Spinning Words

Lost In Flames

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Diana

With Summer long gone, it’s time to enjoy the beautiful Swedish Autumn. After travelling around quite a lot these past months, I think it’s time to enjoy the pleasures Stockholm has to offer once again. I try to focus on the things I like and stop trying to run in 10 directions at the same time. This means that I pay attention to concerts and other music-related stuff, tennis (soon, so soon), cats and my amazing job.

Last week-end I decided to take a break from work and just enjoy the beautiful Autumn weather. That ended up with me getting lost in Södermalm (again) for a few hours, simply because I chose to walk around in places I didn’t know, with no map and no destination. I just went around on streets that seemed nice, that had buildings that I wanted to see closer, listening to music and watching people as I walked by them. That lasted till I couldn’t feel my feet anymore, about then I decided to head back home, but not before crashing on a bench somewhere and enjoying a cup of coffee in the sun.

After seeing Backyard Babies last Friday (that was a nice concert by the way, though I never listened to them before), on Sunday it was time to attend a music-related event linked to some old acquaintances: In Flames. So it was normal that I quickly shifted from a classical music concert in Eric Ericsonhallen to Park Theatre for a DVD screening of a rock concert: “Sounds from the heart of Gothenburg”. This was the moment that impressed me quite a bit and got me listening to In Flames like crazy all week long, actually they’re still playing in the background as I am writing this. As a small detail, I’ve known the band for quite a while now as they were quite popular in the Romanian rock and metal pubs back when I was spending my time in such places. I somehow didn’t manage to see them live but I couldn’t skip this opportunity. It was for the first time in a while that I felt right at home in that audience, just sitting there and enjoying the music. I get that every now and then when I just listen to a band that I like. Music gets me! Most of the event was in Swedish, but I didn’t let this become an inconvenience. On the contrary, I got it straight away that if one has a flyer under their seat, one gets to meet the band. Guess who found a flyer under her seat? I was fortunate enough to meet Anders and Björn, who were quite amused by the fact that I told them that I am not Swedish, thus that was why I was ranting in English, and assured me that they are as Swedish as one can be. I am still waiting for my pictures, though I will probably never get them cause I am afraid I wrote my email address wrong, I was that hyped and overexcited. And I am pretty sure I smiled alot too. We also got to see their new videos before they were available for larger audiences, and both the one for “The End” and “The Truth” made me think. And the video for “The Truth” got me thinking even more and plus, I really like the song. I will have to see what I come up with, if I come up with anything, or if I just enjoy the music. Yet, In Flames’s music restores the normal brain function in a person, or at least it tries. Now I am waiting for an opportunity to see them live.

Posted in Day to Day, English, Music Stuff | Leave a comment

UK Week-end

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Diana

A short journey to the UK was the perfect reason behind my last trip of the Summer. Since this year I surprised myself with the number of flights I was on, I said that an extra two-way-journey is nothing much. So there I was on my way to London, and after a stop at Costa and a coach ride, I arrived in Bristol happy that I found something I could send to my sister for her birthday: a rock magazine with Marillion on the cover. Marillion was pretty much the soundtrack of this trip. Alongside KajHolst and “Ballad of the Mighty I” by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds on repeat.

What many would describe as annoying typical British weather I found quite pleasant… well, it’s not that nice to walk in the rain but it was more than ok because it was warm. And after I got accustomed to the climate, my kid-tourist mode took over so for two days I acted accordingly.

The fist thing I saw in Bristol was a protest, just to remind me that after my short trip I have to go back to digging through news broadcasts after them. But this time I was a witness in a live pro-EU protest. It didn’t make it in the headlines the second day, not even on RT. Other political-related items around Bristol were given by Banksy’s graffitis. Those made it in the headlines quite a lot so it is nice to actually get to see them.

Some quick highlights would include the visit to SS Great Britain which is one of the coolest boats I’ve ever seen. The technique behind this ship was very advanced for its time. Launched in Bristol in 1843, The SS Great Britain made numerous journeys to Australia. It got stranded twice and made it’s final trip back home in 1970. Right now it’s an awarded museum definitely worth seeing especially by those interested in history, early industrial development and other cool stuff like interiors, lifestyle on sea and whether or not they had cats on board long distance trips. Yes they had cats on SS Great Britain, it is not documented but they has cats used to haunt down the rats that made their way on board. The presence of the rodents isn’t documented either.

A visit to Bristol M Shed was a good opportunity to learn a lot about the city. It also included a brief presentation about protests, riots and strikes that took place in Bristol, a nice display of airplanes or the story behind Wallace and Gromit. Because the building was also hosting an expo on The Story of Children’s Television From 1946 to Today, I enjoyed looking around the stands with so many cartoon characters and I couldn’t help myself and gave a Thomas The Tank Engine miniature a forever home. I always wanted a little Thomas Engine, I simply love the series.

