival features Croatian and international films including prizewinners at notable festivals like Venice, Cannes and Berlin. This film festival dates all the way back to 1938, making this year’s festival the 62nd edition. You can see a list of the selected films here, while the screening schedule will be out in July.  

Dance and Non-Verbal Theatre Festival

When: July 24 to 27, 2015

Where: Svetvinčenat

The backdrop for this festival of performing arts is the fabulous Grimani castle, a 13th century palace which dominates this charming town in central Istria. On offer are performances of contemporary dance, physical theatre, circus, mime, and other nonverbal approaches to creative expression as well as dance workshops. This year the invited performers are from Hungary, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, and of course, Croatia. The programme is up here. 

Motovun Film Festival

When: July 25 to 29, 2015

Where: Motovun

This is Croatia’s most important film festival and probably the most scenic setting for a festival. This stunning hilltop town is one of the most photographed in Istria. Many of the film screenings happen in the open air on the town’s old squares. This is the 18th edition of the festival, with a showcase of French film this year. The schedule will be available at the end of June at this link. 

Last Minute Open Jazz Festival

When: August 1 to 4, 2015

Where: Bale

Every year at the beginning of August, the narrow cobblestone streets and stone walls of the magical little town of Bale resonate to the sounds of jazz. Started by the owner of a cosy local tavern here called Kamene Priče (stone stories), this year will see the 8th edition of the festival, a non-profit initiative put in motion just for the simple love of jazz. You can see the programme for the 2015 edition here. 

(Photos courtesy of respective organizers.)

Spring rituals

Autumn was always my favourite season but maybe now it’s spring, for many reasons. I love the brilliant green of the fresh new leaves on the trees... The different birdcalls I hear in the morning and during my long walks in the hills... The wild flowers... And the heady fragrance of elderflower and the white flowers of the black locust trees.

Spring also means rituals associated with the passing of seasons. It’s nice to finally turn off the central heating and sit outside in the sunshine. So far this spring I’ve eaten a lot of wild asparagus and last week I made fourteen litres of elderflower syrup.

In the village there’s a strange tradition that happens on the first Saturday night of the month of May. When we woke up on Sunday morning the wooden tables and benches of the village restaurant were scattered across the square and the entrance to the village was blocked with more benches. Other roads were obstructed with large potted plants and random pieces of furniture while the porch of the small church on the square was decorated with tree branches. Apparently this was the crafty work of the young people living in the village who were busy organizing this prank overnight. But some of the older residents told me that this tradition used to be more romantic and less of a practical joke: on this night, young men used to leave flowers on the windows and balconies of the young girls they fancied. Moving things around and leaving them in random places and blocking access roads seems to be a new development… But the village residents mostly take it all in good humour.

Spring is also time for outdoor projects. The house renovation is largely complete, with just a few small projects left. A friend said I should post more photos of our house… I haven’t posted very many because I don’t like posting personal photos but I may share a few discreet photos of the house interior soon. We still have a wooden countertop to install between the ‘window space’ we created between the kitchen and the living room, but the bar stools are ready and waiting. And we’re now in the process of putting down paving stones in the courtyard, a space we’ll be spending more time in during the next few months.

Another big project is the renovation of the façade of the house. Since the village is under heritage protection, we need to request permission from the conservation committee and provide a detailed project of our plans which must be approved in advance. Months ago I had written to the committee and included two proposals. It only took three months to receive a reply so I wonder how long it will take for final approval before we can start work. I have a feeling this won’t be a spring project but an autumn project! Until then, we have plenty to keep us busy!

My window on Instagram

Maybe you noticed the link to my Instagram page in the right-hand sidebar…

I was resisting joining Instagram at first because it meant spending time on yet another social media network in addition to Facebook and Twitter.

At first I joined so that I could follow photographers I like. Then I started following other blogs I enjoy. Then I decided that I may as well start using it more actively.

So when I see something that strikes me and I whip out my smartphone to capture it, I now often share it on Instagram. So if you would like an almost daily peek of life through my window in Istria, follow me on Instagram.

I don’t have a top-end smartphone (it’s more bottom-end) so the quality of the photographs is not great and nothing like what my DSLR produces. But some of the colours and spirit of the places I shoot are captured.

The images I share on Instagram are mostly of the lovely Istrian houses I come across, the nature, flowers and landscapes I see during my walks, the South Indian cat of course, and there’s also a huge fish head I came across in the woods.

Curious? Check out my new Instagram page!

70 years ago today

My grandfather is on the right

Dachau concentration camp was liberated 70 years ago today on April 29, 1945. Many Istrians were detained in Dachau towards the end of World War II, including my grandfather. Many also died there; my grandfather luckily made it home.

I remember my grandmother telling me the story of how she had gone looking for my grandfather when he didn’t return home. It was the winter of 1944 and she was pregnant with my father, her second child. My grandfather had gone to the coalmine in Raša with a neighbour. On the way there, they were rounded up by German soldiers and taken away. My grandmother set out on foot with the wife of the neighbour to Raša to find out what happened to them. The women were told that their husbands had been taken to Pula. They travelled south to Pula where they got the information that the men were sent to Trieste. They went all the way to Trieste next but the trail ended there.

