Sunday, April 28 2013 By Daiva | Lithuania
I had a chance to see an exhibition on art nouveau fashion - it's a private collection of Alexandre Vassiliev, hosted by the Museum of Applied Art in Vilnius. See blog entry here.
Wednesday, February 20 2013 By Daiva | Israel
I visited the ultra-religious Meah Shearim neighbourhood in Jerusalem. Read my impressions on my personal blog.
Tuesday, February 19 2013 By Daiva | Israel
I had a chance to visit Be'er Sheva and blog about it in 2009. I went back there today and blogged about it - read it on my personal blog, with pictures, videos and a possibility to comment!
Wednesday, October 3 2012 By Daiva | European topics
Reposted from DaivaRepeckaite.com, which is now my original blog, at least until the blogging platform at CafeBabel becomes user-friendlier and allows comments. You are welcome to comment on the other website.
It seems I will start describing my recent travels in Europe from the end. After I saw many towns and villages in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and a lot of the city itself, I went to visit Esch-sur-Alzette, the second largest town in Luxembourg. With a population of under 30,000, it could be expected to be just like anything else in the Grand Duchy – slow-paced and provincial. Yet I was surprised with what I saw. Even Wikipedia did not find much to say about it. And yet, I was surprised.
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Tuesday, April 24 2012 By Daiva | European topics
Before the blogging platform is updated and a technical solution for allowing comments on blogs again is found by Cafe Babel, the entry, like others, is cross-posted with DaivaRepeckaite.com. You can comment it there.
London has become such a usual travel destination for Central and Eastern European people that it would be difficult to surprise them with anything. Cheap flights to most European countries allow going there for business or for pleasure separatly, without the urge to explore everything possible in one go, and some people already go there only for shopping, or academic events, or to visit friends. There used to be stories of commuting doctors. The city, obviously, is so huge and diverse that whatever patchwork of stories you may have heard before, they will not come together to a coherent entity. As I went to visit there for a second time, my goal was to challenge some of the initial not-so-positive impressions and to finally experience the legendary cultural life to its fullest.
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Saturday, April 21 2012 By Daiva | European topics
Before Cafe Babel re-enable comments on blogs and update the blogging platform, all posts are cross-posted with my personal blog - feel free to comment here!
London has become such a usual travel destination for Central and Eastern European people that it would be difficult to surprise them with anything. Cheap flights to most European countries allow going there for business or for pleasure separatly, without the urge to explore everything possible in one go, and some people already go there only for shopping, or academic events, or to visit friends. There used to be stories of commuting doctors. The city, obviously, is so huge and diverse that whatever patchwork of stories you may have heard before, they will not come together to a coherent entity. As I went to visit there for a second time, my goal was to challenge some of the initial not-so-positive impressions and to finally experience the legendary cultural life to its fullest.
Continue reading ...
Saturday, April 7 2012 By Daiva | European topics
As always, cross-posted with DaivaRepeckaite.com - feel free to comment there before Cafe Babel enables comments on its blogs.
Metz (Northeast France) is excellent for a day trip, particularly when you are sick and tired of this year’s Europe’s prolonged winter. A cute mixture of 13 century religious architecture, some French rationalist planning, astonishingly large and centrally located green spaces, and art venues, the city is simply a pleasant place to be, although, as some of us noticed, it did not seem there was much going on. It did not seem that crowds of tourists follow one another touring the city’s really impressive touristic objects – but this is perhaps to the benefit of the city’s cosiness.
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Saturday, December 31 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
Cross-posted from DaivaRepeckaite.com - you can comment there.
I found a fun questionnaire on this blog and decided to use it to ‘close’ 2011 on Wonderland. This year was exceptionally full of travelling, for which I feel grateful. I went somewhere almost every month. I visited 3 continents, 12 countries (6 of them – for the first time) and 21 cities. True, I didn’t blog on Wonderland much, as there were so many things to do and so much to share on my Lithuanian blog. The loss of the possibility to interact with my readers on Cafe Babel blogs was also very discouraging, and this is why I started cross-posting. Anyway, let’s hope the next year will be equally interesting and less busy.
