Melbourne (AUSTRALIA) - My resolution

Melbourne (Victoria - Australia)
10 November - 11 November 2015

During our many chats over the years there was always that public bench at Circular Quay. In the early mornings when I'd be messaging Inga on my way to work I'd often jump trains at Circular Quay in order to get to St. James station. On a few occasions I'd send a photo of the view out over Sydney Harbour, a lonely public bench quite often in frame. That bench became kind of symbolic, a place where one day we imagined ourselves sitting together looking out over the harbour. Sure, there are better views but that's not the point. Sitting on the bench with Inga was visualisation of a possible future. In the early days the sound of it may have rung out like a fabulously constructed lie. Very much like the idea I posed to Inga on our first date in Paris, at the time I made the suggestion that we should travel South America together, 'lets just take 3 months of and go'....and sure, for 3 seconds that sounds like a wonderful plan, until 'life' intervenes. Quickly your instincts and your internal probability mechanism assigns a level of chance to an event happening, I know that Inga gave it a 0% chance. Very much like sitting on that bench with me at Circular Quay. 

AC/DC Lane - Melbourne - Australia

AC/DC Lane - Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

Life can spin things in odd ways. Sometimes things come to you that you don't want, and sometimes things that you really want come to you in a manner that you didn't expect. All those 0% were now turning into tick boxes. Never say never.

I think for Inga seeing Matt Corby perform live was different again. From what I know she'd heard his song 'Brother' in Latvia. I'm not even sure whether she realised that he was Australian but after putting that together with the fact that her trip to Australia was now ON, the question then came, 'If he's playing anywhere near us can we see him' - my response was 'Sure, if he's playing in Australia then we'll find him' ...and that led us to Melbourne on 10 Nov.

Melbourne - Australia

The Croft Institute - Melbourne - Australia

In Melbourne you just never know where you'll find your next cool bar - Croft Lane - Melbourne - Australia

Flinders Street - Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

What to say about Melbourne.

I'm Sydney born and bred. Have lived over 40 years of my life there and appreciate Sydney for what it has, but....Melbourne has so many things that Sydney doesn't. Over the years I'd had to appreciate Melbourne from afar, always thinking that perhaps one day I'd make the move. So writing this blog from 2019, knowing the path that I took to get here, I look back on this day as a little bit of a test run. In fact, every time Inga and I went to Melbourne I took it as a test run. Gauging whether there was enough interest and enough spark to be able to make a full-time move.

Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne - Australia

 Melbourne - Australia

From Goldilocks Bar - Melbourne  - Australia

Somehow, perhaps typically, the weather during our stay was ordinary. So the bars on Brunswick street didn't really stand up to scrutiny, although Naked for Satan did its best, and even though Matty Corby at the Forum was very good, I knew in myself that there was still a little bit of work to be done.

It was ok. I still had time.

Australia - Here's what you get...

AUSTRALIA
30 October 2015 - 15 January 2015

Introduce the man, introduce the place that made him.

It was time. All the places, all the stories. This was to be an introduction to the stage, the theatre, the opera house to which all of these events were played out. Now it was time to show Inga where I came from and provide a visual context to all those stories and events that supported me.

Reflecting back now, that period of time had been somewhat odd. In the same year Inga and I had travelled through South America, then I returned to Australia, packed up the house in Seven Hills and to Serbia. After a few months in Serbia I'd come back to Australia with the objective of selling the property at #90. In the interim period I'd gone back to work at the Federal Court for a few weeks. All of a sudden my life had returned back to what it had been previously, sort of, knowing full well that the changes were ringing in, well and truly.

During this period of time, late October 2015 to January 2016, the plan was to show Inga as much of Australia as possible, and perhaps for me to visit some of the well known places that I had never truly considered going to myself.

So, in the tradition of other all my other kick-off write-ups such as Life in a year full of Saturdays, Keep calm and drive on, Treinta y Cuarenta - the tour of never say never, Argentina - the two timer tour, Don't call this a comeback, 43:The tour of awesome....I bring you, 'Australia - Here's what you'll get'.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi.

(Yup, unfortunately you'll get that line too).

