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Traveling Notes - Europe Road Trip - Luxembourg, Day3

People like me should be born with a magic kick-in-the-butt sibling, which they would apply continuously and profusely simply to accomplish an average human being’s life agenda. You know, like meeting your significant other, building that major social institution called family, acquiring a few babies, a dog and a cat and maybe a fish tank. And then to nurture all those wonderful things somewhat successfully, by which I mean at the least keeping them fed and alive. At the age of 33 my biggest accomplishment is managing to feed myself and, presumably, my boyfriend, who nonetheless occasionally claims feeling hungry. Why am I sharing this with you? Because today I wrote a post covering the third day of our 6-week Europe road trip. Three months later. Ta-da! Stay with me and in a few years you will know all the juicy details of that thrilling 6-week adventure!

Kompot – Delicious Russian Fruit Punch Recipe

When the weather in Miami starts behaving like a moody young lady and no fortuneteller can predict its spasmodic changes, everyone knows it’s That time of the year – it’s fall. We got no yellow foliage here, no swishing falling leaves, no cozy sweaters and scarves – none of that sentimental garnish of fall. We’ve got the cake, but no cherry on it. Our palms stay green and our shorts stay short. What we do get is the weather’s mood swings: rainy, windy, sunny, cold, hot, totally unpredictable. I am not complaining! Not at all! I love when Miami gets gloomy and I don’t sweat all over a second past stepping outside; when it’s actually chilly and grey grumpy clouds let my imagination fly.

It’s also time for making hot drinks to stay warm! Today I’d like to share a recipe of one of my favorite drinks as a child - a traditional Russian kompot. Kompot is a non-alcoholic drink made from fruit (dried, fresh, or frozen) simmered with water and sugar. You can drink it hot or cold (I prefer hot kompot) and it is both so very delicious and nutritious.

Kompot Recipe:

Basic proportions are 1 pound of fruit + 4 quarts of water + 1 cup of sugar, though this is not a must follow rule. If you make an excessively concentrated drink, you can always add some boiled water to dilute it.

As for the ingredients, almost any varieties of fruit will make a tasty drink. I like preparing kompot from dried fruits, for one reason mostly – the taste evokes nostalgic memories, as that’s how my parents used to make it in Russia when I was a child.

Kompot Ingredients:

Dried Fruits (can be purchased at any Eastern European Store)

Fresh Apples

Fresh Lemon (a few slices)

Sugar

Whenever I have on hand – some frozen cranberries and a cinnamon stick

Bring all ingredients to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Let stand for another 15 minutes and enjoy!

The taste is sour sweet and delicious and the smell is so fantastic - you won't want to leave the house ever!

This drink is a perfect autumn mood setter, even in Miami, where we need to take it up a notch to feel seasons :-) Happy Tuesday!

Magic of Fall on Cape Cod

I love photography. I used to be dreaming of incorporating it into what I do for living one day. It didn’t happen thus far but aspirations are still present and I keep on enjoying every decent shot as much as an unskilled amateur can enjoy sudden, spasmodic success.

We spent last weekend on Cape Cod – a place full of majestic nature on one hand and fairytale like on the other. It calls for photography. Besides, Cape gets completely vacant when the season ends and appeals to any hopeless romantic out there longing for seclusion, quietness and maybe a tiny bit of melancholy. You know, the good kind of melancholy. The one you feel looking at the falling red leaves and reading a book by the fireplace or listening to your cat’s purring, snugging the blanket up your chin and tracing snowflakes in the window.

Here’s a few pics I liked and wanted to share.