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Tuesday, December 27 2011 By Daiva | Off-topic
When I posted these on my Facebook, Nabeelah suggested that I write something for 'Tower of Babel'. The column is welcome to repost this. You can comment the entry on DaivaRepeckaite.com
Have you ever noticed that the best compliment students give their professors is something along these lines: “S/he is capable of explaining complicated things in such a simple manner”? Teaching and research, as well as the media, is often about translation: from specific to abstract, from sound/view to words, from one culture to another. And some scientists work very hard to translate everyday language to the language they share with their colleagues.
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Wednesday, December 14 2011 By Daiva | European topics
Cross-posted with Daiva.Repeckaite.com - feel free to comment the post there.
Prague is probably by far the most known and popular city in Central and Eastern Europe, with hordes of tourists and large numbers of exchange and full degree students. Some people know Prague as a city of sophisticated culture, the birthplace of Franz Kafka. Others associate it with nightlife and youth. It appears that Prague fell victim of its own success. The city is continuously being reshaped and damaged by the flows of tourism, and locals are losing a sense that the city belongs to them.
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Thursday, November 17 2011 By Daiva | European topics
Cross-posted from DaivaRepeckaite.com - feel free to comment the post there!
Malaga, in South Spain, on the Mediterranean cost, turns out to be a particularly attractive place to settle for all kinds of people, especially Germans looking for a nice place to retire. But, according to my friend there, people from all over Spain say they would choose it as a place to live. It was the first city I visited in Spain, and I think I know now why Spain appeals to so many people in my life. Malaga has it all: the sea and mountains, cultural life and comfortable, walkable city spaces.
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Thursday, July 14 2011 By Daiva | Israel
The right to free expression, when it risks harming others' political or economic interests, is a hotly debated issue in Israel right now. In a strange coincidence, the so-called 'air flotilla' (activists flying into Israel with an explicit intention to visit the occupied territories in order to show the world how tourists are sorted according to their views) and a controversial anti-boycott law have become a part of a very emotional debate. While I'm far away, separated by already a year of not living in Israel and not even closely following the news from there, this situation affected me in a strange way.
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Sunday, June 19 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
Let It Be Night is an annual festival in Vilnius (see post two years ago). It brings together professional and amateur artists to perform at night. Most of the events are free of charge, and many happen outside. The idea is to make Vilnius more of a night city, which it is not. The festival takes place in June, just before academic year fully finishes. This year more than 100 events were promised, with theatres joining in to an unprecedented extent. The whole programme sounded very promising, and, despite the short rain, many people took the advantage to spend the night in the city centre. The Lithuanian media noticed both the success of some events, drawing large numbers of people, and much less success to provide adequate security.
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Wednesday, June 1 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
Also posted on DaivaRepeckaite.com
As soon as it became warm enough, Laimikis.lt relaunched its initiative called "Bubble the City" in English (in rather unsuccessful search for an adequate term for the creative Lithuanian "Burbuliatorius"). As last year, it takes place in Lithuanian cities and towns, as well as the most popular migrant destinations. The idea is to encourage people to spend time outdoors and do something together in a non-commercial setting, using one of the green public spaces. I have noticed that Vilnius, which, although blessed with open spaces, has rather unstable climate. It drastically lacks public toilets, and many urban spaces that people like become 'overplanned' due to dubious government initiatives, such as replacing old trees, which used to provide comfortable shade, with new, specially designed trees. Being in central Vilnius in cold weather is no fun at all, to put it mildly. Like in many cities, you must buy something to enjoy a comfortable place to sit. Compared to Tokyo, Vilnius at least has benches.
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Tuesday, March 8 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
First of all, to start with something positive, happy International Women's Day, I wish you lots of courage, freedom and solidarity, and a better, more equal world for all of us. Unfortunately, with a gender pay gap at 15% and only 3% women in biggest enterprises, with women performing 3 times more unpaid labour at home than men here in Lithuania, real equality still looks like a distant lighthouse in a foggy sea, but it is also the day to appreciate the achievements of today. We have many more choices, and some struggles present in the West are somewhat solved over here. Most women work full-time rather than part-time, and they are not expected to be housewives. Lithuanian women are the most educated in the EU. Mothers enjoy a long parental leave with substantial compensation. Homosexual women are treated with more respect and recognition than before, although partnerships are not legalised and discrimination is not receding.
