finding waldo

Cookng class and a Famous Dog...and we went to Asia!

12/15/2015

Taking a cooking class while traveling is fun. Really. It is a great way to meet people, to dive into a culture, to "get your hands dirty." We have taken classes in several cities that we have travelled to over the years. Oaxaca, Santa Fe, New Orleans, San Juan and now we can add Istanbul to that list. It has been a great way to learn a bit of the cultue and learn a skill set we can hopefully take home and recreate.

The Grand Bazaar & the Spice Bazaar, can't remember which this is, both are feasts for the senses and just a little scary. Turkish vendors are very good at selling and just a little pushy!

The Spice Shop we visited. Brother & sister running the ancient family business.

Oh how we wanted to bring it all home! Teas, spices, dried fruit- we only bought a few spice blends to hopefully recreate some of the flavors of Istanbul at home.

We met our guide at the entrance to the Spice Bazaar. What a WONDERFUL place- the sites, the aromas, the endless possibilities! It was truely a place for all of the senses. We went straight to the stall run by the 5th generation of the same family (the newest generation all American educated). The stall is somewhat famous and lots of celebrity chefs pop in (they have a photo wall to prove it!). At the spice shop we smelled and tasted and learned a lot. We were also served our first cup of Turkish tea. It was a great experience. We were joined by another American couple for the class.

Darla, the "kitchen fairy," was from Georgia (the country) and spoke several languages....but only "kitchen Englih." She communicated just fine and seemed to like David a lot!

Selin, the boss of this kitchen, showing David how to roll the dolma. Dolma means wrpped or rolled, these dolma were made of Swiss Chard and stiffed with ground beef and spices.

After the bazaar we took a ferry across the Bosphorous Straight to the Asia side of Turkey and after a wild cab ride we were there! Intoductions were made (turns out the lady who met us at the market was the junior partner) including the introduction of YoYo, the famous Jack Russell Terrior. YoYo is in commercials in Turkey for enegy drinks (kind of like th Taco Bell dog from years ago)
Selin owns the home and is the real boss of the kitchen. She talked us through 5 or 6 dishes, talking about the ingredients, history and technique. The time flew by as we cook and nibbled on cheese and olives. We ended the day with a feast! (and YoYo did some tricks!)

Photo from the Galata Bridge. The mosques were quite beautiful. Some were run like houses of worship, some like businesses. Some were nicer to visitors than others.

Baklava, although no one really knows the origins of this sticky delight- the Tukish people know how to make it well! Isn't it beautiful?

Photo from the Galata Bridge looking at the Asia side of Istanbul. Istanbul is so big- estimated 21 million people live there. Best described as a house of cards. Everything looks like it might fall down!

We really enjoyed our time in Istanbul, although it did rain EVERY day. It was fascinating to see and experience totally new thngs. I sure hope one day to return!

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Managing Expectations

11/21/2015

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Bucharest, Romania -an unexpected delight. Palace of the Parliament , largest administrative building in the world built by Ceausescu, but finished after communism fell. Nadia Comaneci was married here.

Managing expectations is a great life skill. It's the key to good relationships, good working environments and happy holidays. It is a tremendous tool for traveling as well.
I think I'm okay at it. At least I am okay at trying to put on a brave face and alter my attitude, even if expectations weren't met. Having two people on the journey sure helps, we can take turns being the encourager when needed or we can decide together to have to call it a day and have dessert for dinner!

Transfagarasan Road also known as Ceaucescu's Folly crosses the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. When we finally got the the top of the mountain it was foggy, what a disappointment! Then we rounded to the opposite side just in time for the sun to set!

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the local market. These are pickling jars in a Romanian market. And they make fruit brandy as well. We saw a bottle filling machine that was dispensing fresh milk instead of water! Totally unexpected!

We had fall break in October, ten days free travel. We booked a six day tour of Romania before leaving home and had no real idea what to expect. For me, the overall trip was better than I could have imagined. Our tour guide, George, picked us up from the airport and drove us from site to site teaching us the history of his country George was knowledgable, friendly and easy to listen to. He was patient with David's photo stops and my pit stops! He made us want to learn more about Romania. I somehow expected more from certain things- but overall it was an amazing trip. We went at the perfect time of year as well.

Sibiu, Romania from one of the towers.

Hunedoara Castle in Transylvania. A beautiful castle that communism nearly destroyed. The beautiful surrounding hills are full of abandoned factories built From the 50s-80s. Very ugly and quite sad.