Riga (LATVIA) - Meet the in-laws

Riga (Latvia)
23 September - 27 September 2015

The 11th of August 2010, that's the day that I walked into Shot Cafe in Riga. For any of you that want to find out about the place itself, well just take a look here; Shot Cafe.

I didn't know that on that day my life was going to take a sizeable turn for the good, the great, the awesome. Returning to Riga, 5 years later, was not something that I ever would have anticipated. Sure, from my earlier visit I remember Riga has having a beautiful old town and at the time of the year that I arrived on that occasion, the height of Summer, it was buzzing with an energy that is common for northern cities at that time of year. Still, and without disparaging Riga in anyway, it probably would not have been a city that I would have returned to immediately. It's no Paris or New York....and yet here I was, in the apartment of a girl I'd met once 5 years ago, that I'd had a first date with in Paris 1 year ago and then traveled around South America for 3 months only a few months prior. I was sitting in a very typical suburb, in an apartment on the other side of the world, in a city that I had no ties to other than this person. There was something I liked about that.

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

This trip to Riga was not just to 'hang out' with Inga and see the sites. After travelling around with Inga for three months her parents wanted to see who and what this odd being from the southern side of the world was. I'm sure they had their own questions, 'How will this guy relate to who we are', 'Does he even eat piragi?', 'Does he think we're Russians?', 'Do you have a pet kangaroo?' and 'Are you actually serious about our daughter...seriously...are you?' -  for those that don't care reading further the answers to those questions are 'Surprisingly well', 'Yes, I do now!', 'No, I don't', 'I wish I did', and 'Yes, very much so, yes'.

On my first full day in Riga we actually did a bike ride out of the city to a resort town on the Gulf of Riga named Jurmala. It's a town located 25 kms west of Riga, with a population of around 55,000, which makes it the fifth largest town in Latvia. For those that don't know, the population of Latvia isn't that big, and of a population that isn't very big 50% live in the capital Riga. So if you're sitting at a bar in Latvia talking to someone and know that you're not from Riga, well then the person you're talking to is.

Riga - Latvia

See the sort of haircut that Serbian butcher gave me!!!

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

The ride out the Jurmala was fantastic. The countryside was green, the freshness and the smell from the trees was powerful. Extremely European and very different to Australia, hell, different to Serbia too. The pine forests that surrounded the town itself were so fragrant with their perfume that it was kind of intoxicating for this unsuspecting traveller. Indeed, during the time that Latvia was part of the Soviet Union the city was known was being a holiday resort type of place, extremely popular amongst high ranking Communist party members. Indeed it appeared to me that Russian was perhaps the more spoken language in this town and I can only put that down to an historical echo.

Later that evening we rode back into Riga completing a 50km round trip ride for the day and made a stop at Shot Cafe...and now, he we were...5 yrs later, a time in some ways far removed from that day in August 2010 but in other ways very similar. A bar that I really never in my life expected to return to and could not have imagined a reason as to why I would, and yet, there I was. That's the lesson that life has taught me, again, and again, and again and AGAIN. There is no certainty in this world, not enough in my reckoning to ever have the confidence in saying that an event can NEVER HAPPEN. Perhaps your expectation or your desire for something may not eventuate in the time or even the manner that you anticipate, but, there are ways and odd constructions in life that somehow place events in your life that you could not have imagined happening. That's the beauty of life and that's why saying 'never' actually doesn't represent the final word on anything. 

On the Daugava - Riga - Latvia

 Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

The first of the 'big days' for me was my third in Riga, not just for the canal and river cruise that Inga and I did in the city and on the Daugava, or for the walk through the old town but tonight was to be my introduction to Inga's family. On this evening I was going to meet Inga's mother (Zaiga) and her brother (Davis) - not that I was showing the nerves but had you have run a hand down my back you would have thought that I'd recently gone been for a swim. I was questioning how I was going to communicate, how would they manage to understand my humour, whether dinner would just sound like a whole load of chirping crickets...too many questions, too many options for doubt.

