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Relishing the Radler!

corinne — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:28:08 +0000

A Radler is the result of true German ingenuity. From the love of beer comes a drink that only has half the alcohol content. It’s perfect for lunch or anytime before the 5:00 beer hour. A simple creation, the radler is half lemon lime soda and half beer. It can be found in any gasthaus, restaurant, or bar. Try it!

The Famous Chocolate Balls of Jan de Groot

corinne — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:00:39 +0000

Chocolade Bolletjes in S'Hertogenbosch

I was visiting a friend, and we went to the Netherlands to see some of both hers and my old stomping grounds. She took me to S’Hertogenbosch or just “Den Bos” to locals where her family has a long history. Most of her ancestors had been bakers and one famous guy, Jan De Groot, apparently came up with a recipe for a chocolate ball pastry which became all the rage. Jan de Groot created the chocolade bolletje around the 1930, and the recipe has been handed down carefully from generation to generation, so now only a few bakers in town really know how to make the “real thing.”

Her grandfather’s bakery still exists across the street from the railroad station, and it is a very popular stop for locals and tourists alike. We happened to go there, though, on a Sunday and it was closed. I was so dissappointed, because I’d had my hopes up for one of these delicacies.

Not to let it put a damper on our day, we headed down to the city center to wander around. As we were headed to the main square, there was an open bakery that boasted “Chocolate Balls in the style of Jan de Groot.” You see the baker wasn’t related to the famous Jan at all, but had bought one of his relative’s bakeries, and along with it the recipe. He swore up and down that you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between those balls and the ones across from the train station. We just had to take his word for it, and by golly, they were the best balls I’d ever eaten! A sinful four to five inches in diameter, it’s basically a huge round cream puff filled with the most decadent thick cream imaginable with a gentle chocolate glaze surrounding it all. We had one with a cup of coffee, just like every other customer in the joint – no exceptions, and it was heaven!

As we engaged our host, interrogated might be closer to the truth, we found out a little more scandalous family history as well as heard all about how the town bakers had had an all out turf wars over certain famous recipes, in which the balls were only one. He was kept us laughing throughout our short stop, then sold us a sample of one of the other famous recipes that had been bought from the original descendent of Jan de Groot, a farmer’s cake (Bossche Bouwer’s Koeken). Somewhere between a fruit cake and a dense nut bread, you could see plenty of hungry Dutchmen tackling this baby.

Day-tripping to Chios

corinne — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:00:56 +0000

One of the great things about living in Turkey is that it is almost entirely surrounded by water. Where there is water, there are ferries to interesting places. Along the western coast, many of these ferries goo to Greek islands. Last year we took one to Rhodes, and this year we tried the small island of Chios.

To get there we drove to the coastal city of Cesme and paid a mere 40 Euros for the return ticket for that one day. The only frustrating thing was that we didn’t know to fight to get to the front of the passport control line and we were behind many Turks. The Greeks have to hand-input all of the Turks’ information and this took up some of our precious time.

The rest of the island is well set up for a day trip. We walked straight to a car rental place and rented one for the remainder of the day. The lady even marked out the route we should take to get the most out of one day. She was right, next time I would at least spend a weekend there. One day really is not enough.

Our first stop was the Nea Moni Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed in 1990) along with two other monasteries from the same period and style. It’s a good thing we started here, too, as the monastery closes at 1:00 PM each day. We had about forty minutes to do the entire complex, which included the church and a small museum.

I love hearing how the monks decided on where to build a new monastery. For Nea Moni, three monks were looking for a new site to build upon when they discovered an icon of the Virgin Mary on a bush. The icon is now located in the museum along with at least one copy. Constantine, himself, footed the bill after he was named emperor according to one of the monk’s predictions. Because of its lofty beginnings and favors, Nea Moni became one of the riches monasteries in Greece.

Evidence of this can be found inside the church where the background of the many mosaics is painted in gold. Some of the mosaics were very complete where others have been badly damaged, either from the Ottoman take-over or the earthquake that followed.

Apparently the battle of Chios was extremely bloody. One of the rooms inside the church has a glass cupboard displaying skulls and bones from some of the victims.

After the monastery, we drove to Lithio, where we ate lunch and swam in the warm water. Along the beachfront were many restaurants, and we had our obligatory calamari. Calamari, in Greece, is the whole squid cleaned and cut into slices, lightly battered and fried. The tentacles are delicious, but you must remember to not swallow some of the cartilage, like the beak.

After swimming, we didn’t have much time, so we high-tailed it back to the rental car agency. The girl had said she would be there to collect the car, but it was siesta time and the shop was closed up tight. We had just a few minutes before our ferry was supposed to launch when she showed up, got in a fight with a parking policeman, and delivered us to the port. A heart-pumping end to a relaxing day on just another Greek island.

