New Zealand #6 -- Valentines's Day
Happy Birthday Eleanor!
I didn't get time last nite to tell you about the glowworms. The female fly lays about 120 eggs. When they hatch the larvae eat each other so only about 20% survive. They build a nest on the ceiling of the cave and put down a bunch of sticky lines with which they trap insects. They draw them up and eat them. They are only 3mm long when young but still emit a visable light. They live 9 months and become the size of a matchstick. When they turn into the adult fly, they have no mouth so die of starvation shortly after mating. They fall into the water below where the trout, eels, crayfish, etc gobble them up. This stream is also how their food, the insects, gets into the caves in the first place.
It's mind boggling looking at the stalactites and stalagmites and being told it takes 100 years for 1 cubic cm to form. The river flowing through is the Waitomo which means "Water entering a hole in the ground". One fun thing to do would be to take their tour through an underground stream in an inner tube.
New Zealand certainly has fun things to do. Eg saw an ad on TV last night for some of these things. One was pedalling yourself in a cage hanging from a rail. Apparently it goes really fast. Another is to get strapped into a bag and then swing back and forth up to 120 kmph with the low part of the arc only a meter above the ground.Another is getting inside a ball and go rolling down a hill (short).
I checked out the marino wool/possum sweaters. Wow are they ever expensivse now -- triple what I paid 18 years ago when they were just newly on the market.
Today we went to the Agrodome for their very funny, informative show. We saw it many years ago but it has evolved. Very entertaining. They brought out about 16 different breeds one at at time. They were hilarious as well. Each had a little feeding station they were tied to but most tried to eat out of everyone else's on the way by. The fellow sheared a sheep as expected and some kids were called up to bottle feed three lambs.The visiting Koreans, Chinese kids and adults were soooo excited . I enjoyed watching them.
Then it was on to the Thermal reserve where we had a delightful Moari woman for our tour leader. We went through a replica of an old village, heard some legends, saw how they used the flax, etc. The Moari have been traced genetically to Mongolia from where they gradually moved south over the centuries to the South Pacific islands.My feeling is that the Haida Gwai people had the same origin, coming across the land bridge between there and Alaska. There are so many similarities.
The thermal area, of course, hasn't changed at all. The Pohutu geyser, meaning Big Splash, did its thing while we were there. It goes up about 25 to 30 meters. A smaller one, called the Prince of Wales, goes up about 10 meters. It goes first so warns everyone to walk out to the big one.
In the rest of New Zealand you would need to go down 30 to 45 km to find magma. But under Rotorua, you would only have to go 8 km. Consequently there are steam vents, bubbling pools, and bubbling mud everywhere. The mud pools look like a pot of porridge as it begins to boil. They are about 90 to 95 degrees C. The sulfur smell today was quite mild.
Rotorua itself is in the caldera of a huge volcano which imploded. It is 45 km wide.
Saw a statue of a Wylie soldier who died in the Boer War plus a street and a motel.
We went into a Kiwi house where they have switched day and night so we tourists can see them when they are awake. So we went into a dark building where we saw the rear 3/4 of one. They sleep 20 hours a day and eat for 4. The guide said that was why they are the National Bird --a great Kiwi lifestyle. There are about 73,000 left in the wild -- used to be 12 million. They have a breeding program plus try to decrease the number of predators which of course don't belong here. The kiwi are ground nesters plus can't fly. They have the shortest beak of any bird -- looks long but the nostrils are right at the end so they basically have no beak in its official description.
The Moari greeting is "Kia ora" -- welcome, hello, good health. Their language is mostly vowels and no word ends in a consonent.
We had a free afternoon so I went for along walk along the side of the lake. No beach here! It's all full of thermal vents so one has to stick to the path.
