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!

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.

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 =)

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

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

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.

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.