Traveling Notes - Europe Road Trip - Germany, Days 1&2

I should warn the reader that my Europe related posts are simply scattered notes made while on the road and put into chronological order later on. They have little (to none) educational or informative value and might merely provide some sort of entertainment. That being said, let me begin my tales with a few numbers, as lately I’ve been into numbers rather than words – a paradigm so uncharacteristic of me that I don’t even dare digging into that psycho trap =)

Week One

Countries visited: 5

Germany

Luxembourg

Netherlands
Belgium

France

Cities (villages, towns, communes) visited: 13

Day 1. Frankfurt
Day 2. Trier, Eltz
Day 3. Luxembourg City, Esch-sur-Sûre, Bourscheid, Vianden
Day 4. Amsterdam
Day 5. Muiden, Zaanse Schans
Day 6. Brussels
Day 7. Rouen, Mont Saint Michel

Unesco World Heritage Sites visited: 5

Trier Roman Monuments
Luxembourg Casemates (fortifications)
The Canal Area Ring of Amsterdam
La Grand-Place in Brussels
Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay

Castles visited: 6

Eltz Castle (Germany)
Esch-sur-Sûre (Luxembourg)
Bourscheid Chateau (Luxembourg)
Vianden Castle (Luxembourg)
Muiderslot Castle (Netherlands)
Mont Saint Michel (France)

Museums, churches, palaces, landmarks - infinite number

Europe Road Trip 2015 Vignette

Statistics:

Days traveled: 39

Miles traveled: 8750 km (5437 miles)

Countries visited: 10 (Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Lichtenstein)

Cities visited: 35 (including small towns, villages)

UNESCO World Heritage Sites visited: counting, will sum up at the end of my weekly diaries posts

Money spent: $20,000

The story:

Our amazing Western Europe road trip has come to its end. It was a grand adventure and the longest I’ve ever been on the road non-stop. We traveled fast, didn’t spend more than a few days at one location and constant change of scenery never let us off the bait. Since we were Europe “virgins”, well my boyfriend was a virgin and I sort of tried some things (Germany, France) but never went all the way J, we were smitten by the beauty, the history and the architecture.

I call our trip “Introduction to Europe 101”, as we didn’t explore places extensively, but rather tried to catch the crème de la crème of European wonders. I got asked many times if such a long journey made me tired and bored and if things started looking dull by the end of the trip. The answer is no. The more I saw, the more I longed to see and explore. Traveling is like a drug. Once you are hooked, it’s hard to quit. By the time we had to go home, I was already dreaming of our next destinations.

What I’ve learned:

As a Russian expat living in the States for over a decade, I should confess the concepts of cultural identity and patriotism have been haunting me for years. Who are we – expats leaving our roots behind and adapting to new ways, new traditions, new mentalities? As I currently can’t control my frequent bouncing of English and Russian languages, I respectively couldn’t decide which country speaks to me more. And here comes travel – one thing that blurs the edges to further extremes. Did I love Europe? Absolutely! Could I live there? Without question. I guess the answer for me is simple. I value freedom and new experiences to such an extent that saying I dos to one country becomes merely impossible. My birthplace will always be dear to my heart and I gravitate towards it or anything resemblant greatly. My current residence suits my needs, brings me comfort and in many ways correlates to my new shaped mentality. However, today I can say with certainty that I am no country patriot. I do not believe in any nation being superior to the other and any country being better than the other. Just as people – they are all different and unique, fascinating in some realms and unattractive in others. Balance is the key.

Coming up:

Travel Diary WEEK ONE (Germany, Luxemburg, Netehrlands, France)

The architecture, the festivals, the humor – Deutschland ist sehr wunderbar! Days 8 & 9 – Frankfurt, Germany

The timing for this post could not be any better. Frankfurt finishes my last year 10-days Europe adventure and coincidentally (ta-da!) is the beginning of this year 6-weeks Europe road trip, which starts…tomorrow! Yes, I could not be more happy and excited than I am right now. I am going through my last year pictures and memories of Frankfurt and smiling at the thought that tomorrow I will wake up IN Frankfurt and will do it all over again. I am one lucky girl!

To be totally honest about it, Frankfurt is not “my” kind of city. It is a bit too dark, reserved and conservative for my liking. I prefer warm, cozy and charming little towns lost in the abundance of greenery, hills and valleys. I would not call Frankfurt beautiful either. It is versatile, for sure. Charismatic, without doubt. But not beautiful. Not picture perfect, or flawless. And with this teaspoon of salt I am off to lots and lots of tablespoons of sugar.