Brasov, Romania where the legend of the Pied Piper originated. In another guild tower overlooking the town.

George gave us the opportunity to do things that we would otherwise not have done on our own. We went to dinner cooked by a local who cooked traditional dishes. We had the pleasure of visiting a gypsie or Roma family whose trade was coppersmithing. We met an artist, and a carpet weaver using old Saxon patterns from medieval times.

Our dinner "with a local" turned out more like a cozy restaurant. It was good , traditional food but our hostess served us instead of joining us.

The Roma family we met. Part of the Caldarar family who proudly work making household things out of copper. A labor intensive job with poor pay.

Then wrote weaver showing David how to spin yarn. She starts with the raw material, uses natural dyes - the process sounded like it took forever. Her carpets were beautiful.

Although some high expectations can be met, it's better to do your "homework" and hope for the best. Homework for me, is usually reading through a guidebook or looking things up online. The fact is with our Romania trip, I really didn't do any homework and had some high expectations. Some things worked out better that expected and some things fell a little short. That being said, I would wholeheartedly recommend a tour of Romania (and a guide book).

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Culture Clash

11/5/2015

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I feel I have to apologize, especially to my editor (sorry Randy!). Just re-read some of the blog, and it could use some help! In my defense, the internet is very spotty- lets back up- first off I am the one using the technology (enough said?), then there is the bad internet connection, and maybe most frustrating- I have this blue tooth keyboard that cannot keep up with my typing. So, I write, accidentally delete (routinely), rewrite, get frustrated, stop for awhile, forget all of the brilliant things I was going to write (if only you knew how brilliant this blog really was!) and in the end - spell tings wrong and leave out words! I am really hoping the old saying holds true- "A picture is worth 1,000 words." So, please forgive me! Here are some photos. (Can I add that all of the photos, except the selfies, are mine- a great view and a modern, easy-to-use camera are the key! For better photos see David's blog ddubphotog.weebly.com)

Culture Shock. I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Culture isn't something I think about unless I am somewhere else, experiencing something different. Our daily lives are chock-full of culture and we never realize it -- unless we get uncomfortable (can someone say standard toilet or air conditioning?). I've come to the conclusion that "culture" is what we are accustomed to on a daily basis. I know, I am a genius! (haha) There are religious customs to consider too.
It seems on these Study Abroad trips thee are two "camps" when it comes to culture shock. We have those who cannot let go of American culture and others who embrace the culture of our new "home" so tightly that American customs are all "bad" (except the toilets and AC). I guess I am somewhere in the middle.
Funny thing is, that with a group as large as ours (37 students and 6 "grown-ups") there are culture differences within our own walls. We come from different areas of the country, different church styles and with many different attitudes about all sorts of things. There are many here from the DEEP south- some days I feel like if one more of the boys calls me "ma'am" I might just scream. I know they are taught to do that and that it is polite and I have to look at it that way, although I don't love it. (that is just a small example :) )

I thought I would share a few of the culture shock moments that I found interesting. I don't share these to judge or make fun, but I know I found them interesting and thought you might too.
Public transportation is a normal staple for most people in big cities. It is still somehow shocking to see kids as young as 6 riding the trams or trains by themselves. It is even more fun to see a class field trip. (The funny thing is that when we travel as a big group we have the students count off. When we saw this class of maybe 3rd graders get off the subway- they just kept on going- no counting. that struck me funny.)
People love their dogs here. Love. Them. They go everywhere. They have public transportation tickets for them -- the dogs. Big ones, small ones. To the museum, to the grocery store, up the escalators. They have loops outside of some stores (where dogs aren't allowed) where people park their dogs. The dogs are very well behaved. The weirdest (to me) thing I saw was a lady pushing a beautiful baby girl in a stroller and walking her tiny dog. She parked the stroller and took the dog inside the store! I still can't believe it!
Vienna is a walking city- well, walking and public transportation. With that come its own customs. Everyone, I mean everyone is carrying something. Carrying a backpack isn't really unusual or just for students. I saw a jogger with a backpack on. Men carry bags, we can stop short of calling them purses. 😉 Walking is tiring and sometimes boring- so it is not unusual to see people rolling- skates, skateboards, scooter are really popular. And I mean people- old young, dressed for work or play. The oddest thing to see - and we see it a lot -- is a woman my age, dressed for work zooming through the subway station on a scooter (with her backpack!). Some days I wish I had a scooter!
Last thing I will tell you about is the toilets. First off, when asking for a 'restroom' or 'bathroom' people (who speak English) don't understand. You have to say "toilet?" When you find the 'toilet' you are now faced with a new culture shock - paying to use it! Also, there are no standard toilets here, no regular models. So there is no telling what will be behind the door! There have a great innovation (I think it's rather old) - there are two flush buttons- big flush, little flush (you know why)- great idea.
OK, so there are lots of little differences, big ones too. It is exciting to figure things out along the way. There are many similarities as well. Grandparents are watching the kids, teens are the rowdy ones in the crowd, ladies are wearing leggings as pants, everyone loves a good cup of coffee-- it's fun to see the similarities too.