Later: We had a fabulous, fabulous evening tonite --and something we hadn't done before. We went to a traditional meeting place called a Maori Marae. We had traditional greetings, a demonstration of their war dance (tongues out, eyes bulging, brandishing weapons, etc.), many stations to go through where we were shown things like how they trained, traditional games (I was second last to be eliminated), etc. Eventually we saw them pull the food out of the ground . It is called a "hangi" -- wood is put in the hole earlier in the day, covered with stones then set afire. When the rocks are white hot, they put the food in. First goes the meat then the veggies. It is all layered -- traditionally separated by big leaves. Today they were in baskets. The food is basically steamed for hours and has a smokey flavor. We then had a show of singing and dancing after which we went to the dining room for the meal. Yummy -- wild pig, chicken, carrots, kumara (sweet potato) then a salad. Dessert was pavlova and a steamed pudding. Our bus driver was also the main singer and had a fabulous voice. We sang all the way home. At one point we were singing "Coming around the mountain.....". When he got to the part where we went "round and round" he did just that -- round and round the roundabout about four times!
Apparently they put through many groups each day -- our session had about 200. They have two dining rooms set up so one could be cleaned up while the other is used. There was another group behind us so they were going through all the "stations" as we ate. We started at 6 and finished at 9. This is certainly a full time job for everyone. Their faces were painted to mimic the original tattooing they used to do.
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Today you are going to learn something about Auckland!!
--largest city in the world in area, Brisbane is second
--population only 1.5 million
-- very few condos, town houses, etc and there is lots of land so mostly single family dwellings which are usually modest.
--average house price is $750,000 (our $ is par at the moment). The house across the street from Danny and Margaret's just sold for that price and is only 2 bedrooms on a tiny lot. Their house has 4 bedrooms, living room, sitting room, dining room plus garage, patio, nice garden. Danny figures he would get over a million if he sold it now. No basements, no central heating
-- minimum wage about $13.50 (our guide says that's all many people get). He says many singles have to share renting a house as they just can't afford it on their own.
Today we travelled south through the Waiukato River Valley. Lots of farmland and grazing sheep and cattle. Rolling hills. The W River has many dams on it for hydro power. It's the longest river in NZ and flows from Lake Taupo to the west. It used to go to the east until one of those "events" took place and it changed course. Lots of evidence of ash from previous volcanoes. NZ is still a very active earthquake/volcano zone.
Most of NZ's power is from hydro dams. The rest comes from geothermal, wind plus a coal powered "back-up system" which isn't used much.
Our trip today took us to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves which we had been to 18 years ago. Good to see again and to refresh our memory about those little critters. We did the walking part plus got into a boat to float silently right into the dark cave to have a really good look at them.
Lunch was at a farm. I had fresh leg of lamb plus the usual salads then dessert was local ice cream with a fruit sauce. Lovely spot.
We got into Rotorua about 5:30 so had some down time before supper. The bad thing about a big group is the time it takes for the food to come out. Dinner started at 7 and ended close to 10. Lovely food with wonderful presentation but we don't like eating so late.
Thursday, February 12, 2015
New Zealand #4 -- February 12
Today was very interesting but also disappointing. We started out with a tour of the Kelly Tarleton Underwater Experience. We had been there before but it was still interesting. The Scott Antarctic expedition display is fascinating and I could have spent more time watching the video of them trying to get their ship through the ice. Eg they were sawing big blocks of ice then pushing them aside so the ship could go through the opening they made. We also saw the King penguins which we hadn't seen in Antarctica. There is a display of sharks which swim around you. The place is made from old sewage tubes which used to pour the city's sewage right into the harbour. Auckland was the first city in the world to stop doing that (Victoria still is???). And we saw a young lady feeding the sting rays. She showed us the size of the stinger!!! Wow. It's at least 10" long. I swam with them in Bora Bora but assumed the stingers were off. Not so as there is no point. They just regrow. Our tour was a bit rushed but doable.
Then it was off to the Auckland museum where we had less than an hour! We could spend a whole day in there! The tour guides took about 10 of us each and hit the high spots which of course were very interesting -- Moari history, artifacts, canoes, etc. I wanted to see the Wearable Art display but not even a minute to go in that section. I had seen Wendie's pictures so knew what was in there. Sigh. They have clothes (which actually get worn in a fashion show) made of things like wood, feathers, zap straps, etc. Very out of this world costumes.
