CROATIA AFTERS #2

WEDNESDAY
So on to Wednesday. Well, there were a lot of sore heads on the bus that morning. We had rather a late one the previous night with honey liqueur and high jinks from Jim Hinks, involving frogs in the Botanic Gardens. (No frogs were injured in the making of this fun.) Our sore heads were on a bus to Pazin which is in Istria, the westernmost part of Croatia.

Croatian style advertising on the way to Istria

The countryside would remind you of Tuscany: rolling hills, vineyards, sweet hilltop villages. We were headed for the centre of Istria.

We caught a glimpse of the sea near Rijeka. Or was it Opatija? I never did figure that out...

Between one thing and another it took four hours to get to our hotel in Pazin. We took a little rest and then had lunch on the terrace, looking down over the gorge to the town below.

The town of Pazin as seen from our hotel

They like long lunches in Croatia and the wine flows. And why not when the weather is so warm and there are stories to talk about? We had a walking tour after lunch. The streets of Pazin were rather deserted; our guide told us it has been somewhat bypassed by tourism and yet it's so pretty with its enormous castle and impressive gorge which, apparently, inspired Dante. And also Jules Verne, whose friend visited Pazin...tenuous?!

A quiet street, Pazin

There are red roses everywhere

The Gorge, Pazin

We attended a Mayoral reception in Pazin Town Hall that evening. Unfortunately the Mayor couldn't attend (we wondered what had him so busy) but his assistant welcomed us with a slide show about the area and some drinks and snacks (see below).

James Hopkin & Natalie Verhulst, wondering where the Mayor has gotten to...

Jim Hinks: 'Did you see the mayor? Dilys Rose: 'Nope.'

Jacinto: 'Hmmm. A Mayoral reception with no Mayor...'

That night saw the first of the readings at Memorial House in Pazin. As a venue it had a more austere vibe than the ones we'd used in Zagreb but the readings went off fine. Serbian author, Jelena Lengold and others read. Dilys Rose read a really good story called 'Are You Sure You Want to Talk to Me?', set on a bus in America and looking at the forced companionship that travel causes. It was both funny and bleak.

Dilys Rose in Pazin

THURSDAY

The next day our lovely bus man picked us up and we stopped first near Beram where we were brought into a medieval church with frescoes. The star of the show is 'Dance of Death' painted by Vincent de Kastav in 1474. These frescoes are not covered with glass - they are simply there, in this tiny church, in some woods, one km from a tiny town. Mind boggling.

Beram farmer

Church door

Fresco detail

From there we drove to Motovun, a medieval town on top of a hill. We walked the town walls, had a welcome drink on a terrace overlooking the valley, and we had time on our own to explore the cute little shops and take in the amazing views.

Motovun

Motovun view to the valley

Street in Motovun

From there we went to Agroturizam Stefanić for lunch: strawberry liqueur, fragrant red wine, cherries from the tree, gnocchi, pasta, bread. Spoil, spoilt, spoilt :)

That night, back in Pazin, Srđan Srdić (Serbia) was awarded the Edo Budiša Award for his latest short story collection. I had my second reading; I read 'Moon Hill', set in Knocknarea in Sligo. James Hopkin finally got to read - a beautiful, lyrical story about the Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani who did wonderful naive portraits of farming life among other things.

We had our farewell to Pazin party that night, with Mima on guitar and the odd flurry from guests: Dimitri does a mean Tom Waits, it turns out!

FRIDAY

Back to Zagreb the next day, in one piece despite a flat tyre on our dear bus. I got my old room back in the Central Hotel and it was like coming home. Wonderful! I went to do a bit of shopping, including at the antiques shop owned by the family of FESS worker Andrea Rozic. I bought a wee Matryoshka in honour of one that appears in my novel. (You know that novel that is STILL seeking a good agent?! Sigh.)

That night we had Ladies Night at the VIP Club on the main square, Trg bana Josipa Jelačića. The club was twinkly with candles and fairy lights. A young Split writer, Maja Hrgović, read a great story about a truant worker, alongside Manon, Dilys and Jelena. A very strong showing from the women.

Manon's story 'Poop' was unforgettable! There's a curious little video based on the story on YouTube, which illustrates it well:

We ended the night with D Elvis, an Elvis tribute band with a punk twist. Then a DJ. Dancing 'til late!

FESS volunteer Ramona

SATURDAY

Saturday was my last day in Croatia so I went to the Museum of Modern Art and it was simply stunning. Room after room of beautiful and intriguing works. This guy had been at the VIP Club the night before (or at least his 21st Century twin):

'Fisherman' by Vladimir Besić

And I ended my visit nose to nose with Kafka:

'Portrait of Franz Kafka' by Marijs Uvević Galatović

I didn't get to mention everyone or everything that happened. I apologise for that. Believe it or not between the first post and this it has taken me nearly all day to get this written. If I didn't mention you, I'm sorry. I haven't forgotten anyone or anything, it's just hard to squash it all in.

It was Franz Kafka who said 'Books are a narcotic.' That seems a fitting enough way to end a tribute to a hypnotic, fun, relaxed and informative festival, dedicated to the best kind of books: short story  books. Thank you, FESS, and thank you, Croatia. I sincerely hope to be back soon.

CROATIA AFTERS #1

Festival organisers Katarina Brajdić & Roman Simić

It's difficult to know where to begin about my trip to the Festival of the European Short Story (FESS) in Croatia. There is so much to tell about the sweet hosts, the wonderful writers and readings, the beauty of both Zagreb and Pazin, in Istria, where we spent two nights. Let it suffice to say, before I begin, that this is a fun, casual and social festival. The hosts are young, friendly, full of enthusiasm and they looked after us extremely well. We enjoyed long lunches, strolls through medieval towns, an Elvis impersonator and late night after late night, filled with short stories, chat and socialising. Apart forom the odd thunder shower, the weather was hot and sunny, Zagreb smelled of strawberries, and the city rivals Paris with its plethora of excellent museums and galleries.

