News of a Dead "Haris" Reminded Me of You All

Classmates, Friends, Bastards, Zoki!

The other day Eniko (the very same girlfriend predicted by Vale's cards) and I were having beer in a Budapest cafe with X, one of those environmentalist types, who told us sadly that during a weekend excursion their car had hit and killed a "haris." Now, why should you people give a damn about a haris? Because "haris," friends, is the Hungarian name of the dreaded CREX CREX, the famous bird favored by Latvians and the Kürbiskernöl-swilling, Schmankerlstube-haunting people of Styria.

Please don't take it as an insult when I say that this news of a dead crex crex reminded me of you all and inspired me to visit this blog.

On a brighter and darker note, on Thursday morning we are leaving for four days in Luxembourg! Luxembourg, oh Luxembourg, where I go to visit nice people, enjoy fine food and wine, and hike through the sunny countryside, and where you people go to... Oh well, forget I mentioned it.

Personal Update Series (I)

Given the long period of quietness and laziness, perhaps the group needs to start a new blog rubric "Personal Updates" - something that happened to each of us recently, seriously, truly or at least somehow believable!

As for me, I spent a week-end with Dracula and managed to survive (we both turned out to be Bulgarian :)). Otherwise, nothing new: I have only changed my taste for drinks...

/reality behind:

working group meeting in Sinaia for cooperation

in South East Europe/

WHY

As it's the first of April and everything I guess I could admit... forgot to continue my story last time.... Just noticed the comments and i can only hope you agree with the "better later than never" thing. :)
To dissolve the (guess, forgotten :) mystery (see blog “Off-topic: Marrakech” of February 07):

The Jamaa el Fnaa is this special place (the main square of Marrakech), where there is actually nothing. Nothing, except people. This is what people do in Marrakech: they don’t have bars, theatres, blabla, but: they go to the Jamaa el Fna. It is an amazingly moving space, with some people having to tell a story, so they just tell it and the others listen. When they finished, they stop, and circles of people simply reorganize on the square. Others playing music together, each with their own instruments, and anyone can join. Others being dressed in costumes, and playing some sort of scene (don’t understand Arabic that well…). It is true that it was hard to watch cause -being tourist-like- wherever we stopped for a moment to stare, someone sent a kid to ask us for money. (noone asked the locals. :)

There were also snake-dancers (people making snakes dance…), and “classical looking” street musicians (but whom also only asked tourists for money :). We had the chance to observe all this from a terrace, on our last day. Until that I didn’t get what is so great about this smelly and noisy place… And well, this is it. It is not a place made famous by buildings and statues. It is a place made great by the people of the city, sitting on their small blankets, gathering and playing music every night (Marrakech is a city of 900.000 inhabitants). I recommend it to All. :)