A huge problem the author had with this piece: how to write it without veering into pathos? When it became clear it is impossible, it was a bit easier. How could one write about friends and not get emotional? On the first night people from all over the world were dropping in one by one … Read more
“It’s the alternator.” These are not the words you want to hear in the middle of the night on a remote stretch of a highway near Middle of Nowhere, Gujarat. “Please sir, help – push the bus off the road, ok?” So we did – it wasn’t even our bus, as Manoj would never let … Read more
The weather forecast was perfect. The wind direction was perfect, leading the kite directly over a remote and elusive target. The wind forecast was beyond perfect – so much we packed the Royal 69 sled, as there were threats of gusts over 60 km/h. But alas, the meteorologists screwed us yet again. The wind never … Read more
So – were you as good this year as our kites were? Then surely Santa (or Grandpa Frost, or whatever chthonic creature of the night that judges you) will be delighted with you and shower you with amazing presents! Because this year our kites really went above and beyond their usual. Eleven kite festivals visited. … Read more
“Then the mountains rise again, in the country of the Iapodes, and are called Albian. In like manner, also, there is a pass which leads over Ocra from Tergeste, a Carnic village, to a marsh called Lougeon. Near Nauportus there is a river, the Corcoras, which receives the cargoes. Now this river empties into the … Read more
Urban kite aerial photography is hard (except for István, but he’s different), and while we’ve tried to lift our kite within Ljubljana proper a lot of times, we can claim only one partial success (besides, flying in the open Tivoli park doesn’t really count as urban KAP). A city just isn’t made for serious kite … Read more
Sometimes it’s frustrating. The days are shorter and there are few hours of light. The good (suitable, never mind ‘good’) KAP targets are scarce and far from home. The weather is bleak and wet and cold. So we tend to fall back to our, shall we say, ‘regular’ places, where we can be sure that … Read more
Castles are epitomes of History. They are almost eternal, defying the ravages of centuries, standing tall and seemingly timeless. Seemingly. For castles are ephemeral. Fleeting. More like a dandelion puffball than a slab of granite. This is the story of two of them. One a castle proper, a Medieval fortress; the other an exquisite manor, … Read more
Here’s an 18th century church … … that replaced an older church inside a 16th century tabor, a fortified place used as a refugium during the Ottoman incursions … … that was made from the remains of a 14th century castle … … that was built on the foundations of a 4th century Roman fortification … Read more
. Funny. These views shot with a camera attached to a kite are pretty much exactly like what our hearts see – and feel – when we stroll around this amazing place. . The island itself is at first sight deceptively unremarkable. Deceptively. Once there you realize immediately why the noble families of Šibenik – … Read more