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Poland

10/30/2015

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We went to Poland. I am not sure really what I was expecting. I know we planned to go to Auschwitz, and I knew that wouldn't really be fun but that it would be historical, important and interesting. If you can say that. I wasn't expecting much of Krakow in particular.

We were pleasantly surprised by the sites and food in Poland. the Old Town in Krakow was really picturesque and active. There was a castle to visit with a myth about a fire-breathing dragon complete with deep, dark cavern to wander through. the handcrafts there are very nice, although like a lot of Europe you have to wade through the "touristy" stuff to find the gems. I added 2 bells to my new collection - one with a dragon (I just had to) and one that was handmade by a blacksmith (at least that's what he told me).

We ate great food. Homey, comfort food that was very inexpensive. We found a festival outside and decided that was a great place for dinner. We even found our new favorite treat - Tredelnik (see previous post of Czech Republic) although they called them "chimney cakes" here.

We went to the Schindler Museum and Auschwitz and Birkenau with the students. We had guided tours for both which was helpful. It was a somber experience. the tragedies are made real. It is a strange irony that this is a "tourist destination" and that people pay to see it and therefore Poland has to pay to maintain it. It is important and difficult.

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The View from Here: Our Neighborhood

10/16/2015

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We live in a great neighborhood. We are not far from the heart of the city where all of the main tourism is. We are really a short 20 minute walk or hop on the UBahn and it will take less than 10! The neighborhood has a main church that is currently under renovation on the inside, but the grounds are used for pop-up markets or soccer games with the kids. The church is that pretty yellow that so building are here- it is right on the end of our street and welcomes us down the street as we head home. We also have two grocery stores, two bakeries, coffee shop, soup shop, yarn shop, chocolate store (where they make the chocolate in the window), a "werkhaus" (which sounds scary but is a shop of homemade arts and crafts!), flower shop, many cafes, a bar where the patrons only get loud on "football" night, many parks, lots of families and kids. It feels like home.

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Croatia Mission Trip to Varazdin

10/16/2015

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The OC students were given the opportunity to participate in missions while on the study abroad trip. There were two mission weekends to various cities not to far from Vienna, and "Mission Vienna" on Tuesday where the students participate in a variety of activities here. David and I chose to participate in a mission weekend and we went to Varazdin, Croatia. The pronunciation of this town's name was a subject of debate even among the Croatians, but it's not said like you would think- it's more like "varshj- eh-din." The shj is similar to the 'g' in vegitables and then 'eh' is barely audible. I couldn't remember how to say the name of the town, but I did learn how to say "dobar dan!" Which means good day - and I said it to anyone who would listen.

We went to a day care facility for people with special needs and sang for them, then invited them to sing with us. We did the hokey pokey and other silly songs. It was a hit with all of us! on Saturday the missionary couple made us breakfast then we handed out fliers. We worked with the youth of the congregation that evening
and we put on another concert - that is what our hosts kept calling it. We sang some songs and invited them to sing with us, not the hokey pokey though.
Our hosts were so kind. Mladin is there minister and he told us about his conversion at the time of the war. Mateja is their church secretary, she was with us a lot of them time, she is a new convert that had taken English lessons at the church building. Trevor and his wife, Kayla were the mission couple from Texas working with the church, specifically the teens.
We enjoyed worshipping with them on Sunday. David brought the lesson and Mladin translated. I introduced myself to a woman and She took my hand and said, "I am your sister." What a blessing!
A bonus of the whole weekend was that Varazdin is a quaint little town that was fun to explore.

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View from Here: Prague, Czech Republic

10/6/2015

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We went to Prague (Praha) by train on September 24 and stayed for the weekend. Beautiful city, great weekend!

St. Nicholas Cathedral. We climbed the tower of this church to see the views of the city of spires. You can see the red tiled roofs and the cables for all of the trams.

