Starfish

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.

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