I began exploring the city with the Zeil – Frankfurt’s main pedestrian promenade and one of the most famous shopping streets in Germany. I did not go there to shop, rather to get the feel of the city, to people watch and to wander aimlessly and happily. I did all that and more. The Zeil offered entertainment and countless street performers at every square – musicians, dancers, singers, you name it. It was crowded with people, however, did not feel suffocating; on the contrary, I felt comfortable and welcomed.

Windows Stories - Photography Series - Germany, France

A window tells a story... This series gathers pictures of windows and windows details in an attempt to depict different personalities, moods and esthetics of people in Germany and France and their dwellings.

Last summer, traveling in Europe, I got obsessed with the variety, creativity, charm and beauty of windows designs and decorations. Here in the States, in the air conditioned heaven, people rarely keep windows open and I figured that might be the reason they are often neglected, underappreciated and hence look impersonal and alike. In Europe, on the contrary, windows are probably the most intriguing, detailed and ornamented part of buildings designs. They were not necessarily eye candies - there were plenty of weird and creepy ones, seedy and abandoned, but they looked so peculiar and off beat that I could not pass a single one without snapping a shot! Here are just a few of my hundreds of window pictures.

The architecture, the festivals, the humor – Deutschland ist sehr wunderbar! Day 7 – Speyer, Germany

Speyer was an unplanned adventure. We did not have an itinerary to follow; we did not google Speyer’s attractions and points of interest. Well, my sister did visit Speyer before so she had an idea of where to go and what to see, but we ended up exploring the city rather aimlessly anyways.

That day in Speyer reassured me over again of the importance of our ability to find happiness in simple things. We did not do much that day; neither did we see any magnificent architectural or natural wonders, outstanding masterpieces, or incredible performances that leave one short of breath.

Instead, we ate heavenly delicious 2 euro walnut ice-cream, climbed the Speyer Cathedral’s dome and enjoyed the views of the city, had fun at a random children’s playground, watched street artists and listened to street musicians, soaked up the sun. I had my very best meal in Europe – creamy mushroom crepes with green salad and apple cider at Tor Zur Pfalz café. We enjoyed this slow, relaxed day and felt happy. Well, I did for sure. And I hope my sister felt the same :-)

One thing I would like to mention about Speyer – each year on August 29-30 Medieval Fantasy Festival takes place in the Domgarten. It is considered to be the largest festival of the medieval culture in the world and hosts numerous music concerts, a Renaissance fair and jousting. When we learned about the festival, it was too late and we did not have enough time to attend, but we enjoyed watching the most intriguingly dressed crowds on the streets. Consider visiting this Speyer’s festival if you are in the area (30 min from Frankfurt) during those dates!

Happy Monday and thanks for reading! :-)

"Miami Colors" Photography Series

Despite the common belief Miami is not always sunny. It can be rainy and gloomy and even sad-looking at times. But even under the cover of clouds Miami is always full of color. It’s bright and bold both in the happening districts and in the abandoned backwaters. I feel very attached to diversified cut-loose Miami now, 10 years past my 10,755 km passage from staid and reserved Tomsk, Russia.

This small series of photographs is an attempt to capture Miami color palette with random (totally nonconceptual) shots on a not-so-hot-and-sunny day.

Superfood Smoothie # 9 - Sea Buckthorn Papaya Smoothie

Back in Russia sea buckthorn was nothing near exotic or rare as it is here in the States. It was actually one of the most common berry bushes being cultivated in gardens or growing in the wild. The sweet and sour, astringent taste of sea buckthorn is an instant nostalgia trigger, which brings back happy childhood memories. Needless to say that I love these berries!

Sea buckthorns are deciduous shrubs with orange berry-like fruits. The berries are very rich in oil and nutrients and even get called the “miracle berry”. They are used to make edible oil, juice, jams, teas and, of course, can be added to smoothies. Anything prepared with sea buckthorn is guaranteed to be extra delicious - take my word for it!

