Happy 19th birthday! Last year of being a teenager. I packed up which I find a bit of a pain as just when I think I am done I see something I have forgotten to pack. And since my Munich bag broke I really have to cram my possessions, as meagre as they may be in my knapsack. I had a farewell bottle of cold Radenska and took a bus trip to the main highway to stick out my thumb. The ride came real quick and what a birthday present with a 55 year old woman heading up through Italy up to Austria. She had a son my age travelling in Greece so I told her some of my adventures there and what life is like on the road. Hopefully she did not suffer a nervous breakdown. I am a regular Jack Kerouac! One day my travel diary may be a book. What incredible scenery in Austria with everything being so green and the majestic mountains. She left me off at Kufstein and I found the youth hostel which was better than the Yugoslav and Romanian barracks. Since it was my birthday I splurged at a German chain Wienerwald with a quarter chicken, fries, salad and a litre of very good Austrian beer and some waffle cookies at $4.20. Expensive! A glorious hot shower and off to bed after talking with two Canadians in my room. No chocolate cake, birthday cards and I briefly thought how and where Randi was. Sigh! I suppose I can feel lonely for one day?
“Travels to a Different Time” : 11August1974: Bled, Yugoslavia: Norwegian Regrets: The Pickled Police Chief
Up at 08:00 and was the last out of the room. Fried eggs, bread, jam and sparkling mineral water which I have turned into a great fan of particularly a brand called Radenska although I think the Romanian brand Borsec is better. A 750 ml bottle is 20 cents. I headed into town to try and find a Herald Tribune newspaper but no such luck. The weather did clear up and it was a beautiful day so why waste it. I ran into two Norwegian girls at breakfast one of which caught my eye and her friend was rather plump and not that attractive. A German had told me go to Vintgar Gorge. So off I went with Randi the good looker and her friend whose name is very complicated. The gorge was spectacular with a rushing river below. We climbed up on some rocks and had a stunning view of a village below and even saw some deer in the forest. Randi and I got along very well and you might want to say a spark existed on both sides which was going to be sealed by a kiss but at exactly the wrong moment the rotund friend shattered that moment. Randi looked at me and said too bad we had not met earlier but asked me if I wanted to return to Greece with both of them. But I am heading north and home in less than two weeks. What a bummer. Right woman but absolutely the wrong time!
Played some soccer had dinner and headed to a bar with a group from the youth hostel. At the bar we met the police chief who was pickled. The dark beer at 17% alcohol might do that to anyone. We ended up heading back to the youth hostel with the police chief and his friend all singing different songs. At the hostel someone was sleeping in my bed so I took my sleeping bag and set up in vacant bed.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 10August1974: Bled, Yugoslavia: Is Nixon Resigning? Playing Soccer
The Germans gave me a lift to the bus terminal so I could take a bus to Bled. Yes back to Bled again. Back to the youth hostel I stayed at on my last visit. I picked up my mail at the post office and there was a letter from Heidi’s mother saying that Heidi and Michael were in Ireland for a 4 week vacation, No mail from Canada. A mail strike? I headed for the lake after getting my room at the youth hostel but it clouded over and I made it back to the hostel just before it started to pour. I acquainted myself with a couple of Frenchmen who were dying to play soccer. Speaking of a strike I phoned Overseas National Airways in Frankfurt and was told there was the possibility of a strike by airport workers. JUST GREAT! I headed into town to buy a Herald Tribune to see what was going on with Nixon. Nothing but rumours and possibilities. Went out with the Frenchmen to play soccer at the field I played at 369 days ago. It turned sunny and we played for a couple of hours and back to that infernal cold-water shower. The freezing cold mountain water evokes screams as it hits the body. We watched a movie “Cincinnati Kid” with Steve McQueen and off to bed at 23:00.
RKS Film: “Love, Deutschemarks and Death”
“Love, Deutschemarks and Death” is a documentary which chronicles the flow of Turkish guestworkers into West Germany (BRD), the music that followed them and the music they created in Germany from 1955 to the present day.
It was in 1955 that the BRD called its first guestworkers to come and work in many of the jobs the Germans simply did not want to undertake or didn’t have the manpower to fuel its economic boom. It was in 1961 that a “recruitment agreement” was signed between Turkey and the BRD. The Turkish workers were to stay for a limited time and then return home to Turkey but family members were eventually permitted to join their male guestworkers swelling Germany’s Turkish population. Could Germany have foreseen there would be 3 million people of Turkish descent today in Germany? It is worth noting that similar agreements were signed with Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy and Yugoslavia. The lure of riches and the almighty deutschemark attracted a large influx of guestworkers. They came by the trainloads into the BRD.
As immigration brings hardships, discrimination, loneliness, racism and despair the Turks were not spared. The Turks created their own music industry in the BRD but it took decades before it was made available in the German retail network as opposed to Turkish grocery stores and import-export businesses. The Turkish music created in Germany evolved from traditional, rock and roll, hip hop, rap and punk. It was rap and hip hop that created the beginning of cross-cultural pollination between Turks and Germans. Hip hop and rap can be seen as a reaction to attacks on Turks by skinheads and racists as it drew out their anger and frustration into artistic expression. In fact in 1973 Chancellor Willy Brandt of the BRD said about a strike at a Ford plant in the BRD where police arrested Turkish strikers that Germans did not have a hostile attitude to foreign workers but in “this particular situation we must think of our own citizens first”.
