Harry Potter and the Fallen Iron Curtain

[davehoz]

Original Yahoo! HPFG Header:
No: HPFGUIDX C4388
From: davehoz
Subject: Harry Potter and the Fallen Iron Curtain
Reply To: [Yahoo! #4387] Miscellaneous babblings (no spoilers)
Date: 7/16/00 1:35 am  (ET)

Jen wrote:
>Call me crazy, but every time I hear the name
>Albania, I think of Coach's song on one of the
>old _Cheers_ episodes: "Albaniaaaaa, >Albaniaaaaa... you border on the
Adriatic..." hehehe.

Here are some of the weird associations I have for the East European
Countries that crop up in the Books:

Bulgaria: The haunting "Bulgarian Shepherdess Song" used in Carl Sagan's
_Cosmos_. (Is this typical Bulgarian music?) ... Also jokes on _Red Dwarf_
about the Bulgarian Washing Machine Company.

Albania: Baron Nopsca, the (gay) Albanian Dinosaurologist who first
proposed that the armored dinosaurs (Stegosaurs, Ankylosaurs, Norweigan
Ridgebacks) form a natural group.

Romania: The homeland of my High School French teacher
(Logically!) ... Also cited by Ted Baxter as the capital of Italy.

Hungary: Home of the superstar-chess-player Polgar sisters -- Judit,
Zsuzsa, and Zsofia, the Angelina, Katie, and Alicia of chess! (Could
Ron beat them, I keep asking myself...?)