#9 Sea Buckthorn Papaya Smoothie

Sea Buckthorn

Almond Milk

Papaya

Banana

Oatmeal

Health Benefits:

Contains 10 times more vitamin C than oranges.
It is the 3rd highest source of vitamin E in the plant world.
Rich in essential fatty acids, Omega 3,6,9 and very rare Omega 7.
High concentration of antioxidants, all essential vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.
Fights irritation, promotes skin health, heals skin burns.
Heals gastric ulcers (It really does! Me and my father are living proof :)

This data comes from online research and serves solely as a short summary of the food's nutrition facts and estimated benefits.

More productive, conscious and mindful way of living challenge

It all started with a growing frustration over my idle habits and a desire to become a better person. To be better tomorrow than I was yesterday, a week ago, or one year ago. “Better” is rather arrogant word but it sort of summarizes all the points I am going to mention further, so I will use it for now.

I should probably start by describing my personality. An irrational 32-year old with an attention span of a monkey and a 1GB system memory in the era of 32GBs growing like mushrooms after the rain, I am one of those people who try to open their apartment door with their car keys, arrive at the airport at 12 am instead of 12 pm, stop in the middle of the road and then realize they ran out of gas... I forget things, confuse things and never finish things.

My imagination, on the contrary, rarely fails and during the course of a day I can live multiple exciting life scenarios in my imaginary world, where I am either an artist, or a musician, or a writer; where I travel the world and make a difference; where I succeed at any ventures. In reality, I hardly accomplish anything, jumping from one thing to another, being constantly late, procrastinating profusely and never keep up with my routine. My lists of to do things and resolutions are endless, hardly ever getting fulfilled. Why? Dreaming is fun and easy. Doing and accomplishing is hard, tedious and often frightening.

Superfood Smoothie #8 - Acai Cherry Smoothie

Acai is by far one of the most hyped superfoods of the moment, which existence “has been kept secret from most of the world for centuries”. The word “secret” is intriguing enough to lure most of us, but then there is a magic phrase “the ultimate superfood” and here we go – crowds of somnambulists are flocking Wholefoods stores searching for mysterious purple berries. Of course, I am one of them, sigh :)

#8 Acai Cherry Smoothie

Frozen Acai Puree

Frozen Cherry Puree

Banana

Water

Health Benefits:

12 Things to Do on a 2-Day Road Trip to Key West

Key West is my kind of laid-back paradise. Seedy and unpretentious but colorful and warmhearted, this tiny island has never failed to cheer up and entertain me. Salty-caramelized, hot and malleable with a twist of crazy – this is Key West life in my overly romanticized mind.

Key West completes a string of The Florida Keys tropical islands, being the states’ southernmost point and a famous spot for tourists from over the world. 3-4 hour scenic drive from Miami to Key West is a destination by itself, with lots of fun activities offered by Florida Keys on the way.

Being a Miami local for I-can't-believe-how-fast-time-flies 10 years, I've visited Key West religiously roughly once a year. I never lack reasons for yet another crazy getaway to my beloved island.

As I am sort of trying to keep up with the travel blog here (oh, naive naive me, thinking this would be an easy task), I figured I owe it to myself and to a few readers I've managed to attract (again poor poor me, hoping readership would be popping like popcorn if only I keep writing) to publish one of those "10 things to do..." posts about Key West.

Without further ado, here’s my suggested itinerary for your very best 2-day road trip adventure through the Florida Keys to Key West!

Bookworms: Monthly Readings, April

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Nausea, A Song of Ice and Fire

Books I read in April and my humble remarks:
Truman Capote "Breakfast at Tiffany's";
Jean-Paul Sartre "Nausea";
George Martin "A Game of Thrones" and "A Clash of kings".

Tea Infused and Fresh Juice Ice Cubes Skin Care

Being a tea addict and always searching for new recipes (especially the ones with outstanding health benefits) suddenly paid off in an unexpected way!