Then it was a bus ride out of town (west) where we had a lovely lunch at a winery. The dessert was pavlova which I especially love. (Small piece!!) I must try making it again when I get home.
We then went to the Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach. Bruce had taken us there many years ago. Found out that they are related to the Boobies from further north. The birds were there by the hundreds -- with their babies as this is a nesting spot. Apparently a few years ago they were down to just over 100 pairs and miraculously they have bounced back and there are now thousands. Smelly place! Muriwai Beach has black sand and is really long -- I think she said 65 km. On one section a pile of surfers were playing.
Later: Today was our 16th anniversary and fittingly we were supposed to have this wonderful dinner in the Sky City revolving restaurant. Well, it was hordoerves first for two hours from 7 to 9. As you can imagine we were starving so everyone ate way too many canapes so by suppertime we weren't hungry and not many people did justice to the exceptional meal. Don and I had the soup and a light dessert. No main course. We finished dinner at about 11 pm with our wake-up call coming tomorrow morning at 6 am. Ouch. But it was lovely seeing Auckland from so high up and watching it gradually get dark and all the lights coming on.
Today was very interesting but also disappointing. We started out with a tour of the Kelly Tarleton Underwater Experience. We had been there before but it was still interesting. The Scott Antarctic expedition display is fascinating and I could have spent more time watching the video of them trying to get their ship through the ice. Eg they were sawing big blocks of ice then pushing them aside so the ship could go through the opening they made. We also saw the King penguins which we hadn't seen in Antarctica. There is a display of sharks which swim around you. The place is made from old sewage tubes which used to pour the city's sewage right into the harbour. Auckland was the first city in the world to stop doing that (Victoria still is???). And we saw a young lady feeding the sting rays. She showed us the size of the stinger!!! Wow. It's at least 10" long. I swam with them in Bora Bora but assumed the stingers were off. Not so as there is no point. They just regrow. Our tour was a bit rushed but doable.
Then it was off to the Auckland museum where we had less than an hour! We could spend a whole day in there! The tour guides took about 10 of us each and hit the high spots which of course were very interesting -- Moari history, artifacts, canoes, etc. I wanted to see the Wearable Art display but not even a minute to go in that section. I had seen Wendie's pictures so knew what was in there. Sigh. They have clothes (which actually get worn in a fashion show) made of things like wood, feathers, zap straps, etc. Very out of this world costumes.
Then it was a bus ride out of town (west) where we had a lovely lunch at a winery. The dessert was pavlova which I especially love. (Small piece!!) I must try making it again when I get home.
We then went to the Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach. Bruce had taken us there many years ago. Found out that they are related to the Boobies from further north. The birds were there by the hundreds -- with their babies as this is a nesting spot. Apparently a few years ago they were down to just over 100 pairs and miraculously they have bounced back and there are now thousands. Smelly place! Muriwai Beach has black sand and is really long -- I think she said 65 km. On one section a pile of surfers were playing.
Later: Today was our 16th anniversary and fittingly we were supposed to have this wonderful dinner in the Sky City revolving restaurant. Well, it was hordoerves first for two hours from 7 to 9. As you can imagine we were starving so everyone ate way too many canapes so by suppertime we weren't hungry and not many people did justice to the exceptional meal. Don and I had the soup and a light dessert. No main course. We finished dinner at about 11 pm with our wake-up call coming tomorrow morning at 6 am. Ouch. But it was lovely seeing Auckland from so high up and watching it gradually get dark and all the lights coming on.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
New Zealand #3 -- Sept 10
We had a lovely day today driving down to a suburb of Auckland to visit with Kay (my cousin Bruce's widow) and one of her grandchildren. We did a tour of the area seeing some lovely beaches. On our way home, we stopped in to see Brendan (Bruce and Kay's son) whom we haven't seen for many years. He's the same age as Warren. .It's been so nice to reconnect with family again.
