Spač’kijada
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We’re away this weekend visiting family in Dortmund. The First of May weekend is a big one here, and it’s usual to make a mini vacation out of it, and often to travel. The first year I was in Slovenia my old friend Dino, Sarajevo’s coolest DJ (top center photo, defying the rain to make him any wetter) looked me up and invited me to meet him for Spač’kijada.
Oh, do I need to define that term for you? Sorry. Spač’kijada is the local(ish) term for a global sub-cultural auto-worship-related event, in which all the owners of Citroën Spačeks (10 Cheveaux) meet up and admire each other’s wack paintjobs. In 2002 it was held very close to me, on the Croatian coast. For Dino and his crew that meant a grueling 12-hour drive from Bosnia (Spačeks are noted for many things, but touring comfort ain’t among them). We camped out on the Istrian peninisula and then went on the ‘Raid’, in which a thousand wheezing old Citroëns wind through every village available. Unfortunately it was an epically rainy weekend, but ultimately it didn’t really matter.
Spaček is the Slovene term for freak or monster, and the half-affectionate name for this wacky old car which makes fanatics out of its owners.