The first evening ended… in a pub… But before that, I attended a theatre play with audience involvement, “Trainspotting”, Presented by Tobacco Factory Theatres Beyond. Now for those of you who know the movie, than you are familiar with the topic of the performance. However, I couldn’t watch the movie, I found it a bit too disturbing (it is true that I tried to watch it over 15 years ago), and then I didn’t really find the interest to try again. Yet the way the actors performed made it bearable and quite artistic, though it is not the classic way someone would think about when saying theatre in the UK. And I loved how they used music to illustrate some scenes. It made the whole experience seem like it was taking place in a time capsule that took you back to the 90s, though the topic itself is still quite contemporary.

Besides these highlights my short trip included a lot of walking around, gothic churches and good fun. I had a few hours to walk around in London as well. I think that for the future I will stick to going to London in November, not only because of the ATP World Tour Finals but mostly because warm weather made it full of tourists. Drink a cup of coffee in peace and quiet while listening to Big Ben while 100 people with selfie sticks teem around you. No!

And just to make my trip better, I had a two hour flight delay which is not much, compared to the 4 hour flight delay I had coming back from Helsinki, but it was enough to make me enter home at 04:11 in the morning. What can I say, Kungsgatan is a really nice setting for a late night walk.

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Helsinki, Finland

Posted on August 25, 2016 by Diana

Helsinki Cathedral

For those of you who don’t know, though I honestly doubt there is such a person, I’ve been dreaming to move to Finland since I was 15. That’s because of HIM and my passion for their music. I think I have some blog posts about them around here, here and here and probably not only there. My dream of moving to Finland did not come true, but last week-end I made a what I thought would be just a visit to Helsinki, that ended up turning into a power tour of Finnish days, nights, mornings and ski jumping trampolines. And I hope you all know Janne Ahonen, and if you don’t, well, too bad for you, because you missed some really beautiful ski jumping performances and a really nasty fall in Planica from the ski flying trampoline. And any rock/metal fan is aware of the Finnish metal scene plus I guess we all remember when Lordi took Eurovision to a totally different level.

Helsinki Uni

After a short flight I was on my way to Helsinki and, as any tourist, the first thing I wanted to do is to go see the Helsinki Cathedral, and not only that, but to sit on the steps and just look around and drink some coffee. My trip took me close to the harbour, to Uspenski Cathedral that, even if it is an Orthodox church, it didn’t remind me of the ones back home (I presume because of the Russian vs Greek Orthodox styles), to the Sibelius monument or the Temppeliaukio Church, the church built in a rock.

Tavastia

While walking around the streets I ended next to Helsinki University. I stopped by at Molly Malones and stared at the entrance to Tavastia for minutes in a row. That’s where all the cool rock concerts happen, must visit it for such an occasion one day. The evening brought me in a rock pub, On the Rocks, watching Sweet Little Sister, a SkidRow cover band, and another live-jam band that simply confirmed, again, that Finns rock it better. The atmosphere, the energy, the joy of enjoying the music were present not just in the performers but in the audience as well. The late night was spent on the steps in front of the Cathedral eating Swedish candy and watching the sky.

Lahti

The early hours of the morning, just as the early hours of the afternoon, found me walking around the streets of Lahti and visiting the ski jumping trampolines from the Lahden Hiihtoseura ski club. For those of you who don’t know, Janne Ahonen is from Lahti and registered at the ski club that has the trampolines I visited. And to clear up why I am so passionate about ski-jumping: it’s what I fill my time with on the Winter tennis holiday. Plus it’s fun to watch.
The second part of my Helsinki visit was spent in Suomenlinna which is an inhabited sea fortress and an UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s also a strange contrast between what looks like something very peaceful and picturesque and a place left behind by a bombardment.

Suomenlinna

All in all, apparently I chose the most atypical week-end to visit Helsinki because I found on the other side of the sea, a city that was full of life, activities and friendly people. As feeling, the short visit brought me closer to the East-European vibe rather than to the melancholy of Scandinavia, so maybe next time I should choose a rainy week-end, not one when the sun is shining.

Suomenlinna

All would have ended better if I didn’t have a four hours flight delay (for a 40 minute flight) because of a bird that made its way into the engine of a plane the previous day. Norwegian sent the plane to service so the flight schedule got all messed up and instead of getting home early evening I got home close to midnight. And when I say home I mean Stockholm.

Posted in Away, Day to Day, English | Tagged Finland, Helsinki, HIM, Janne Ahonen, Lahti | 2 Comments

Balkan Vibes

Posted on August 17, 2016 by Diana

There is a sense of identity that one feels, especially when one lives abroad. Romania is mainly a combination of latin influences, with slavic ones, on top of our ancestors, the Dacians. But this does not stop us from feeling close to the Balkan culture, nor from having influences from the Byzantine or Austro-Hungarian one. So when one lives far away from home, a good opportunity to feel a bit close to it is to go see a live concert of someone who comes from that part of Europe. Someone who happens to be quite popular in Romania. And not only there. I am talking about Goran Bregović who brought to Stockholms Kulturfestival a bit of the Balkans with their Serbian, Bulgarian and Gypsy cultures. And don’t freak out if I use the word “gypsy”, he uses it too and he does it it the most positive and beautiful way possible. No political correctness needed, not here, but I do have to mention that he did talk on stage about the situation of the Gypsies in Europe.