Tomorrow we have the day on our own then join the tour group in the hotel in Auckland in the afternoon.
We had a lovely day today driving down to a suburb of Auckland to visit with Kay (my cousin Bruce's widow) and one of her grandchildren. We did a tour of the area seeing some lovely beaches. On our way home, we stopped in to see Brendan (Bruce and Kay's son) whom we haven't seen for many years. He's the same age as Warren. .It's been so nice to reconnect with family again.
Tomorrow we have the day on our own then join the tour group in the hotel in Auckland in the afternoon.
Monday, February 9, 2015
New Zealand #2 -- Feb 9, 2014
Today Margaret went off to work and Danny took us for a drive north of Auckland. We saw some lovely little natural harbours, one of which had a sting ray swimming just below us. On the way home we went by Orewa and it's incredible beach which I remember from 39 years ago. We had spent our second last day in NZ on this beach with me trying to body surf -- unsuccessfully. Warren and Samara were 6 and 4 then so dug holes in the sand which the incoming tide filled in for nice bathtubs. During the day, Danny filled us in on the South African politics. They lived there for many years moving here 15 years ago. They recently returned for a holiday and things are definitely no better. It's unsafe in many areas, politics are bad, etc. etc. Fascinating.
Later in the day I walked down to Brown's Bay village and beach which is 10 minutes from Margaret and Danny's house. What a wonderful spot they have for a house. It has some beach view and to walk down to the town you go through a park. The area is well sought after for home buyers and the prices are outlandish as in Vancouver. Many houses are sold by auction and the prices are bid up by the Chinese leaving the locals out of the market. Sad for the young people.
It was a lovely warm day but little sun.
Today Margaret went off to work and Danny took us for a drive north of Auckland. We saw some lovely little natural harbours, one of which had a sting ray swimming just below us. On the way home we went by Orewa and it's incredible beach which I remember from 39 years ago. We had spent our second last day in NZ on this beach with me trying to body surf -- unsuccessfully. Warren and Samara were 6 and 4 then so dug holes in the sand which the incoming tide filled in for nice bathtubs. During the day, Danny filled us in on the South African politics. They lived there for many years moving here 15 years ago. They recently returned for a holiday and things are definitely no better. It's unsafe in many areas, politics are bad, etc. etc. Fascinating.
Later in the day I walked down to Brown's Bay village and beach which is 10 minutes from Margaret and Danny's house. What a wonderful spot they have for a house. It has some beach view and to walk down to the town you go through a park. The area is well sought after for home buyers and the prices are outlandish as in Vancouver. Many houses are sold by auction and the prices are bid up by the Chinese leaving the locals out of the market. Sad for the young people.
It was a lovely warm day but little sun.
Day 1 -- Feb 5/7 In transit to New Zealand
Our initial flight out of Kelowna was at a decent time of day (1:30) so we had a good sleep to start our long journey with. Thanks to Jeff for driving us.
Our only problems along the way were the inability of each airport to give us boarding passes for the next stages. The result of this was having to go to the booking desk each time to get it which was a real nuisance. Finally in LA they gave us the last two boarding passes at the same time. Another worrying glitch was the questions we kept getting about "where was our luggage". We'd explain then show our proof. Finally a guy in Vancouver "released" our luggage -- whatever that meant. But we still got the questions all along the line. It was with great relief to see the two bags on the carousel in Auckland!!
I slept about six hours on the thirteen hour leg from LA to Brisbane while Don had about two hours. So I felt like a human being when we arrived at 4 pm Sat (your Friday).
Margaret and Danny had a long wait for us as a huge number of planes disgorged their passengers all at once, ours being last.
We had supper outside on their new patio -- such a treat not to have to bundle up.
By the way, it is now Saturday. Skipped Friday completely when crossing the date line.