Gawking at Icons and Frescoes in Thessalonika

corinne — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 08:00:12 +0000

You cannot, no matter what all the guide books say, do Thessaloniki in one day. We were there on a Monday, and therefore none of the museums were open. All we did was visit the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of the city, which were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

So we walked and walked around looking at all of the Byzantine Churches dating back to the 13^th century. I’m not sure how many there are, but we visited about five in a few hours. They are spread throughout the city, and all of them have their own character and personality (along with the caretakers).

There are Byzantine churches all over Greece and Bulgaria, and it doesn’t take long to recognize them. They are usually not very large, compactly built with brick. The arches are rounded and above the windows and doors there is some type of brick or glass filigree to decorate it. Some of the larger churches won’t necessarily follow this design, but almost all the smaller ones do. (In Bulgaria, the city of Nessebar has many of them strewn around the city as well.)

The first church we visited was the ___ church. We were welcomed by the caretaker with candy, and she let us take our time and as many photos as possible. This kind of ruined us for the rest of the day, when the caretakers were a little less than friendly.

One of our favorite churches was what we liked to call the “crooked” church, because it was nestled in between a couple of apartment blocks on the corner of a busy street, and it obviously wasn’t on the same level angle as the buildings around it. It was the smallest church that we visited and it had only a few gorgeous frescoes and icons.

We also visited the Hagios Demetrios , which has built a special rotunda just to hold the disputed remains of St. Demetrius himself. The remains are purported to be authenticated after they began to seep myrrh from some of the bones. People line up single file to enter the chapel where they go in individually to kiss the icons and pray. St. Demetrius is one of the saints of soldiers and ranks up there with St. George.

Last on the list was the Hagia Sophia, named after her larger and more famous cousin in Istanbul. Since Thessonaliki was the second most important city in the Byzantine empire, it was only natural to build such a church. The church does not disappoint. It has beautiful golden chandeliers molded in the shapes of birds, beautiful frescoes and icons that shine through its dark interior.

Walking to and through all of the churches we could handle in one day was exhausting, but we did find a great little sandwich shop and baker in the center of the city, called Ble, which I would recommend. I would have written a pretty nice review on it, but they wouldn’t let me take photos, so that was the end of that. (It was located across the street from the crooked church).

Driving to Thessaloniki

corinne — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:59:23 +0000

As per our usual, we rented a car to drive to the few places that we had on our itinerary. Greece has both large roads in pretty good condition (most of which you have to pay a toll) and small roads that wind up and down large mountains with exceptional scenery. Even though we would rather stay on a road with a view, we always have to take into consideration how much time we have as well, so we normally do both.

As far as driving goes, we were impressed that lane lines were obeyed and there was minimal jockeying for position. We did see a number of people speed through red lights, usually close to taking out a few pedestrians, and others honking for you to go at the end of a red light. Other than that, the drivers seemed pretty well trained.

The one oddity we noticed was on the highway. For some reason, parts of the toll road go down to two lanes for two directions. During these stretches, cars would drive on the shoulder in order to stay out of the way of faster traffic. I think the country should add a couple of lanes, but it was awfully considerate of the drivers, don’t you think?

We drove from Delphi to Thessaloniki and on the way we pulled off for a swim and lunch at a random beach. How did we choose where to stop? We pulled over to take a photo of an old fortress and followed the signs to the beach. It all worked out beautifully, and we found a beach where I think we were the only foreigners.

Thessaloniki is a sprawling city, founded in 315 BC and named after Alexander the Great’s half-sister. Thankfully the road takes you right down to the water’s edge and an ocean promenade. There are many cafes and bars, and a little inland the city plays host to many hotels and hostels. We stayed at a pricey three star hotel that really isn’t worth mentioning, except that we just couldn’t seem to find anything better without cutting off an arm or two to throw into the cash register.

There are two reasons that Thessaloniki was on our list. The first is that Ataturk, the father of Turkey, was born here. During Ottoman times, many Turks called Salonika their home. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit his home as it is located within the Turkish Consulate which was closed. After 1923, when Turkey won its independence, there was a migration of Greeks back to Greece, and Turks back to Turkey–I don’t know if there are many Turks left in the city today. The other reason was the abundance of Byzantine churces, which I will write about in my next post.

As we walked around town, we immediately recognized the White Tower, the current day symbol of the city. Built by the Ottomans in the early to mid-1400′s to help fortify the city, it was later used as a prison and was the scene of a bloody massacre. After the massacre, it was called the Red Tower, but after the Greeks had an independent state, they white-washed it and changed its name.

We walked around the city just like its inhabitants and had snacks and drinks. No one was having much else, because the people are still reeling from the horrible recession they have been living through. We did try a snack that basically was a Mille Feuille or Napolean in a waffle cone. It was a very sweet custard ladled into a cone, covered with a sugar glaze.

