Birgu Fest provides much needed Fun, adventure and confidence
Be sure to check out the slide show and gallery below.
There seems to be a common string that runs through the trips that I plan when it does not involve a Disney property. Maybe it is the years of experience at Disney, or maybe it is the fun of not knowing what is going to happen, but for some reason, every time I am in charge of a trip in Europe something awesome comes out of something that could have been a complete disaster.
Originally, I had planned to go to Pepsi Fest at the University of Malta. There were going to be a bunch of live bands on a couple of stages. It sounded like it should rock. It also sounded like there would be a ton of people squished into one place. When I heard about Birgu Fest, I decided that I couldn’t miss the lighting of the candles in a medieval city. That just seems like an awesome thing.
I invited a couple of people, and we decided to meet at the University of Malta and go from there. My flatmate Bernhard and I waited for about 45 minutes before deciding that the other person wasn’t coming – turns out she was ill. That meant we had missed the bus that I had planned for, and we had to try a different bus.
Fortunately the routes are fairly predictable, so catching an alternative bus was no problem. The traffic was terrible for about half a mile, then it cleared up and we arrived at our first transfer point. We got off the bus, and I led us through a pedestrian tunnel to the other side to catch our connection. I didn’t actually know that is where we were supposed to go, but I figured it was a good enough guess. So it was.
We were in the neighborhood of the Porte des Bombes, and Bernhard was taking photos with his flash. Some guy got right in Bernhard’s face asking why Bernhard was taking photos of him. Bernhard said that he wasn’t, and the foul mouthed heathen unleashed a series of demands which included several swear words. Bernhard flipped through the photos, and the guy said sorry and slinked away. It was fortunate that no one had to point out that he was facing us while having his back toward the road, but there was a second there where I thought we might have to engage in something that neither one of us would have wanted.
Our connecting bus finally showed up, and we got on. The bus went everywhere. It went down to the airport and over to some other places, made a loop through I’m-not-sure-where… When the last person ringed to get off, I asked the bus driver if he was going to Birgu. He said he was and gave me a look that conveyed, I should have asked when I got on, and Duh.
Birgu is absolutely stunning even without the candles being lit. (They will light them tomorrow, I am told, though it may happen Sunday.) The streets are narrow, but the best part was that there weren’t many people there at all – at least in comparison with my expectations.
We met several groups from the University Residence. I had a ftira, which is kind of like a tomato, tuna sandwich with onions and olives. We listened to Matuto, who had also played at the University of Malta on Wednesday as part of Freshers’ Week.
After walking around and enjoying the ambiance and the meeting of friends (during which we got to see the scouts marching bad perform), Bernhard and I decided to go to the Inquisitor’s Palace. This is the only Inquisitors Palace in the world that is open to visitors according to their advertising. There were some pretty creepy things. Apparently, Malta was a part of the Roman Inquisition which was kinder and gentler than the Spanish Inquisition. There was still a torture chamber that was humanely administered. There were plenty of prisoner cells, but the most disturbing thing was the two statues of Christ near a hooded figure.
One of the cool things about the Inquisitor’s chambers was that the palace had a door built at half size so that even the proudest people would have to bend down before the Inquisitor as they entered the room.
We wandered into a place called Prince of Wales Own. I am still not exactly sure what it was. There was a bar downstairs and what appeared to be living quarters upstairs. In some ways, it looked like a private club of some sort, especially since the sign outside said that it was a special opening.
There was a craft fair on a lower city level that wasn’t clearly accessible. We wandered toward the harbor and out of Birgu to circle around to the fair. There were people selling handmade carvings, jewelry, incense and the incense holders. One table had Maltese sweets to sample, and as I sampled, I noticed that the guy was stirring some sort of drink. He said it was Maltese Coffee. I said, “Sold.”
Of course, he made me as American by my accent. He had just come back from a trip up 101 from San Francisco finishing in Portland. It was cool to be able to talk about the West Coast with someone who had recently been there.
The coffee itself was a bit thick, and it contained some spices, one of which I think was anise because of the licorice taste. It was a pleasant drink to have even if it wasn’t the smartest choice at 10 p.m.
Continuing through the marketplace, we came onto an artist installation of boat ribbing made of clear flexible material being rocked mechanical and having candles burning down the center. Around three sides of the boats were plates of glass that transformed the light of the candles into hearts. There was sound in the background
The installation is called “Mewweg,” which translates as “cradle.” Enrique Tabone created it just for Birgufest and has done many other installations of art for other events in the past. She does have a permanent installation in Buskett and designs wearable art and home products at Que.
When I talked to Tabone, she talked about the various aspects of the cradle, as noun and verb and as something that holds a boat for repairs. A cradle signifies safety and love, especially when someone is cradling another in his or her arms.
We got suckered into a show advertised as “We Will Rock You” for one Euro. It was about 20 minutes of Queen’s music from some musical that was lip synched by the group doing the performance. We didn’t know exactly what we were getting into, but the music was good, and it was exactly the way that the evening in Birgu should have ended.
We left the town to find out that there were no more buses running, but an enterprising taxi bus was glad to take us to Lija for 3 Euros. All in all, this evening provided a welcome respite from sitting in the residence, and it helped me to remember how much I like the adventure part of travel. I may not have all of the answers, but I am pretty good at making it up as I go along, especially if I have a good traveling companion.
