Should I go to a bullfight?

Posted on 2018-10-11 by Andreas Moser

Hier gibt es diese Frage auf Deutsch.

Today in Huéscar, I saw this poster.

bullfight.JPG

I was a bit shocked because I didn’t know there were still bullfights. After all, Pope Pius V had already banned them in 1567. Since then, we call the Pope’s edicts “papal bulls”.

Now, I am in two minds.

On the one hand, I detest spectacles like that and don’t want to support them. Also, I am really worried that I would get sick or faint. (I fainted in the first-aid course and I can’t even watch horror movies, and by that, I mean those with a PG-13 rating.)

On the other hand, as a blogger, I am your eyes and ears in this world. My own feelings and my subsequent nightmares are less important than your right to first-hand reporting.

So, I am asking for your opinion on this matter. Just write “yes” or “no” in the comment field below, with an explanation if you want. As the whole thing costs a whopping 18 €, with no student discount given (although there is one for children under the age of 14, and am I the only one who finds that sick?), I am also thankful for any donation to my blog. You will receive a personal postcard, probably splattered with blood.

Posted in Andalusia, Spain, Travel | Tagged , , | 34 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 18/30

Posted on 2018-10-11 by Andreas Moser

As you saw yesterday, the bar in Venta Micena is dry.

So I had to walk ten kilometers to Orce to get something to drink. (Just because some of you had asked me to test the local swill.)

Well, I can say that Anis del Mono is no legitimate substitute for Ouzo.

Anis del Mono.JPG

Posted in Andalusia, Food, Spain, Travel | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 17/30

Posted on 2018-10-10 by Andreas Moser

Sadly, that bar ain’t never been open since I’ve been here.

Bar.JPG

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged | 1 Comment

Venta Micena – Day 16/30

Posted on 2018-10-09 by Andreas Moser

With not many people around, this is actually the perfect place to study.

Fernstudium.JPG

Only the cat sometimes doesn’t approve of it.

Grace Fernuni.JPG

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Canada has real winters, it seems.

Posted on 2018-10-09 by Andreas Moser

My next house- and cat-sitting job will take me to Calgary in Canada during the deepest winter, from December to March. I knew that it would be cold and full of snow, of course, and it’s actually what I have been looking forward to. Because cold winters are good for productivity, as I can’t go for long walks and sit in the park all day. So, you, dear readers, should expect many more articles this winter.

But then, a friend from Cochrane, close to Calgary, sent this photo taken on October 2nd and I got slightly worried.

Edward Allen 2-Oct.jpg

If this is the beginning of autumn, I wonder what real winter will look – and feel – like in Canada.

Posted in Canada, Travel | Tagged , , , | 36 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 15/30

Posted on 2018-10-08 by Andreas Moser

Why are there chimneys and antennas rising from the ground?

Kamine.JPG

That’s simple. Because people are living under the ground. Like hobbits.

I shall attempt to get acquainted with someone living in such a cave and to obtain an invitation, so that I can report on how the Flintstones live. It doesn’t even seem to be so unusual here, because the real estate agents in the region advertise caves just like houses.

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged | 6 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 14/30

Posted on 2018-10-07 by Andreas Moser

With many of the places around here, I am really not sure if anybody lives there.

empty1empty2empty3empty4empty5empty6empty7

But whenever I approach too closely, dogs are barking or shots are fired.

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged | 10 Comments

Random Thoughts (23)

Posted on 2018-10-07 by Andreas Moser
  1. Sure, World War II had some bad sides to it.
    But at least it got the Oktoberfest suspended between 1939 and 1945.
  2. Many times as I entered Israel, I was questioned thoroughly about the origin of my last name by the border guards. I never understood what was so special or suspicious about it. Until now.
  3. Vegemite fans all over Europe are rooting for the free-trade agreement between the EU and Australia.
  4. Thank to Plain Jain for sending Adventures in the Anthropocene: A Journey to the Heart of the Planet we made by Gaia Vince. 9780099572497
  5. – Turkey: The lira is falling because of an international conspiracy.
    – Venezuela: We only have inflation because of an international conspiracy.
    – Russia: The drop of the ruble is due to an international conspiracy.
    => I think I have figured out who is to blame for my empty bank account.
  6. John le Carré: “If I had known that most anglophone people pronounce it like ‘curry’, I would have chosen a different pen name.”
  7. My article about the personality cult in Azerbaijan was featured in The Armenian Weekly.
  8. Thanks to Edith Lorena Banda Cardona for Playing Dead by Elizabeth Greenwood. This book is giving me some ideas…playing-dead-9781476739335_hr
  9. For fellow history students or anyone with an interest in historical maps, the whole History of Cartography is online and searchable. A treasure trove!
  10. Oops, I booked a flight from Canada to the UK in April 2019, not considering that’s after the effective date of Brexit. Let’s see if I will need a visa by then.
  11. “He explained in great detail that in Romania, the best deals could be made with the public administration, and that if one wanted to save time and possible bribes, it was advisable to become a member of the public administration oneself.”
    (Varujan Vosganian: The Book of Whispers)
  12. Thanks to Ana Alves for The Rough Guide to Canada and for Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey into the Heart of Russia by David Green. 9781922182043
  13. Who would have thought that a former Al-Qaeda jihadist can be funny? I really enjoyed this interview with Aimen Dean.
  14. I am rather surprised that people are still surprised by revelations of Catholic child abuse. It’s long been known as a systemic problem, also in a parish near you.
  15. People keep saying that flights have gotten cheaper. But in 1992, I flew to Australia, which I couldn’t afford today. So something ain’t right.
  16. I don’t like flies, and I am not a big fan of butter.
    But I love butterflies.
    (How to short-circuit “artificial intelligence”.)
  17. For my birthday party, I want a show like this. Nothing less will do.

Posted in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Books, Economics, Germany, History, Israel, Romania, Terrorism, UK, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 13/30

Posted on 2018-10-06 by Andreas Moser

You must have already noticed it in the photos of the last two weeks: the mountain range of the Sierra de María at the eastern end of the valley of Venta Micena. From the first day I laid eyes on them, these mountains were more irresistible than chocolate cake.

Berge1Berge2Berge3Berge4

Thus, early today, I will embark on a hike, attempting to climb the highest peak (2,045 m = 6,709 ft) and then going for a leisurely stroll along the top of the ridge.

As always, I am super-prepared. But if I won’t be back by nightfall, please go looking for me.

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Venta Micena – Day 12/30

Posted on 2018-10-05 by Andreas Moser

Based on the photos you have seen thus far, you can probably imagine the heat in Andalusia. And there aren’t many trees providing shade.

Without my hat, bought from a Roma family in Transylvania, I would long have had a heatstroke and withered away.

Andreas Moser Hut Venta Micena.JPG

Andreas Moser Heuballen

Hut von hinten Sierra Maria.JPG

And with the hat, I feel even more as if I am in a Western movie.

Hut von hinten Western.JPG

Andreas Moser Western poster.JPG

Posted in Andalusia, Photography, Spain, Travel | Tagged , | 9 Comments