Searching for the Oracle of Delphi

corinne — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:00:08 +0000

: Temple of Apollo

The Temple of Apollo on Mt. Parnassus was revered in ancient times as the place to come, make a significant sacrifice, confer with the oracle, and reap your rewards. Many influential citizens of the time did just that, and the Delphi is mentioned over and over in history. We came not knowing what to expect, but looking for a few things: one- the oracle or some tales of the oracles and what they did and predicted and two-King Midas’ throne. Supposedly he had made his way to Delphi and gave a very handsome and expensive throne to Apollo. The museum only briefly mentions Midas, and we were highly dissappointed about that.

The archaelogical site, however, was far from dissappointing. We spent a couple of hours climbing among the temple, theater, stadium, and whatever else. It was a pretty spread out place. In my mind, it should have been very small, with an eerie countenance, but instead you could tell it was a thriving and wealthy metropolis. Like all the other Greek museums we’d been to, this one was fantastic. Placards in English, explained the findings, history, and myths of the city. Fascinating. For a UNESCO World Heritage site, there were not as many people there as I would have expected. A few coach tours came through, but the site was more than large enough to accommodate everyone without it being at all annoying.

Delphi the town was also one of our favorite stops. It is small, with only a few pensions and one big hotel. Most tourists only come for the day on a bus tour and few actually spend the night. After the tour buses went home, we had a quiet dinner with a gorgeous vista. With grapevines lining the window, we saw the sunset on the olive groves and the ocean in the background. I must mention here, that Greek wine is pretty good, and the waiter at our restaurant very willing to ply us with it until almost midnight.

Ancient Rocks and Even More Ancient Rockers…in Athens!

corinne — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:00:01 +0000

A major stop on any Meditteranean cruise itinerary, Athens still retains its charm while throngs of sweating tourists invade it on a daily basis. There is so much to see here, that a couple of days, let alone a couple of hours off of the ship just aren’t going to cut it.

We started our time here happy to be able to take an easy and cheap bus ride to the center of the city, or specifically to Syntagma Square. It’s the last stop and the cost of the ticket was only 3.20 Euros. Many of the sights and hotels are found in that area, so once there we could walk to just about everywhere. There is also a great metro system that will take you to things a little more far-flung.

Like every other tourist in Athens, we wanted to be ready for the famous changing of the guard cermeony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (everyday at 11:00 am). There was a small crowd who took turns having their photos taken with the not-by-accident, attractive guards, then the show began. For the next ten minutes, the audience was awed by the high-kicking, toe-touching synchronization of the ceremony. It was well worth it. My favorite part was when the guards’ supervisor wiped the sweat off of their brows when it was all over. I was schwetzing, and all I did was push a button on my camera. Where was my complimentary refreshing wipe?

Next, just like everyone else, we headed straight for the Acropolis. It was hot and steamy 97 degrees Fahrenheit, so needless to say we were a bit ripe as we climbed. It seemed that there were no less than 50,000 tourists climbing that hill. All of them trying to wrestle you for the best photograph spot. Although the site self-proclaims that it is the “most important site in the world,” and it was impressive, dealing with hordes of tourists on a hot, summer day is not my idea of fun. On top of that the area was, and probably always is, under reconstruction. There were cranes and other machines everywhere. I quickly developed a love-hate or awestruck-annoyed attitude towards the place. Was it awesome? Yes. Was it beautiful? Yes. Is the fact that Socrates and other notables live there impressive? Yes. Would I go again during cruise boat and tourist season? Hell no! (Seriously, you’d think I’d know better.)

Cutting through my whining, I did enjoy the Acropolis, and now we had to hike around and get the most out of our combination ticket (12 Euros per person for six famous sights). On to the agora and the Temple of Hephaestus. Inside the completely rebuilt agora was a fantastic museum, with humorous stories and really fun to read info. The best was how ancient Greece had the first “vote them off the island” system. To get rid of someone, probably your political opponent, was to have as many people as possible scratch his name on a shard of ceramic; enough votes and wham! He’s out of there!

We walked completely around that hill that day, marveling and sweating, sweating and marveling. We took in Hadrian’s library, the Temple of Zeus, and the Roman agora and were rightly impressed at every step of the way. However the highlight, and I mean after the what? PORK gyros! The highlight was our getting to talk to the bass guitarist, albeit very shortly, from Metallica! Yes, the band! Too cool, right? Although, I can’t promise you that Robert Trujillo, Metallica‘s newest bass guitarist will be there, the marketplace in Athens is a happening place.

Time-Lapse China

corinne — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:22:33 +0000

One of the reasons I think people travel, is to get out of their comfort zone. There is no place better to do this than China. I’ve been to China on numerous occasions, and it has never failed to show me something new and exotic. Very much like the U.S., China is so big that you cannot really get a sense of it unless you travel further than just Beijing. Like in most capital cities, Beijing is crowded, busy, and used to seeing foreigners. There is plenty to see and do there, but getting out and meeting the people will make all the difference in a trip.