Day 2 -- Sun Feb 8
Don and I slept all night so we feel great today. We spent the morning getting ready for lunch -- Margaret and I making salads and Danny and Don out on errands for dessert and bread. Cousin Bev came all the way from Whitianga to see us (3 hours?) then her sister Wendie, husband Gary and daughter Melanie arrived for lunch. We had a great visit and so nice to see them again.Cloudy today but still warm enough for lunch outside.
Our initial flight out of Kelowna was at a decent time of day (1:30) so we had a good sleep to start our long journey with. Thanks to Jeff for driving us.
Our only problems along the way were the inability of each airport to give us boarding passes for the next stages. The result of this was having to go to the booking desk each time to get it which was a real nuisance. Finally in LA they gave us the last two boarding passes at the same time. Another worrying glitch was the questions we kept getting about "where was our luggage". We'd explain then show our proof. Finally a guy in Vancouver "released" our luggage -- whatever that meant. But we still got the questions all along the line. It was with great relief to see the two bags on the carousel in Auckland!!
I slept about six hours on the thirteen hour leg from LA to Brisbane while Don had about two hours. So I felt like a human being when we arrived at 4 pm Sat (your Friday).
Margaret and Danny had a long wait for us as a huge number of planes disgorged their passengers all at once, ours being last.
We had supper outside on their new patio -- such a treat not to have to bundle up.
By the way, it is now Saturday. Skipped Friday completely when crossing the date line.
Day 2 -- Sun Feb 8
Don and I slept all night so we feel great today. We spent the morning getting ready for lunch -- Margaret and I making salads and Danny and Don out on errands for dessert and bread. Cousin Bev came all the way from Whitianga to see us (3 hours?) then her sister Wendie, husband Gary and daughter Melanie arrived for lunch. We had a great visit and so nice to see them again.Cloudy today but still warm enough for lunch outside.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Saturday Oct 4
We have had a busy few days so will now recap.
Friday night was the Captain's cocktail then Gala Dinner so we got dressed up. The dessert was Baked Alaska which arrived with music and sparklers.
That night we set our clocks back an hour so are only 9 hours ahead of back home.
I am now becoming an alcoholic, starting Sat. More about Sunday later! We went on the brandy tour which was fascinating. We had an excellent guide (7th year doing this for a job) -- Milos pronounced Milish. Sooo, the brandy in this area is made from a special plum only grown here. It is extra meaty and sweet. It is traditional for every family to have their own still to this day but a few rules have crept in. It is legal to drink your own in your own home but you aren't allowed to take it anywhere else. Eg like we take a bottle of wine if we are going to someone's house for dinner. I'm sure they still do it though. And everyone's brandy is of a different quality as the temperature during the distilling process is quite critical. We saw stills for sale in the shops. So the tradition is that when you visit someone's home, you are immediately offered a glass of brandy. The locals drink it "bottoms up" but we sipped ours. It is also the tradition to have a 10 liter cask saved for a child's birth. So, Milos' father drank his 10 l, along with friends, when he was born.( His grandfather had done the same thing, etc,etc. in previous generations.) Then he refilled it and stored it until Milos' son was born. He and his friends drank it up then he refilled it for when his son has a child. When the brandy is made it is clear. They then put it in oak/mulberry barrels for from 5 to 18 years where it gains color. The longer in the barrels, the greater the color and quality. Milos also told us that if you want to "bribe" a local official or policeman, you offer a bottle of brandy, never money. They also have a version of brandy called Shumadia (sp?) tea. This is drunk for your "health". It is made from boiled lo proof brandy to which a pinch of sugar is added. It is drunk warm and keeps the germs away -- similar to English grog and Japanese saki. He said that during the SARS outbreak, noone in Serbia got sick!! Even the kids get a bit.
There is another interesting custom in this area. Because it was a forested area it was difficult for people to travel to the next village. They were tired when they got there so, on arrival, they would receive a spoonful of a sweet jam plus a glass of water. We got that as well. The "jam" is quince cooked then soaked in honey. Later we were also given stinging nettle water -- leaves put in boiling water then a bit of sugar added. Keeps for two days in the fridge. Tasted great.
