If you can understand the sign above, no, I’m not calling you a bamboo-tearing monkey, it’s how Slovenians (also) communicate. Today I feel the distance between us. Here are some examples of what the streets there have to say.
.
F
a
r
.
a
w
a
y
.
s
o
.
c
l
o
s
e
.
I know I said that in April there would be more words than photos, and no, it was not an April 1st joke, and yes, this post has both, words and/in images.
Except the first one below, which is from London and which is the culprit for this wordy post, all photos were taken in Slovenia since I moved away. Any sighting like these and my day is practically made.
The current situation makes me feel the distance, all 777 km of it (or so). I will be back there sooner or later, it’s just so hard to imagine it now.
The recent data from Italy shows that the situation is calming down, though. But what is the next step? One more month of quarantine or not? The future will tell.
In the meantime, let’s have some bittersweet, or bitter, or sweet, fun with the Slovenians, as long as we can. Sis tells me the internet will vanish for three days, globally (no more info forthcoming). If this news proves fake, I will be here with the first poem for NaPoWriMo later today.
In London tube. Far away, so close. 
Let’s start here, in my city of origin. 
Personal motto: “Only too much is enough.” 
From the bar on top of Skyscraper. Staying true to my city. 
“For those closest to us we go the farthest.” Sometimes one has to. 
“Google is watching you.” 
First hand wrote: “Socialism is disease.” Second hand removed half of the last word to leave “Socialism is zen.” Third hand added “ljube” to “zen” to make “ljubezen”. Which means love. 
“I have nothing and I give you as much.” 
“When are you going to notice you are free” 
“FREEDOM” by the Ljubljanica river. 
“To start believing in this world again.” 
Grdo means ugly. This is Faculty of Architecture and it’s lovely, but I’ve seen this GRDO! stamp on one truly atrocious monster. 
I’ve posted this one before, but I really love it. 
“Something incredible is waiting to be known.” I understood this at first as “waiting to become known”. Still waiting. Šmartno in Goriška Brda 
Kamnik is a town full of art under foot. Gregorjevo is on March 12th when, legend has it, birds are getting married. 
Let’s move to Maribor now where my dad is from. They still need to decide whether punk is dad or not. 
“She Believed She Could So She Did.” Also in Maribor. 
And finally, we settle on the coast. “Here lived Suzana Gregorič” during these years. Here is Piran. And then? Moved away? 
Right on. 
I simply feel better when I see that the street is on my side. 
A bit different and a sign of the times. This is the official menu board of a restaurant in Piran last summer. I wonder how many bitcoins Rok got. 
Mother made a donkey out of a casino. 
“Do not tear the bamboo, monkey!” This is by the main road. Especially hilarious since it’s half in Slovenian, half in another friendly Balkan Slav language. 
It doesn’t make much sense but it’s in local dialect and it makes me smile: “One of these and two of these.” 
“Stupid is the hen that condemns its own egg.” 
To finish in German. Good night. It’s 3.30 am.
For Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, hosted by Tina of travelsandtrifles.wordpress.com: Distance
What a compilation Manja – I sure hope Sis is wrong about the internet!!! Loved many of your choices – interesting to see how minds work in other countries. Loved the idea (and the image) of bird marriage 🙂
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Hihi, I hope that too, Tina. So far so good. Thank you! I always tend to read everything around me. If I happened to be in a country where I don’t know the language, I’d feel left out.
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A day to celebrate the marriage of birds! I like that. (K)
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Thank you, K. 🙂 Sadly it’s not a work-free holiday.
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Great compilation, Manja. I like that quote “When are you going to notice you are free”.
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Thank you, Teresa. I wonder if people are noticing it yet… 🙂
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I think so… and I, for one, am very hopeful that we will have that freedom back. Hopefully soon
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Loved them all but that monkey cracked me up.
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Hihi, I was hoping you’d see this, Bojana. 😀 Thanks!
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Loved it. Thank you, it was a good start to my day 🙂
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Ah, Sofia, I’m so glad I could help you start the day right. 🙂 Thank you!
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This cheered me up today, Manja – your posts always does! Love the bird marriage and really..all of them. “”No one is listening until you make a mistake” – so much wisdom in that. It dawns on you when you are a grown-up. Stay well, Manja – one day you will be back in Slovenia. And I hope your sister is wrong about the internet…
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Oh, Leya, I very much hope for this last too. Without the internet there would be riots. Thank you, I’m so glad I can cheer you up at least this way. And I hope that your “Swedish experiment”, as media call your lack of quarantine proper, works well. Much love!
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The ”Swedish experiment” – I know that is what it is called. We hope it will work. But there are more restrictions every week. The idea is to deliver them at the right moment. The outcome of it all we don’t know, but we hope for flattening the curve of contaminated to help the hospitals manage. There is no right or wrong here – all we want is to save lives. Nothing can stop the virus but vaccination. They tell us in 15-18 months, maybe…And yes – let us keep up internet connection! ♥
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Ha! Some real gems there. ‘I give you as much’ and ‘MISTA E’ are favorites. Excellent.
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Thank you, John. 🙂 I’m glad you like looking around with me.
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I hear you on feeling the distance. I am closer to home than I have been in 7 years, but it feels a million nautical miles away. I was blessed with a visit from 12 dear friends less than 60 days ago, but it seems like years. On the bright side, I have memories, social media, a phone, email, and video conferencing to keep me connected. I think that the hardest thing about this virus for me is not being able to connect with everyone that I love every minute of every day. I think of you far more often than I connect with you. I am happy to know you are well, albeit stir-crazy. Loved your thought-provoking wall art, my favorite being ‘when are you going to notice you are free.’ It seems counter-intuitive right now, but it still rings true. For example, we have the freedom right now to choose how to interact with each other right now, with kindness or vitriol. I could go on, but I am just rambling. Hugs from La Paz.
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No no, not rambling at all. Very true what you say. We have the freedom to choose. We would also need a sort of unifying force to beat the vitriol together and forever. Thank you, Lisa. La Paz means peace, right? 🙂 Che bello.
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La Paz does mean Peace and it is true to its name!
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A lot of these hit close to home, but this one…this one really resonated with me- ““For those closest to us we go the farthest.” Sometimes one has to.”
This post was perhaps en mon avis the most poignant. That’s saying something cause you’re always poignant and on point!
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Ahh, thank you so much, Deborah! ❤ Mighty kind. I wish you all well.
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