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Bergen International Festival, Music & Silence
Established in 1953, the Bergen International Festival takes place from 20 May to 3 June 2020. Each year, the program includes over 400 events taking place over 15 days in more than 70 venues in and around Bergen. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the events have been canceled, but there are still more than 50 events taking place in empty venues; these events are streamed online for free. They include music, theatre, dance, opera and visual art performances. Last Sunday, I watched the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra performing Edvard Grieg’s A minor Piano Concerto in Grieghallen. Considered the Bergen International Festival signature work, the Piano Concerto in…
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Reflecting on my travels around Europe
The Eurovision Song Contest 2020 final would have taken place tonight in Rotterdam, following the Netherlands’ victory last year with the song ‘Arcade’ performed by Duncan Laurence. Unfortunately, this year’s contest has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have to admit that Eurovision is my guilty pleasure and an annual event that I am very excited about and always looking forward to. So, understandably, I was rather disappointed when I learned that it wouldn’t be held this year. To mark the occasion, however, I’ve decided to embark on a mental journey and reflect on my travels around Europe. Having been born and raised in Greece, and being a…
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Traveling to Greece through film & music
The London Greek Film Festival has been taking place every year since 2008. This year, however, the festival will move online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under normal circumstances, the screenings would have taken place at the Theatro Technis, an independent theatre in Camden, North London. The festival, due from 13 to 16 May 2020, showcases feature, short and documentary films either by Greek film-makers (no matter where they are produced) or simply related to Greece. According to the organizers, the festival showcases ‘films from Greek Origin Individuals and Production Companies from all over the world, or International Individuals and Production Companies from all over the world, with film or…
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Celebrating the International Jazz Day
Hello! Today, it is the International Jazz Day. A few years ago, UNESCO designated April 30 as the International Jazz Day to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe. The inaugural International Jazz Day took place in 2012 in New York, with celebrations also taking place in Paris and New Orleans. Since then, the International Jazz Day is hosted by a different city (and country) each year. Subsequent host cities include Istanbul, Osaka, Paris, Washington DC, Havana, Saint Petersburg and Sydney (together with Melbourne). This year, Cape Town has been designated the Global Host City for the International Jazz Day 2020. Due…
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A hyggelig weekend in Copenhagen
In the last few years, I have visited Copenhagen several times and in a rather quick succession, albeit for only a couple of days each time (usually a long weekend). On the one hand, I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the protagonists of the Danish TV series ‘The Bridge’ (‘Bron/Broen’) (actually a Danish-Swedish co-production), ‘The Killing’ (‘Forbrydelsen’), and ‘Borgen’. On the other hand, I wanted to experience hygge. Defined as ‘the practice of creating cozy and congenial environments that promote emotional well-being’, hygge is regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture, even though the word actually originates from a Norwegian word meaning wellbeing. I remember walking (a lot) around the…
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Stockholm Syndrome & 7 tips for Stockholm
Self-isolation and social distancing have provided me with the perfect excuse to stay home, binge watch on TV series and films, read, and write. One of the TV series I’ve recently watched is ‘La Casa De Papel’ (or ‘Money Heist’ in English), a Spanish TV series available on Netflix. The latest episodes (Part 4) have just been released on 3 April 2020. In Parts 1 and 2, a group of robbers breaks into the Royal Mint of Spain, in Madrid, taking 67 hostages. During the robbery, one of these hostages falls in love with one of the robbers and subsequently becomes an accomplice to the group. A classical example of…
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Megève: Ski, après-ski & jazz
It’s only been a few years since I took up skiing, now one of my favorite hobbies. So far, I have been on five ski holidays: in Méribel (France), Courchevel (next to Méribel), Zell am See (Austria), Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy), and Megève. In fact, I have just returned from Megève, and I would like to share my tips for this beautiful French resort, which is also home to an international jazz festival. But before I do so, I would like to point out that this was the first ski holiday entirely organized by my friend and myself (rather than a tour operator). This turned out to be a great decision,…
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Best London bookstores, tsundoku & bibliotherapy
Today is the World Book Day. To mark the occasion, last year, I went back to ancient Greece and shared my reflections on ‘Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life’, a book by Edith Hall. This year, however, I am going to discuss my personal relationship with books and reading, rather than focus on a specific book. I’m therefore going to stay home and simply visit some of my favorite London bookstores. I will then go to Japan to discuss the concept of tsundoku, as well as Marie Kondo’s tips on how to tidy up books. I will also visit Greece to discuss the concepts of bibliomania, bibliophilia,…
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My 10 (+1) favorite Asian restaurants in London
I kicked off this year with my recommendations for 5 (+1) Japanese novels to read in 2020, followed by my suggestions for 5 more books from, or about, Japan. Then, earlier this month, the South Korean film ‘Parasite’, directed by Bong Joon-ho, not only won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, but also the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. So, last week, I embarked on a cinematic journey to South Korea. Today, I am going back to London, but at the same time I’m staying in Asia. This sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Well… being a foodie and a Londoner, I love…
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A cinematic journey to South Korea
A few days ago, the South Korean film ‘Parasite’, directed by Bong Joon-ho, not only won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, but also the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. This was a historical moment: ‘Parasite’ is the first South Korean film to have been nominated in these categories, as well as the first non-English language film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. It had also won the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. These remarkable achievements have unsurprisingly rekindled my interest in South Korean cinema. For this reason, today I am embarking on a cinematic journey to South…