A skillful use of archival footage and musings of musicians, poets, vintage film and news footage.
While you might conclude this is a Germancentric documentary it is really a common history of immigration from poorer countries to a perceived land of milk and honey. I think the documentary will be a strong calling for lovers of Turkish music but there is enough history outside of the music to satisfy many viewers. It is dense and what a task to get all the material into 90 minutes. Winner of the Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale 2022.
In Turkish and German with English subtitles. Directed by Cem Kaya.
You can catch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkbGt1Vbums
RKS Film Rating 88/100.
RKS Film: “Ride Till I Die”: Bull Riding Is Not Dangerous
I am not a rodeo guy. Every once in a rare while I might watch a snippet of a bull riding competition. Yes, it is dangerous you might say but watch this documentary about Ricky Ringer and you will most likely conclude bull riding is VERY DANGEROUS!
Ricky Ringer is a professional bull rider and has been so since he was 15 years old. At 40 he is finally determined to go for one more season. Is it passion or some addiction that propels his devotion and love of the sport? He has always been suffering from a never-ending string of injuries including a smashed face requiring 7 plates to repair, cracked ribs, 5 hand surgeries, punctured esophagus and 5 broken jaws.
What keeps him at it? It is the adrenalin rush of the 8 second (if you can last that long) ride on 2,000 pounds of a bucking animal. Ringer admits you have to be half crazy to be in the sport and see the incredible slow-motion shots and you can see just how vicious kicking hoofs and horns can be. Perhaps Ringer has the right attitude when he says he does not like the time to think when he rides preferring reaction to thinking.
You will hear from his mother, wife, friends, rodeo operators and clowns as they piece what makes Ringer tick. His mother and wife have concluded only a life-threatening injury will prevent Ringer from riding the bulls. Are they right?
Ringer has never won a championship although his winning belt buckles attest to his many victories. God help a rider that falls off a bull and his equipment keeps him attached to the bull! And you thought the clowns by the riders are entertainment? They are lifesavers facing enormous risk.
I am still no fan of bull riding but am a fan of this documentary that shows the extreme danger of bull riding and what fuels Ringer’s passion or perhaps addiction. And guess what Ricky Junior like his dad has left home at 15 and is riding bulls.
The film opens on digital platforms on April 8th and was directed and produced by Tony Rammos. The music by David Merulla captures the spirit of the documentary.
You can catch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/188775918
RKS Film Rating 86/100.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 9August1974: Bohinj, Yugoslavia: Falling Apart, Getting Numb and on Stage Playing with the Band
Up at 8 and headed into town to buy some supplies for breakfast. Hitched and got a ride with some Germans but as I got into their car my leather money pouch snapped. I was told by tourist information where I could get the pouch sewn up. Smashed glasses, ripped Munich bag, lost watch and a melted shoe. I am falling apart! The shoemaker did a great repair job on the pouch. The town is impressive and its Alpine architecture is certainly different than the rest of Yugoslavia. It is a clean town and Slovenia is more affluent than the other republics in Yugoslavia. I took a two-kilometre marked trail back to the campsite and I am glad I did. No one was on the path and most of it was along a river and a very clean river with water so clear you could see big fat trout. Returned home for an early lunch of eggs. Yugoslav eggs have a dark orange yolk and taste excellent unlike the tasteless Canadian eggs. I decided to take a 4 kms walk to a nearby village. Had eggs, bread, cheese, cherry juice and plums for dinner after my brief plunge into the lake. After 10 minutes in this mountain stream fed lake I was numb as can be. I played some harp in my tent and nearby I heard some live music coming from the hotel. The band was pathetic and I asked if I could play with them and they said yes at 11. I saw the Germans that gave me a lift in the morning and they asked me to join them. The were enjoying lots of wine.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 8August1974: Ljubljana and Bohinj, Yugoslavia: Clean Buses and a Dip in the Lake Surrounded by the Julian Alps
After a late night woke up at 13:00! I made a massive farewell meal of 6 eggs, bread, cheese, cherry juice and an apple. Paid my bill and off on the bus to the bus terminal. Twenty minutes later on the bus to Bohinj. The buses in Slovenia are modern and they don’t stink like all the other buses in Yugoslavia. They are clean and have big windows. We stopped at Bled before reaching Bohinj. I found some camping near Lake Bohinj and set up tent. There is a hotel nearby with a dock so after picking up some groceries had a dip in the chilly alpine water. What a beautiful town with its quaint Alpine architecture surrounded by the snow-clad Julian Alps. The lake was as clear as a mirror and still. I feel like I am back in Vermont on Lake Champlain. Dinner was a can of peas, bread and cheese and a Deit which is flavoured sparkling water. I went to a nearby restaurant for a beer and to work on my final itinerary. If all goes well I will be leaving for home from Germany on August 22.
