Malta

Hjemme igen efter 8 dages besøg hos Max på Malta. Subtropisk klima og 70-80% luftfugtighed, og med en temperatur på ca. 35 grader blev det en temmelig hed affære. Jeg havde lejet bil, så Malta blev kørt tynd (hovedøen er så også kun ca. 15 x 30 km), så jeg fik vist set, hvad der var at se på Malta. De kører i venstre side, så det var lidt af en udfordring, da de kører temmelig vildt og uregelmenteret og der iøvrigt så at sige næsten ingen vejskilte er eller vejnavne af finde på husene. Desuden ligger byerne så tæt, at man ikke opfatter, når man kører fra en by ind i en ny.

Jeg boede i Birkirkara, som er øens største by og større end hovedstaden Valetta, hvor der ikke sker noget efter mørkets frembrud - underligt. Alle byer ser iøvrigt ens ud med en firkantet gul arkitektur og husene lidt forfaldne. Menneskene er rare og hjælpsomme men de fleste temmelig uvidende, idet man kunne stå i nærheden af det sted, man søgte og spørge om vej uden at nogen egentlig viste mere end man selv gjorde.

Max bor midt på øen i en lille rolig by ved navn Attard i en stor 3 værelses lejlighed med 3 toiletter -p.t. sammen med 4 "tyskere". Derfor måtte jeg leje et værelse hos private i Birkirkara ca. 5-6 km derfra. Det viste sig at være et godt alternativ, da familien med Michael (Malteser), hans kone Jane (russer) og en lille datter var meget gæstfrie og hjælpsomme og desuden netop havde startet udlejning af ferieboliger.

Jeg nåede også at bade i Den Blå Lagune på Comino, som er en anden af de 3 øer, der udgør Malta. Desuden besøgte vi byen Mdina, hvor der kun bor ca. 200 mennesker i et gammel fæstning af en by med udsigt over store dele af Malta. Vi var selvfølgelig også i Valetta og Sct. Julians området, hvor Max vist har brugt rigelig megen tid, da det er det eneste område med fest og farver døgnet rundt. Dog er der skam også fest over hele øen skiftevis, idet næsten hver by har en eller anden festlig lejlighed ca. 1-2 gange om året. Desuden fyrer de fyrværkeri af året rundt. Jeg troede bl.a. at der var udbrudt krig en morgen, hvor de startede kl. 8.

Jeg var også så "heldig" at jeg oplevede en af deres "storme". Jeg vil nu kalde det for en stormflod. Der var lovet regn dagen efter min ankomst (det havde ikke regnet en dråbe i ca. 160-170 dage), men det startede allerede sidst på dagen og så væltede det bare ned. Jeg kørte selvfølgelig forkert hver gang jeg var alene, så det var noget af en oplevelse at køre hjem til sig selv den første aften. Alle gader blev oversvømmet, men vandet var næsten forsvundet om morgenen, og bedst som alle troede, at det var overstået, kom der en ny omgang, som nær havde fået Max og jeg til at sejle i bilen i stedet for at køre.

Home again after 8 days visiting Max in Malta. Subtropical climate and 70-80% humidity and with a temperature of about 35 degrees centigrade it was rather a hot affair. I had rented a car and we drove all over Malta (the main island is only about 15 x 30 km) so I guess I saw what there was to be seen in Malta. They are driving in the left hand side, which was a kind of a challenge, as they drive recklessly and there are almost no road signs or names of streets to find. Furthermore the towns are so close to one another that you do not percept when you drive from one town into another.

I lived in Birkirkara, which is the biggest city on the main island and bigger than the capital Valetta, which is very quiet after dark - weird. All towns do look alike with square yellow architecture and the houses a bit in disrepair. The people are nice and helpful but most of them very ignorant. Being close to the spot you were looking for you could ask them which way to go and they would not know more than you probably because of the missing street names.

Max lives in the middle of the main island in a quiet little town by the name of Attard in a big 3 rooms appartment with 3 toilets - at present together with 4 "Germans", which is why I had to rent a room with some locals in Birkirkara about 5-6 km away. It turned out to be a good alternative, as the family Michael (Maltese), his wife Jane (Russian) and their little daughter were very hospitable and helpful and had just started their own business letting out holiday appartments.

I also had a swim in the Blue Lagoon on the island Comino, which is another of Malta's 3 islands. We also visited the town Mdina in which only about 200 people live in an old fortress kind of town with a view over Malta. We were of course also in Valetta and Sct. Julian's Bay, the latter mentioned area being a place where Max seems to have spent more than sufficient time as it is the only area with people partying around the clock, however a lot of celebrating is going on through out the year, as almost every town has its own celebration 1-2 times a year. Moreover there are fireworks throughout the year too. One morning I thought that a war had broken out, as they started with fireworks at 8 o'clock in the morning.

I was also so "lucky" to experience one of their "storms". To me it was more like a flood. Rain was forecasted for the day after my arrival (there had been no rain for almost 160-170 days), but already in the afternoon the rain was pooring down. I seemed to get lost every time I drove by myself, so I had a terrible experience on my way back to my quarters the first evening. All streets were flooded, but all the water seemed to had disappeard the next morning, but jsut as everyone thought it was over it all started again and Max and I almost ended up sailing in the car instead of driving.