See the scouts march in Birgu
There seems to be a common string that runs through the trips that I plan when it does not involve a Disney property. Maybe it is the years of experience at Disney, or maybe it is the fun of not knowing what is going to happen, but for some reason, every time I am in charge of a trip in Europe something awesome comes out of something that could have been a complete disaster.
Originally, I had planned to go to Pepsi Fest at the University of Malta. There were going to be a bunch of live bands on a couple of stages. It sounded like it should rock. It also sounded like there would be a ton of people squished into one place. When I heard about Birgu Fest, I decided that I couldn’t miss the lighting of the candles in a medieval city. That just seems like an awesome thing.
I invited a couple of people, and we decided to meet at the University of Malta and go from there. My flatmate Bernhard and I waited for about 45 minutes before deciding that the other person wasn’t coming – turns out she was ill. That meant we had missed the bus that I had planned for, and we had to try a different bus.
Fortunately the routes are fairly predictable, so catching an alternative bus was no problem. The traffic was terrible for about half a mile, then it cleared up and we arrived at our first transfer point. We got off the bus, and I led us through a pedestrian tunnel to the other side to catch our connection. I didn’t actually know that is where we were supposed to go, but I figured it was a good enough guess. So it was.
We were in the neighborhood of the Porte des Bombes, and Bernhard was taking photos with his flash. Some guy got right in Bernhard’s face asking why Bernhard was taking photos of him. Bernhard said that he wasn’t, and the foul mouthed heathen unleashed a series of demands which included several swear words. Bernhard flipped through the photos, and the guy said sorry and slinked away. It was fortunate that no one had to point out that he was facing us while having his back toward the road, but there was a second there where I thought we might have to engage in something that neither one of us would have wanted.
Our connecting bus finally showed up, and we got on. The bus went everywhere. It went down to the airport and over to some other places, made a loop through I’m-not-sure-where… When the last person ringed to get off, I asked the bus driver if he was going to Birgu. He said he was and gave me a look that conveyed, I should have asked when I got on, and Duh.
Birgu is absolutely stunning even without the candles being lit. (They will light them tomorrow, I am told, though it may happen Sunday.) The streets are narrow, but the best part was that there weren’t many people there at all – at least in comparison with my expectations.
We met several groups from the University Residence. I had a ftira, which is kind of like a tomato, tuna sandwich with onions and olives. We listened to Matuto, who had also played at the University of Malta on Wednesday as part of Freshers’ Week.
After walking around and enjoying the ambiance and the meeting of friends (during which we got to see the scouts marching bad perform), Bernhard and I decided to go to the Inquisitor’s Palace. This is the only Inquisitors Palace in the world that is open to visitors according to their advertising. There were some pretty creepy things. Apparently, Malta was a part of the Roman Inquisition which was kinder and gentler than the Spanish Inquisition. There was still a torture chamber that was humanely administered. There were plenty of prisoner cells, but the most disturbing thing was the two statues of Christ near a hooded figure.
One of the cool things about the Inquisitor’s chambers was that the palace had a door built at half size so that even the proudest people would have to bend down before the Inquisitor as they entered the room.
We wandered into a place called Prince of Wales Own. I am still not exactly sure what it was. There was a bar downstairs and what appeared to be living quarters upstairs. In some ways, it looked like a private club of some sort, especially since the sign outside said that it was a special opening.
There was a craft fair on a lower city level that wasn’t clearly accessible. We wandered toward the harbor and out of Birgu to circle around to the fair. There were people selling handmade carvings, jewelry, incense and the incense holders. One table had Maltese sweets to sample, and as I sampled, I noticed that the guy was stirring some sort of drink. He said it was Maltese Coffee. I said, “Sold.”
Of course, he made me as American by my accent. He had just come back from a trip up 101 from San Francisco finishing in Portland. It was cool to be able to talk about the West Coast with someone who had recently been there.
The coffee itself was a bit thick, and it contained some spices, one of which I think was anise because of the licorice taste. It was a pleasant drink to have even if it wasn’t the smartest choice at 10 p.m.
Continuing through the marketplace, we came onto an artist installation of boat ribbing made of clear flexible material being rocked mechanical and having candles burning down the center. Around three sides of the boats were plates of glass that transformed the light of the candles into hearts. There was sound in the background
The installation is called “Mewweg,” which translates as “cradle.” Enrique Tabone created it just for Birgufest and has done many other installations of art for other events in the past. She does have a permanent installation in Buskett and designs wearable art and home products at Que.
When I talked to Tabone, she talked about the various aspects of the cradle, as noun and verb and as something that holds a boat for repairs. A cradle signifies safety and love, especially when someone is cradling another in his or her arms.
We got suckered into a show advertised as “We Will Rock You” for one Euro. It was about 20 minutes of Queen’s music from some musical that was lip synched by the group doing the performance. We didn’t know exactly what we were getting into, but the music was good, and it was exactly the way that the evening in Birgu should have ended.
We left the town to find out that there were no more buses running, but an enterprising taxi bus was glad to take us to Lija for 3 Euros. All in all, this evening provided a welcome respite from sitting in the residence, and it helped me to remember how much I like the adventure part of travel. I may not have all of the answers, but I am pretty good at making it up as I go along, especially if I have a good traveling companion.
See the scouts march in Birgu
Birgu model
The Process
|
Indoor plumbing
Bernhard in front of the door to the Inquisition
|
The torture chamber
|