(Photo Turizm Bohinj)
Andrij the Orphaned Ukrainian Rescue Dog” : Chapter 19: Anastassia Yalanskaya Memorial Dog Shelter
On the way home to Toronto Bob told Reggie and I a very sad story about a 26-year-old lady in the Ukraine called Anastassia Yalanskaya who was killed by the Russian invaders when she was delivering dog food to a rescue centre . A sweet innocent girl helping us dogs dislocated by these filthy bastard murderers. The Russians slaughter all Ukrainians both human and animals. It made Reggie and I so angry we growled and had I been able to speak I would have asked Bob to take me home to the Ukraine to avenge the honour of this brave girl but I know I have an important job here in Canada.
Bob said that he had purchased a large abandoned factory in Toronto which he was converting to a pet shelter for abandoned and orphaned Ukrainian pets. Thousands of pets have died and some 70,000 are requiring homes. Bob will name the shelter the Yalanskaya Memorial Dog Shelter to house 2,300 Ukrainian pets until they can be adopted. I will be a big fundraiser for this centre and what an honour! The day after we arrive back in Toronto there will be three talk shows I will appear on. The Grand Ayatollah of Iran, President Biden and the Pope have given generous personal donations. I have been asked to make appearances in the United States to promote the funding of similar centres. The need this terrible blitzkrieg has created is endless.
“Travels to a Different Time” : 6August1974: Ljubljana, Yugoslavia: So Different Slovenia!
Slovenia is a part of Yugoslavia and it so different from the other republics. It has more in common culturally with its neighbour to the North Austria than for example it has with Serbia or Croatia. The attitudes are more progressive. The political climate seems less repressive. The food is good. The architecture is daring. The rain woke me up pattering on the windowsill. By the time I headed out to do some shopping the rain had ceased. I bought a small propane tank for my mini burner so scrambled eggs, fruit juice, bread, cheese, cake and grapes for breakfast. Had a nap and then into Ljubljana for a 5-hour look-see. Off the main street Titova Cesta you get a better sense of the city. The old part of town reminds me of Salzburg in Austria. A cobbler repaired my sandals so out I tossed my melted shoes. I walked up to the castle but they wouldn’t let me in the castle with my press card. There are some very expensive boutiques in the old town. The Ljubljana River runs through the city making it sort of an Alpine Venice. The water is actually clean. I discovered an ultra modern supermarket more stunning in design than you would see in Canada. Marble floors with floor lighting. Returned home for fried eggs, cherry juice, bread, cheese and some Moccas. I asked the guy at reception about a discotheque called Stopteka and to get there I had to walk through Tivoli Park which was an amusement park. Using my press card which was good enough to get me a backstage pass to a Grateful Dead concert in Vancouver I entered the discotheque which just opened. I had a couple of drinks with the owner. The music was excellent for a change. The owner said 50% of the guests were students. Ljubljana is a big student town. The club is dead until 9 at which time it fills up. Ten guys to a girl and they all have waist high pants and shirts open to their navels. I danced with some girl from London and was back to my room a 02:00 to see someone sleeping in the other bed.
RKS Wine: Colchester Ridge Estate Winery (CREW): 2019 Gewürztraminer
Years ago when I started writing about wine I was a champion for the wines of Lake Erie North Shore in Ontario. If you are not producing wines in Niagara in Ontario the state monopoly Liquor Control Board of Ontario gives you a cold shoulder. Yes call it fighting for the underdog. One of the consistently good wineries in LENS was CREW. Initially a rustic small player over the years it has ramped up its image and presence to the point you can regularly see a smattering of its wines in the LCBO. It has been a decade or so since my last visit and a change in back-office administration has meant restricted access for me to their samples.
I am a great fan of Gewürztraminer and too little of it is produced in Ontario. Of late the best Canadian Gewurtz is coming out of Meyer Family Vineyards and Mayhem Wines in the Okanagan, British Columbia. Vineland Estates in Niagara does a good job with it.
How does CREW do with a VQA LENS Gewurtz? LENS has a different terroir than Niagara. Lake Erie North Shore wines are produced close to Lake Erie which is shallower and warmer than Lake Ontario. The higher humidity creates a greater risk of rot and fungus than Niagara where pests are a bigger problem.
The CREW 2019 Gewurtz has a laid-back aroma and given Gewurtz’s tendency for big floral and apricotty/peachy bouquets this no classic Gewurtz. Yes you have honey, peach, apricots and tangerine but subdued and shy. Gewurtz’s fun is often in its bouquet but no riot on the nose here. On the palate no burst of peach and apricot. More of an undertow of peach jam, guava and perhaps a bit too obvious of sweetness. In a “classic” Gewurtz the sweetness is so well integrated in the fruit. Here it stands as if alone in the corner. I get the sense the Gewurtz here is not a matter of terroir but the guiding hand of winemaker Ryan Oldridge.
(Colchester Ridge Estate Winery 2019 Gewürztraminer, VQA Lake Erie North Shore, Colchester Ridge Estate Winery, Harrow Ontario, $18.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 25317, 750 Ml, 12.8%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 85/100).
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