This was the view from the St Nicholas tower around dusk. Unlike a lot of cities in Europe, Prague was fairly unimportant in WWII and was spared a lot of the distruction. The buildings seemed a lot taller to me than in Vienna, where nothining (in the city center) can be taller than the spire of Stephansdom.

St. Vitus Cathedral on the hill with the castle. It is very interesting to look at far away, but up close- it is massive and to me, seems to have many different personalities. On the outside alone there were beautiful mosaics, ugly, almost scary gargoils and heavilly carved historic doors. Really interesting.

The Astronomical Clock. There were so many tourists in Prague! The square where this clock is was really crowded as was the Charles Bridge. But I am so glas we got to see this beautiful city again!

The Pinkas Synagogue in the Jewish Quarter is now a memorial to over 77,000 Jews from Prague and nearby villages who were killed in the Holocaust. The family name is in red- individual names and dates come after. Village names are in gold. We also saw the old Jewish Cemetery in Prague which was fascinating.

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Art

10/6/2015

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In Europe, ART is everywhere. It is old. It is new. It is original or remade. It is in the architecture, in the gardens, the window boxes. It is in the signs over the doors and even in the way the veggies or flowers are arranged for sale. There are a lot of pretty things to look at here. Well, some may be more fascinating than "pretty."

It can take us a while to get from here to there- there are so many things to distract us in-between! On our way to lunch: we make plan, know our route and head out. Getting off the U Bahn (subway) we notice a church we have never seen, a statue, fountain or maybe even tents that have popped up over night. We have to go in the church and when we do, we find a beautiful mosaic replica of The Last Supper; we stop by to photograph the fountain and ponder the statue; we investigate the tents- something fun going on this weekend. We get to lunch by 2! This happens pretty much daily. There is a lot look at, to investgate--- not to miss!

As I look around I realize that art is in so many details. I wonder about the original purpose of the building. I wonder about the artist who painstakingly carved, sculpted or painted. Some of the time the artist or architect is well known - you can look them or their works up on Wikipedia even. Most of the art here is un-famous, inconsequential and unsigned -- made by craftsmen to complete the look of a building or a church.

This wood carving is in the church on the corner near Das Millicanhaus.

I wonder about those craftsmen. I imagine they took pride in their work, lucky to be contributing to this church or that rich man's home. Did they walk by the finished product and smile knowingly? Did they imagine someone 150 years later would still see their handiwork?
There are lots of people (men, scantily clad women, angel babies) holding up buildings. There are lots of heads above windows. In the churches there are dozens of paintings, carvings-- even the wooden pews are artistically made. It all pleases me and makes me wonder....

Modern art in the form of Grafitti. We are one block from the Danube Canal, all along the canal the sides are painted with grafitti- ever changing modern art.

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The View from Here....

9/22/2015

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While traveling it's fun and important to try the local food. Here are some photos of a great food find!

May have to look this one up on line! It was delicious!

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Someplace New

9/22/2015

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Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic. nestled in the Vltava River. /see that ramp down there on the other side of the river? that's our B& B!

Not sure how much better we're getting at "selfies." On one of the dozens of bridges in the town.

This is the view we had eating breakfast on th terrace ! I thanked our host for providing the balloons.

The colorful tower of Cesky Krumlov. We went up for a breath-taking view of the town and the river that snakes through it.

We went someplace new this past weekend, Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic. It is fun to revisit places we've already been and to discover "new" things, but a new place is a whole new adventure! Actually, construction of the Cesky Krumlov (CK) castle started in the 13th century, so not new at all-- just new to us!
This town has an interesting history that includes emperors, nazis, gypsies (Roma) and communists. It is tucked into two horseshoe bends in the Vltava River, which also runs through it's larger sister city, Prague.
We originally wanted to go to Prague over the weekend but it was a short weekend and we would like to spend more time in Prague. We did some homework, chose CK and were able to book a Bed & Breakfast without too much trouble.
Since CK is a small town the trains are not direct or fast. We took three trains and the last conductor told us (with no Emglish) to get off the train and get on a bus. On the bus we wound our way to CK in the dark and finally made it to the train station in CK. (Later found out that the tracks are under construction.) We walked through the sleepy town on cobbled streets around 10 pm. Even in the dark we could tell this was going to be a great weekend in a quaint town!
I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story....

David on the "triple-decker" bridge over looking the town and St. Vitus Cathedral.

The Cesky Krumlov Tower. I took this photo using the "pop-art" setting on my camera. A happy accident. It was went from cloudy to sunny the whole weekend we were there. so we got a variety of photos.