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| | Night. Eastern Europe. Yes, the Toilet Paper is Still Communist.
Posted on 06/02/2009 by Isabella
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We landed in Amsterdam this morning and Sofia this afternoon, where we meet Charlie, who is to drive us the four hours through Bulgaria to Macedonia. After claiming our two bundles of eight foot pipes, bundle of four foot pipes, hoop, and gear bags, we head towards Charlie's car oh, look, a truck with a roof rack!...is located behind Charlie's little white four-door. Fortunately, Charlie has ancient bungees, and we have rigging rope, and between us we get the poles on the roof and the rest of the bags far enough into the trunk that they probably won't fall out. Probably.
There are goatherds in weather-proof jackets with long sticks, pedestrians who walk right on the edge of the roadway while the cars zip by (Charlie takes a swipe at two kids in the middle as they cross, just kidding!), a lengthy border crossing out of Bulgaria and into Macedonia, and a whole heap of really ugly communist architecture. If you're looking for no-frills box housing for half a million people and a boulevard wide enough for tank parades, Sofia's your town. Halfway to Macedonia, we take a pit stop so Charlie can check on the strange noise coming from the right rear wheel, and we hit the potty, which is both an outhouse and a squat toilet. Well, really more of a concrete slab with a hole and some wood panels for modesty.
But tonight, we've made it to Skopje, eaten delicious grilled vegetable salad and pizza, survived a heavy rain and another hair-raising ride to our host's neighborhood, and climbed five flights. Over the balcony, the entire city is shining damply in the valley.
Mimi is on her bed, writing in her notebook with her stuffed monkey, Lugnut beside her. Frank is on his bed, writing in his notebook with his stuffed panda, Panda beside him. (When he was five, he held a naming contest for his teddy bear. Guess who won?) And Isabella's snuggled under her fluffy security blanket, typing away. |
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