The first time I went to China was summer of 2003. I went with my two teenage daughters, and really had to do some travel soul-searching beforehand trying to determine whether or not I should take a tour to this scary communist country. Three females traveling alone, without much of an itinerary, playing it by feel, or taking the easy route and have someone else do all of my planning; I argued both sides for a couple of days before realizing that stopping longer at the cloisonne factory than at the Temple of Sun would just about kill me. We delved into the unknown once again and booked our tickets. We stayed in Beijing for a week, then onto Xian for four days. We liked it so much that we’ve been back a number of times to other parts of the country, but there is still so much more to see.

We wouldn’t be the tourists we are unless we visited as many tourist sights as we could in the time allotted, and for the most part China does not dissappoint. The temples are ornately decorated, well-attended, and serene. The museums exhibits are large, interesting, and usually have English placards. The Great Wall is, well, great! We didn’t go to the busier site, Badaling, but instead to Mutianyu. You can definitley get a feeling of the length and impact a wall like this would have on an enemy. Hiking the wall will keep you in good shape as well. The shopping is a blast. There are plenty of opportunities to make a good deal. Buying pearls, shoes, knock-offs, food, just about anything is a way to hone our bartering skills. I think we did pretty good, too. So, as a tourist destination, it’s a must.

China-isms that made an impact on us:

1. Taxi drivers. They can be a challenge in just about any country, more so before they started putting GPS systems in cabs, but no taxi drivers can compare with those in China. We had one who refused to take us where we were going. We had numerous ones that just like the Amazing Race were empty, but didn’t stop to pick us up. We had some that took us only so far towards our destination, then kicked us out. And we had many that not only didn’t understand our English (this I can forgive), but could not make heads or tails out of the tourist maps with pictures of the sights that we wanted to see. I’m not kidding. We would pull out our trusty map, point to something like the Summer Palace, and the taxi driver would suck in his teeth and rock his head back and forth making a huge show out of how hard it was to understand us. We also had many, whether they spoke English or not, laughed with us and tried to do as much as they could to help us out.

2. Foot massages. You often hear about the excruciating foot massage. I’ve had a few; in fact, I search them out as often as I can. I love them! One time, we were ushered into a room and given green tea and cherry tomatoes to snack on while a Chinese rendition of Beauty and the Beast was on TV. The attendants came in as a well-trained army to take us on. At one point, after much conferring and intakes of raspy breaths, I was informed of the “bad things” on my feet. Would I like them to use a (very scary, handmade, Neanderthal-looking) knife to fix it? Um, no. They pleaded, and swore it wouldn’t hurt. I buckled. It didn’t (hurt) and my feet were much more soft and supple than they had been for years. Another time, after our foot massage, we were laid down on a massage table and for the feng shui of it, got watch our very own goldfish swimming under the table and they beat us to a pulp. I love it!

3. People as numbers, not names. While traveling, we try to be as friendly and open to people as we can, especially wait staff or hotel staff, people that we easily come in contact with. At one cafe, we were enjoying a cup of coffee and started talking to the waitress. We tried to read her “name” tag, but could not figure it out. It only had a number 18 on it. We asked her what it was and she said that all workers went by numbers, not names. We started looking around and found that everyone was “tagged” with a number. How sad.

4. Food. Chinese cuisine is touted to be one of the best in the world. There are all types of regional dishes as well as a long list of food items that I would never have thought to include in my kitchen reperatoire. We tried many new things, but the food we enjoyed the most was Peking Duck. All over the city, there are restaurants and hotels that specialize in it. It was an amazing experience, watching the cook cut and prepare the bird at our table, then show us how to eat it. Delicous!

5. The love of red bean paste. After living in Japan, we were well-versed on red bean paste as a sweet. I’ve never really been a fan, but I don’t have an aversion to it either. One of our best experiences was in Xian where, after having run out of tourist sights, we girls decided to get pedicures. In the beauty shop we met two college professors and their daughters. Only one of them spoke English, but we spent the next few hours having a great time discussing children, education and the differences in our two systems. At one point the non-English speaker ran out of the shop and came back about five minutes later proudly offering us red bean popsicles. She had gone to so much trouble! Yes, we ate them.

5. Pollution. It has gotten worse and worse. Over the five year span that I had been visiting China, I was also living in Korea for most of that time. Both places have a very big pollution problem. Call it “yellow dust” or “Gobi dust” or whatever; it is pollution. On most days, you cannot see any color in the sky, and some days it is a disgusting yellow turning to brown. It just can’t be healthy. I have also seen numerous television broadcasts and newspaper articles about the pollution. I think they know they have to do something, but is it too late? I really hope they can get this fixed…and in the not-too-distant future.