Thankfully the dinner went well. Actually, I think it was very good. We all managed to converse, chat and manage any barriers in language in good humour. I'm sure at the time they were weighing me up too thinking 'what the hell is this foreigner wanting to achieve here'...and I can understand that. Coming from the other side of the world what else could you expect? Here's a person that is different to most things that you can directly relate to. His way of life, his geographical location, his friends and family, they're all different - how do you deal with that in a manner you can easily accept? .....well, they did. To their credit they made things then, and every day since then, more than comfortable for me. I've never ever felt like an outsider and I can only commend them for how kind they've been.

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

The following day was was a little bit like the day prior. Inga and I spent much of the day on the river, kayaking the city canal and some of the islands on the Daugava. Later that evening was drinks with Inga's father. Another assessment task to be passed but perhaps a little easier in that I'd had dinner with her family the prior night, and also, from the perspective from her father, that he himself is not a native Latvian. So perhaps his understanding of me was a little different as he could relate to his own situation.

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

Riga - Latvia

In total I spent five days in Riga and they were all fantastic. When I reflect on how I actually arrived in Riga the first time, the trail of discussions, the random decision making, both the small and large decisions, they all pointed to being at a location on a date and time that was necessary. Perhaps another trail and a different turn would have taken me elsewhere with a completely different plan, but now, here I am, and this path is now mine. Would I change anything that would not have taken me from where I was, to this very time in Riga, to the point in time from where I'm writing this blog? HELL NO, of course not!!!!! So thank you Riga, you will forever have a place in my heart and you'll forever be part of our lives.

Stockholm (SWEDEN) - Gotta Devil's haircut

Stockholm (Sweden)
18 SEPTEMBER - 22 SEPTEMBER 2015

This jaunt could have been floored even before it started by the errant stylings of a Serbian butcher. I say the word butcher but even that associates a degree or professionalism to an individual that decimated my follicles in such a manner that even my family was ashamed to look at me for a period of time.

I had been priming myself for a trip to Riga, Latvia. The time had now come to be introduced to Inga's family and I was getting my entire game together, which also involved resolving what to do with the mop on my head. Now, in hindsight, trusting the judgement of a man that has no hair, specifically regarding his opinion on 'where to get a stylish haircut in Belgrade', would probably be regarded as silly (at best), brutally stupid (at worst). And yet, in life, or perhaps should I say my life, you get brought up to trust that your older cousin has knowledge, that he has your best interests at heart, that he knows the city of his birth well enough to recommend a stylist for the needs of his younger cousin.

 BRUTALISED - HUMILIATED - ASHAMED

I walked out of that slaughterhouse with my dignity destroyed. I didn't just receive and pay for a bad haircut, nor was it simply a disgraceful haircut, this piece of dehumanisation was an atrocity, perpetrated by a lunatic and perpetuated by my cousin and his friend, both of whom are bald, and their attempts to pacify my emotional torment by telling me 'oh, it looks ok', 'it's fine'.

The reality check that needed came in the form my aunt. When I arrived home her simple assessment was this;

'You can't go to Riga like that!'

EXACTLY - I couldn't go anywhere looking like this except parking myself in a quiet corner of the nightmare that was playing out for all to see.

Air Serbia to Stockholm - Belgrade - Serbia

The next day we found a $5.00 barber that committed to fixing the public indecency that taking place on my scalp. His work was good - he saved what could have been the cancellation of my trip, the cancellation of meeting my future in-laws, the cancellation of a lot of things. This could have been THAT big of a game changer. The one you look back on and think, 'If only I didn't have that haircut, life could have been so different'.

The next day however I was at Nikola Tesla lining up for an Air Serbia flight to Stockholm.

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

It had been a few weeks since Inga had been in Belgrade, which was her first introduction to both my family and Belgrade, and now I was on my way to visit her family, via a small stop in Stockholm that was also going to include us seeing U2 perform at the Ericsson Globe as part of their I+E tour. There was also a small celebration to be had in that September 19th was the anniversary of our first date in Paris the year before. A great time to reflect on where we started, where we had been and where else we could potentially take this relationship.