What they didn’t know is that in Trieste the men were put on a train to Dachau. For almost two years my grandmother had no clue where my grandfather was and if he was dead or alive. It was only four months after the end of the war that he finally made it home. I remember her telling me that story too. She had mistaken him for his brother – he weighed only 36 kg (80 lbs) when the war ended. “What are you doing here?!” she had asked him, not recognizing him and mistaking him for his brother. My father was over a year old by then and was seeing his father for the first time.

I found my grandfather’s name on the Dachau Concentration Camp Records which are available online. Our family name is written the Italian way, because Istria was part of Italy during that time, and all Croatian names had been ‘Italianized’. His record says he arrived in Dachau by train on January 16, 1944. I also found the name of his neighbour who made the journey with him but unfortunately he would not return home because his record says that he died on March 21, 1945, only weeks before the camp was liberated. By typing in Gallignana (the Italian name of our village), I found the names of many other people from here. Some made it home, many did not.

Dachau was not a death camp like other concentration camps set up by the Nazis, but many people died there because of the harsh conditions and diseases like typhoid. Prisoners like my grandfather were used for forced labour. While he was there, he worked on a lathe making pieces for airplane engines.

World War II was a dark, terrible time which left deep scars for the people of my grandparents’ generation. There are many, many terrible stories and many lives were lost. My grandfather made it home from Dachau, but many did not. I remember them today.

The village features in a TV series

About six months ago during the foggy days of winter, there was a film crew crawling all over the village. Their big trucks were parked here and there, a camera was set up on rails on the square, and there were lots of people milling around (much more than usual in this sleepy village!). We also saw a uniformed police officer wandering around in a very casual way and found out he was not on duty but part of the filming!

A neighbour told me that a crime TV series called Počivali u miru (Rest in peace) was being filmed here in the village.

The second season of this Croatian TV series takes place here in Istria, the first time a TV series is shot here. You can watch the trailer above!

The village appears from 0:05: we see the village square, the church bell tower, the churchyard and the graveyard. (I’m not sure which village is visible in the opening shot on a hilltop – anyone know?)

I haven't watched the series, but I read that locals are unimpressed with the acting because the actors (who are not locals) have made a less than convincing attempt to speak the Istrian dialect with a local accent. The director even apologized to the people of Istria for the actors' 'exaggerated accents', admitting that it's difficult to imitate for someone who is not from here.

But the film crew managed to make the village look very sinister with the foggy atmosphere and winter landscapes, fitting for a crime series!

Why we don’t have a doorbell

Dear readers, I’m home and back to the usual view from my window! So do visit often because I’ll be updating this blog regularly again. Today, I’ll be telling you why we don’t have a doorbell…

When we were renovating the house we had a discussion about whether we were going to have a doorbell. I thought a doorbell could be something useful to have. But my husband’s opinion was that this being a village, there’s no point in having a doorbell.

It’s true that many houses in the village don’t have a doorbell. People usually knock, or don’t even bother knocking, they just walk in. We have one neighbour in particular who barges in without a preliminary knock or even a loud ‘dobar dan’. She’s one of the older residents of the village. Maybe that’s how things used to be done.

If I’m going to see a neighbour, I usually knock, and if I don’t hear any sounds coming from inside, I’ll open the door and yell ‘dobar dan!’ If people do hear your knock or greeting, they’ll usually tell you to come in by yelling ‘napred!’ That’s your cue to open the door and walk in, you don’t have to wait for them to receive you. Or you’ll hear an upstairs window open and see a head poking outside to see who’s at the door.

On a totally related note, arriving at someone’s door unannounced is perfectly acceptable and normal here. You can visit anyone at anytime you like. If they’re about to go out, they’ll tell you, otherwise you’re a welcome guest and they’ll stop whatever they’re doing and offer you something to drink and probably to eat too. I like this spontaneity and sense of hospitality. While living in Belgium I found it very odd that dropping by unannounced is not acceptable behaviour. My husband would always call his grandmother to tell her we were coming for a visit, even though we would always come by on the same day around the same time.

So when we had friends come by one night out of the blue around dinner time, I was delighted. Especially because we had planned to fire up the brick oven for the first time this season and have homemade pizza with a couple of neighbours – who had to cancel last minute because their toddler was sick. So our unexpected guests were doubly welcome, especially since we had a lot of pizza dough… They did apologize profusely for just stopping by without calling us, but that’s because they live in London. Locals would not apologize, at least not that profusely. So we did end up having pizza with friends that night, just as planned!

This spontaneity is one thing that I like about life in the village. Life goes at a different pace here. People have time. They make time.

So if you’re in the village, feel free to knock on our green door (its not the one in the picture by the way). You don’t have to call first, and don’t look for a doorbell.

Since I’m on this topic, if you would like to read more about doorbells, you may enjoy this blog post I had written while living in India about why our doorbell there would ring almost constantly…