I’ve always known that ice cube therapy can do wonders on the skin and it is a very popular skin treatment among women in many cultures (including never aging Korean and Chinese women!J)

However, until my recent hunt for new tea recipes, it never occurred to me that ice cubes could be made with herbal and tea infusions! I was hooked instantly and made several trays of different herbal/tea infused ice cubes to give them a try.

The architecture, the festivals, the humor – Deutschland ist sehr wunderbar! Day 6 – Germersheim, Germany

Sometimes I think cities are just like people. Some of them are world celebrities, known and spoken of by everybody. They shine and sparkle in their glory. They have no secrets left. Crowds of fans (aka tourists) are their inevitable fate and privacy is long forgotten.

And then there are simple fellows who live their simple lives. Their names are unknown; their ways and paths are left alone. The only visitors are family and friends and tourism is an extraordinary phenomenon treated with sacral reverence.

I for one love those fellow cities. There is room for imagination and fantasy. Tripadvisor is helpless and the internet blushes with embarrassment returning a tiny Wikipedia article as its one and only search result. You are on your own, but isn’t it great? When the world is thoroughly traveled and infected with tourism plague, isn’t it amazing to find places where no tourist has ever set foot and you can pretend to be an explorer on a mission to make new discoveries?

Superfood Smoothie #7 - Soursop Coconut Smoothie

Superfood Soursop Coconut Smoothie Recipe

#7 Soursop Coconut Smoothie

Soursop Puree

Banana

Coconut Milk
Coconut Flakes
Ice Cubes

Superfood – Soursop (fruit with distinct sour sweet taste)

Health benefits:

Exploring Miami - Golden Beach Boulder Reef Snorkeling

Sometimes I forget I live in Miami. In daily routine I forget that the breathtaking turquoise ocean is just minutes away from my apartment. I forget how great it is to feel the waves with your bare feet, to inhale salty air and to enjoy the touch of hot sand on your skin… Days like yesterday bring so much joy and happiness and remind how lucky we are to live in such paradise!

What most people dream of having once a year during their two weeks’ vacations – we can have every day just a few steps away. Isn’t that amazing? I think so! Being originally from Siberia (yes, it is cold there, very Very cold), I’ve always had a dream of living somewhere in the South, with palm trees instead of pine trees and vines on the walls instead of icicles on the roofs. I guess my dream came true – I live in Miami and I love it here! Don’t get me wrong though – I love my home town Tomsk likewise. It’s just that kind of love which prefers a long distance relationship :)

Superfood Smoothie #6 - Hibiscus Strawberry Smoothie

Almond Superfood Hibiscus Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

#6 Hibiscus Strawberry Smoothie

Hibiscus tea (1 cup)

Strawberries

Frozen Banana
Pear
Almonds (tablespoon)
Honey (tea spoon)

Superfood – Almonds

Health benefits:

Almonds are the most nutritionally dense nuts making them a high protein snack with loads of nutrients!
High in protein and fiber and a good source of potassium, calcium, vitamin E, B-vitamins, magnesium, phosphorus and iron.
Research has shown that almonds might aid in weight loss, help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes, lower "bad" cholesterol and increase "good" cholesterol levels.

Bookworms: Monthly Readings, March

John Fowles, Ernest Hemingway, Tove Jansson, Ray Bradbury

I would like to devote the new series of posts called BOOKWORMS to BOOKS.

Books, you are exhilarating and intriguing, wise and silly, disheartening and inspiring, touching and revolting, funny and ironic – you are so AWESOME!

For the love of books! Amen! J

Books I read in March and my humble remarks:

Tea Obsession – Rosehip Tea Recipe

Rosehip Tea Recipe, Rosehip health benefits

I am adding a new obsession series to the blog – my tea obsession!

I’ve been drinking and loving tea for as long as I can remember, but that’s no surprise, really – Russians are fond of tea. That’s a cultural thingJ. Yet, only recently I’ve started collecting different kinds of tea, trying new recipes, researching benefits of various tea types and herbs…so it became an obsession beloved enough to get its place on the blog! Yay, I feel excited and can’t wait to share ALL my tea collection with you!

Today, I am drinking Rosehip Tea.

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