Matthew Levinson

country roads

Published on 21/03/05
by matt

the road out of sarajevo winds up past the ski fields and through some wild territory. where else could you look out one window and see a pig hanging by its hind legs being skinned and through the other a wartorn cityscape dominated by the city’s rebuilt twin towers. the bus curls through the mountains surrounded, and sometimes covered by snow.
fortunately i seem to have equilibrated to that peculiarly european style of driving, the most notable feature is a tendency to overtake any vehicle (bus, truck, etc) no matter what kind of vehicle you’re driving (scooter, bus, land train), or the state of the road. winding mountain roads covered in ice are fine for dare devil overtaking on hair pin turns, even when you can see oncoming traffic.
maybe i’m not totally over it. an old rickety bus that felt like it was unfit for the school round. every time we went over any kind of topography the bus would be overrun by a wheezing that seemed to alternately drift from the front and rear of the bus. looking around i realised it wasn’t the geriatrics – they were taking care of the throaty coughs – but the failing hydraulics. we spent most of the trip travelling at 40km/hr or less.
anyway, 24 hours later and things are feeling better.
hard to believe, but michelle grattan in the age has reported howard’s softening his line on refugees with plans to release long term detainees… a chink in the armour? who knows, good to hear anyway.

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