Sant Eriksplan - Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm is a cool place by the way. From my first visit in 2006 I always found it as particularly attractive, pedestrian friendly, warm and friendly. So when I ended up unlocking our AirBnB in Sankt Eriksplan the only thing I wanted to do is get out for a walk and do a bit of a walk, which of course I did. Through Kungsholmen, across to Gamla Stan and then Slussen, walking through the areas that were introduced to me by Jay nearly 10 years earlier. A nice piece of reminiscing in a great part of the world.

 Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Stockholm - Sweden

Sankt Eriksplan - Stockholm - Sweden

Inga flew in from Riga the next day, the one year anniversary of our 1st date. Nice to celebrate and interesting to reflect on what had transpired in that time. In reality it had been a tumultuous year. My father had passed away in November and then in the weeks after my mother and I decided that we'd find living in Belgrade the superior option than to either staying in Seven Hills without him, or in fact moving to another location in Sydney. Then there was the 3 months that Inga & I spent travelling in South America together, the return to Sydney with the final pack up of all our things at #96. The move to Belgrade, the start of a new life, and of course there was 'us'. Things always become much clearer and their reasoning seems much more apparent when time lends you its 'focus goggles'. Looking back now and reflecting on how things with Inga transpired, the blocks were all falling into their required places in order for us to work. The things that needed to happen just did.

Stockholm was fun. We did the obligatory hop on - hop off experience, we walked the area around Katarina-Sofia, admiring the views across the harbour and into the city, we spent an afternoon and evening at the Grona Lund Amusement park and generally just enjoyed our time. It's not too hard to make future plans when everything just 'works' and travels so smoothly. That's the way our lives seemed to be going at that point. It's hard not to argue on the side of fate in situations like that.

 U2 - Ericcson Globe Arena - Stockholm - Sweden

  U2 - Ericcson Globe Arena - Stockholm - Sweden

                                            U2 - Ericcson Globe Arena - Stockholm - Sweden

The final night of our Stockholm stay was also meant to be the last of the Innocence + Experience tour stop in Stockholm for U2, well, that of course was until the previous evening where some random tried to bring a gun into the venue and became such an overwhelming security concern that the show was postponed to the night following our own. In terms of our own U2 stalking, Inga & I did actually join the crowd waiting for a glimpse of U2 outside if the Grand Hotel. We waited in some annoying drizzle for a lot longer than I anticipated until such time that I suggested that we just walk into the hotel and have a drink. Better to wait at the bar than on the street - ever way they never made an appearance.

                                          U2 - Ericcson Globe Arena - Stockholm - Sweden

 

U2 - Ericcson Globe Arena - Stockholm - Sweden

Their performance at the Globsen that evening was on point. After Inga managed to translate our seated tickets to floor tickets we pushed past many polite Swedes and made it directly onto the barricades, FRONT ROW BABY!!.....here's the set-list from that night.

INNOCENCE + EXPERIENCE TOUR LEG 2 - EUROPE

Globsen - Stockholm - Sweden

1. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)
2. Gloria / Van Morrison's Gloria (snippet) / Patti Smith's Gloria (snippet)
3. Vertigo
4. I Will Follow / Philippians 4:7 (snippet)
5. Iris (Hold Me Close)
6. Cedarwood Road
7. Song For Someone
8. Sunday Bloody Sunday / When Johnny Comes Marching Home (snippet)
9. Raised By Wolves / Psalm 23 (snippet)
10. Until the End of the World / Love and Peace or Else (snippet) / Words (snippet)
(Intermission - The Fly)
11. Invisible
12. Even Better Than The Real Thing Fish Out of Water Mix
13. Mysterious Ways / Burning Down The House (snippet)
14. Elevation
15. Sweetest Thing
16. Every Breaking Wave
17. October
18. Bullet the Blue Sky / Ode To Joy (snippet) / 19 (snippet)
19. Zooropa
20. Where the Streets Have No Name / California (There Is No End To Love) (snippet)
21. Pride (In the Name of Love)
22. With or Without You


encore(s):
23. City of Blinding Lights
24. Beautiful Day / Ultraviolet (Light My Way) (snippet)
25. Mother And Child Reunion (snippet) / One / Invisible (snippet)