Sunday 16 September 2007

Babi Leto

The weather for most of September so far has been miserable. This weekend, though, an early taste of Babi Leto arrived.

Babi Leto means something like ‘Grannies’ summer’, and is so named because of the long, white strands of spiderwebby stuff that float through the air at this time of year. They might look like spiderwebs to some, but to the people who make up nicknames they apparently look like Grandmothers’ hair. In any case it's the year's last gasp of summery weather before the leaves drop, the winds blow up and people start dusting off their skis and skates.

Autumn’s my favourite season here; the days are still long, the crowds of summer tourists have gone home, things like the theatre, the jazz club and the cultural events at the university have all started up again. On sunny days people are out strolling, walking their dogs, collecting chestnuts in the park, hunting mushrooms in the forest and just enjoying the crisp, clear sunshiney days.

I think I’ll go for a bike ride through the park before I have to start work. Want to come along…?


5 comments:

sansIcarus said...

thanks for the offer, but I'm swimming today instead :-)

Michael said...

I knew you were good but you weren't really riding on water at the beginning, were you?

Captain Oddsocks said...

Hahaha! I got within a couple of wobbly inches of riding on water there at one stage...

Lt. Lothar Zogg said...

Great video! Who does the music? I can't stop listening to it. The instruments sound like a small organ or accordian and a horn but the voices are very, very striking. I don't understand a word of it but their voices running over the vowel-rich tones are music to my ears.

Captain Oddsocks said...

It's pretty good isn't it? They're a group named Traband, and the song is from their new album Pritel cloveka, or Man's best friend.
The instrument is a harmonium, something between an upright piano and an organ. The lead singer says it's perfect for their new music, which belongs somewhere between the pub and the church.
I must rewrite that post to credit the music-I don't know why I didn't do it in the beginning.
In the meantime you can listen more or buy the album (for about 8 Euros!) here; http://www.indies.eu/en/alba/141/pritel-cloveka/

Thanks for reading.