To celebrate this day, I joined an event organised by an anarcha-feminist association "Feminist Front". We watched some videos and had a discussion about the objectification of women's bodies in advertising and gender stereotypes in general. The event took place at the premises of the Lithuanian Gay League. As I went into a courtyard shared by several unnumbered houses, I got completely lost. Slipping on thick ice, I walked around several times, not able to find the right house. This is for a good reason, I thought. No signs, nothing indicated where to find the Gay League.
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Wednesday, February 16 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
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Friday, February 4 2011 By Daiva | Lithuania
Are multiple languages in public space an issue? Not in many countries. But in Lithuania there is an ongoing battle over some buses and street signs, which, in addition to Lithuanian, give translations in Polish. A law in Lithuania obliges all public signs (streets, institutions, etc.) to be in Lithuanian. The mainstream interpretation is that this implies they have to be in Lithuanian only.
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Wednesday, January 12 2011 By Daiva | European topics | 6 comments
I know that Paris is the city that so many people have either visited or seen in films, so if I simply describe what I saw there, I doubt if those of you who read this blog on Google Reader or similar will click on the link. However, there are many angles to look at Paris, and, interestingly enough, its not-so-touristic objects are much prettier and more interesting than those we know of. One interesting thing I noticed was that Paris gives you an impression of being eclectic and artsy, while in fact it is built and kept up in precise order and follows a set of rules. We have already talked about overplanned urban spaces, remember? I guess the key to the success that Paris demonstrates in avoiding something like this is the fact that it is so old, and its shapes have developed and been tested over time.
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Saturday, January 1 2011 By Daiva
Dear friends, readers, opponents, etc - whoever read this blog. I wish you a great and inspirational New Year! I hope we will be in touch and continue to exchange ideas. Meanwhile, I prepared a summary of the things I blogged, tweeted, facebooked and thought about. There's no way to embed youtube on Wonderland, so please follow the link.
Wednesday, December 22 2010 By Daiva | Israel | 4 comments
A fellow blogger from Israel, Dimi Reider, recently publicised a shocking story, presumably from Tel Aviv, about a shocking case of humiliation, rape and incitement to violence. The victim is a young, recently-arrived Czech student in Israel. The suspect is a local who recently took courses at a 'pick-up school'. He boasts on the forum of raping the student so that there are no signs of violence on her body (in case she decided to turn to the police). The steps he has learned at the 'school' are aggressive pick-up strategy, crushing the victim's self-confidence, exploiting the local-foreigner differences, and using the humiliating approximation while the victim is still in shock. I join fellow bloggers and Israeli activists who demand not only that the suspect goes to court, but would also add that such a school must be closed.
While this particular case may be extreme, the pattern is not so uncommon, so I hurry to provide some tips for young women who are planning to or have recently arrived in Israel.
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This blog is about urban transformations, the use of urban spaces, and how all of it relates to broader political frameworks in Eastern Europe and beyond. 'Wonderland' expresses, on one hand, my ironic view over what I see. So don't accept what you see here as objective information. What is stated in this blog is a position, yet I hope you'll find it interesting. On the other hand, with this blog I want to encourage everybody to never stop wondering, even if you are in your native city. So, let's start wa/ondering together! All photos posted here are taken by the blog author unless otherwise noted. If any problem with the posting of a particular photo is brought to my attention, I will review the problem and remove the photo if necessary. For those who write comments: they can be CENSORED. Although I'm interested in hearing different opinions, even radical ones, I won't tolerate swearwords and hate speech on my blog. Comments must be written in one of the languages I understand (LT, EN, DE, SE, RU, JP, HE). Remember that this is a blog, so I'll regard such comments as "The views expressed here are subjective and biased" as meaningless.
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Irregular Rhythm Asylum - young activists in Tokyo
Thrown Peas - my friend Jordan's blog on life in Spain
by the editor of 'Verslo klase' A.Katkevičius
Milda's blog on media and society
Džina's blog - media and politics
Dalia - photography
Ekoblogas - eco lifestyle
Daiva