I think the first time I heard about him was when Emir Kusturika’s movies were shown on TV in Romania, more precisely I remember Arizona Dream, Underground and Black Cat, White Cat. Goran Bregović took care of the soundtrack for the first two. For Arizona Dream he worked with Iggy Pop on a few songs, check one below:

Some songs from Underground became instant classics and my favourite is, of course, Kalashnikov, which has as basis, if I may say so, a Romanian song: The Skylark . I can not remember the number of parties when we danced to it as kids, and I am pretty sure we danced to it at a few weddings as well. Goran Bregović had quite a few concerts in Romania, collaborated with Romanian artists and with other international artists like Gogol Bordello. So it was quite nice today to hear Romanian during the concert. It was also nice to se the reactions of my Serbian friends, to look around and see how they explain to their other foreign friends that do not come from the Balkans what the songs were about.

And the best part of the concert today, besides the music that fills you with life and joy, is Goran telling the audience out loud during Kalashnikov: “If you don’t go crazy you are not normal”. He used this line to name an international tour that took place in 2015. Maybe he was just referring to that little drop of madness that sometimes makes life a bit more beautiful. Caution though! Tonight I felt that I knew exactly what he was referring to because Kalashnikov is that kind of a song: you listen to it and you go crazy and breathless from all the dancing. Check it out below:

Posted in Day to Day, English, Music Stuff | Tagged concert, Goran Bregović, Stockholms Kulturfestival | Leave a comment

A Half-broken Heart

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Diana

One of the best reasons to stay awake at night is tennis, for me at least. This past week I kept my eyes on the Olympic Games because of two very amazing people: Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. I kept following them on live scores, if their matches weren’t broadcast, I woke up in the middle of the night even though I had a fever and a headache just to see them play, I cheered, watched and enjoyed. For those of you who don’t know, Mergea/Tecau form a Romanian tennis doubles team. They were very good as juniors, took a break from playing together and now they are occasionally back in the game side by side (with different partners on the ATP Tour, for now).

Pic credit: ITF

Their level of tennis this week peaked, I’ve never seen them play anything like this. Their match against the Brazilian team Melo/Soares was a perfect and beautiful example of a doubles match. I still believe doubles is more spectacular than singles tennis and much more fun to watch. They rushed through the semifinal to reach the first ever Olympic final for Romanian tennis which they played against Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal. Yes, Rafa Nadal, the former number 1, a fighter and a true champion, and Marc Lopez, a talented doubles specialist. I knew it was going to be tough but I did not expect what had happened last night. I spent two hours and a half watching a match that for a long time didn’t make sense. A very atypical doubles match in which all 4 players played amazing tennis. I think if they were playing on a court as big as a football field they would still have ran and reached every impossible-to-reach and out-of-this-world shots that came from the other side of the court.

And they had the final in their hand. At 3-3 in the final set they broke Marc Lopez’s serve, just to lose their serve right away and watch how the match turns in the favour of the Spaniards. The pressure was huge but the desire to win and the fear of loosing were bigger than their power to focus and take the gold medal. And after dominating for a set and a half, and fighting like crazy the last half of the third set, they bowed in front of the Spanish team and the audience and the whole World that was watching.

Pic Credit: Ioana Raluca Olaru

Maybe you know what it is like to want something so much, to work for it like crazy, sacrifice, cry, enjoy, work some more. To have it so close, in front of your eyes, to reach out for it and almost touch it and to lose it because of one mistake, one normal human mistake that you find no forgiveness for, you can’t take back nor fix, that you will always remember and be remembered for and that places you as second best. Good, amazing but not good enough. And in this case this led to an Olympic silver medal, something to be proud of, the first ever Olympic medal for Romanian tennis that came from two of the best athletes Romania has ever had, grand slam champions, World Champions and finalists of great tennis competitions where only the best of the best get to play. I have no words to praise these guys, nor to say how much I appreciate them, how much I enjoy watching them play and how much I support them in their journey around the World every year. I also have no words to say how sad and heartbroken I felt when I saw the sorrow in their eyes at the award ceremony, and how unfair it feels to know that even if they were part of an insane battle on the tennis field, only the champions will be given the credit. I do not deny the fact that Marc and Rafa deserve it, they played amazing tennis, but this was that kind of a match when you feel a bit sad that there can’t be two winners. It’s not the first time our boys play one as such and I am sure it will not be the last time. But it’s ok, they are champions, and me as a fan can take it, even if today I am half happy-half sad.

Posted in Day to Day, English, Tennis | 1 Comment