Nama dept store

Tram on square by hotel

SUNDAY
We were welcomed, on Sunday, at a BBQ at a disused school on the outskirts of the city of Zagreb - there our hosts plied us with beer and wine, and lots of homemade food. I was on the tofu-courgette-pepper skewers. There was even an enormous strawberry 'n' cream cake.  There was a football match (hosts vs guests) and I'm happy to say the guests won, due to the efforts of just-off-the-plane Dutch guest, Bas Pauw, who scored three goals. Go Bas!

BBQ

That evening we adjourned to Booksa, a coffee and books café/literary club, for the first official event - a discussion on the Dutch short story with the Dutch delegation - Holland were the featured country at this year's festival - and readings from them. Sanneke van Hassel, Manon Uphoff and Dimitri Verhulst (from Belgium) read. Unfortunately there was just space for the Croatian translation to be projected but we were given English versions of the stories later.

Volunteer Katja Knežević at Booksa

Boy, the Dutch don't hold back in their fiction. The stories were about infanticide (two of them) and underage sex. These were great stories: clear and unflinching. During the discussion, it emerged that there is no such thing as a typical Dutch short story but Manon said, 'There is clarity in Dutch short stories.' This was evident after reading the work. She also said that Dutch people are control freaks and therefore she likes to write about those who have lost control.

Volunteer Ella, leading our tour

MONDAY
Monday morning we were brought on a walking tour by locals Ella and Josip, who volunteer at the festival. They walked us through the city and up into the old town, stopping along the way for ice-cream from Vinćek - I had a tiramisu one, delish! The old town is cobbled and peaceful with narrow streets and beautiful buildings. They brought us to the Museum of Broken Relationships which was fascinating, moving and funny. Afterwards, a gang of us trotted to Vegehop, a good value veggie restaurant, where we enjoyed great moussaka, salads, veggie burgers and strawberries.

On Monday evening we were back in Booksa to celebrate International Short Story Day with a varied panel talking about the writer and travel (a matter dear to most writers hearts.) James Hopkin from Manchester, Dilys Rose from Edinburgh and Dejan Tiago Stanković, were ably chaired by Jim Hinks (Comma Press) and Mima Simić. Jim spoke about lots of stories being about an encounter between two strangers and, when you think about it, many are.

Time was short as another event was to start at 7pm, so most of the time was given over to Dejan reading his story about an old Jewish man returning to Lisbon to search for the house his ancestors left. (Dejan lives in Portugal).

The events came thick and fast and the big reading that night took place on the other side of town in Studentski Centar. It included the well known Dutch author Cees Nooteboom and the German writer Clemens Meyer who read an extract from a wonderful story on burgeoning gay love.

The Zagreb Mummy

TUESDAY
I had most of Tuesday free so took the opportunity to explore by myself. The beauty for me of being away is time alone, something I rarely get as I have three kids. So it was a real treat to whizz around Zagreb on the tram and walk in the sunshine and do as I pleased. I visited the Archaeological Museum to see the Zagreb Mummy - a tiny little woman with curled hair - fascinating and creepy.

I also visited the Cathedral on Kaptol (Croatia is a very Catholic country) and it was very beautiful. You see lots of nuns in rather old-fashioned habits around Zagreb. I saw one paring candles in the cathedral - very industrious. I went up through the old town from there and made my way to the Museum of Naive Art, which was adorable. I love naive art and Croatia has a strong history of it.

Enjoying a drink in the sun in the old town

Writer Michelle Green on a Zagreb tram

At 6pm UK writer Michelle Green read a story, after a discussion on the Tramlines project, which she is taking part in. The idea is she gets inspiration from the streets of Zagreb to write a short story set on and around the city's tram system.  FESS organiser Roman Simić will later visit Manchester to complete the tram exchange, writing a story set on the Metrolink. Both stories will feature in this year's Manchester Literature Festival.

The story Michelle read on the night was set in Darfur. Next year Comma Press will bring out a collection of her stories, all set in Darfur where she worked some years ago. It was a wonderful, affecting story about the impact of HIV on two different people, set between Darfur and Canada. I can't wait to read her piece set on the tram in Zagreb.

Mima Simić interviewing me before my reading

I had my first reading that night, at Studentski Centar. I read with Jacinto Lucas Pires (Portugal), Dimitri Verhulst, Stanislav Habjan (Zagreb), Xabier Montoia (Basque Country), David Albahari (Serbia/Canada) and Neven Ušumović (Zagreb). All read wonderfully. I loved the variety of work, though most stories were pretty dark or uncomfortable - pure short story traits. I was interviewed by Roman and Mima (lots of fun and games over the pronunciation of my name) and I read 'Cri de Coeur' from the new book - a story about Assia Wevill, Ted Hughes's lover at the time of Sylvia's death. It went well.

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OK, I have reached the end of my rope with writing this for the moment, so I am going to take a break and, hopefully, continue with it tomorrow. Meantime, you can check out writer James Hopkin's blog from the festival here on the Literature Across Frontiers site. Parts 1, 2 & 3 of his blog at least - more to follow once the Queen of England sends them all back to work tomorrow :)

Festival of the European Short Story

The Festival of the European Short Story line-up has been announced. It takes place in Croatia, in two centres: Zagreb and Pazin. I'm reading in both places and very much look forward to meeting my fellow short story writers and enthusiasts. In sunny Croatia - woo!

The festival takes place from the 27th May to the 1st June. Go here for the line-up of writers from all over Europe. You can also follow the festival on Facebook here.