The area we were in was middle Serbia, as opposed to north and south. They get down to -5 to -20 in the winter and as hot at 40 in the summer. The weather patterns have changed drastically eg. got three months of rain in two days earlier this year. In one area, 300 bridges were destroyed plus many villages. It was the small streams which did the damage --- eg just like in Canmore last year. Also, everytime a crop was in blossom, it rained so the bees didn't pollinate. And as a result of that there is also little honey this year.And many crops not producing.
The ship was parked on the Sava River, just 200 meters from where it enters the Danube. I couldn't figure out in the morning why the river was suddenly so narrow with bridges going across.
We are parked in the city of Belgrade (1.7 million). There are many 13th century buildings which are neglected now. One area is getting torn down in the near future and will be a huge development of condos, hotels, etc being financed by AbuDabi rich cats.
Social life is very important here as witnessed by a bar(?) across the river from us -- thumping music 24 hours a day. I'm glad we are moving on tonite. People here visit in bars and coffee shops for hours at a time, any day of the week. Booze and food are cheap.
During the 1st WW, 27% of the population died (57% of the men). They are part of the former Yugoslavia and had Tito as a leader. The history is long and complicated and I`m not sure I understand it all even though we had a long lecture in the evening about it. Then when they had the latest conflict, NATO bombed all their bridges. There doesn`t seem to be any animosity about that.
In addition to our brandy yesterday we were fed. They had grapefruit on which were stuck toothpicks each loaded with a variety of cheeses and meats plus a pickle. It looked a little like a porcupine. And with it were two types of breads, one with a tomato-baked red pepper relish on one side and fresh mozz cheese on the other. Every time we got a bit low on the ``supplies`` the hostess would fill up the plate. Needless to say, we did not need lunch when we got back to the ship.
In the afternoon we went by shuttle bus to the city center to look around. It is like most big cities which I`m not fond of. Also, since we haven`t bothered getting local money, we can`t purchase anything small. It`s been a bit of a problem going through so many different countries. They aren`t on the Euro here but will often accept it. And we are running out of tip money as our small bills are just about gone.
Sunday, Oct 5
Our ship arrived in Novi Sad, Serbia this morning. I signed up for the "Serbian Specialties" Culinary Delights tour and Don went on the walking tour of NoviSad. He said the city was beautiful and peaceful (peaceful maybe because it was Sunday?). My tour was very, very interesting. In 1999 NATO bombed the area and knocked out all their bridges. NoviSad was only established in the 18th century so no Roman ruins and all that sort of thing which we've been seeing elsewhere. The buildings are Baroque style. We crossed over a 550 mile long man-made channel which is used for irrigation and transportation. We went past a huge flea market. Would have loved to wander around that. This area of Serbia is multicultural as it is on the border of the old Austrian and Ottoman empires -26 different nationalities and 6 official languages. Most are Protestant. This area is the bread basket of Serbia. They also grow tobacco (encouraged by the govt) -- 60% smoke including 30 % school age. No smoking indoor laws of the EU didn't work here and aren't enforced. Their social life is tied up in the restaurants and bars so a smoking ban would be the death of these establishments. 26% unemployment in the country but less in this area as agriculture provides a lot of jobs. The cuisine is different in the north area where we are as it is influenced by the closeness to Austria and Hungary.
We arrived at the farm (where we were having the cooking demo) at about 9 am. And we were met with the usual brandy! I really am in danger of becoming an alcoholic drinking at that time of the day!!! Today we had a choice and I had mead which was sweeter and very nice. We then went into the little dining room where we were given what would be a quick meal for a housewife -- potato pasta with cheese. And we had a glass of wine with it -- see what I mean? -- two drinks before 10 am. Don says he's going to put me in rehab when we get home. Then the grandma brought out her dough which she had started earlier. She rolled it out about 1/4 inch thick then cut it into squares. We each made our own -- jam in the center then sealed and brushed with butter. She baked them for 30 min while we explored the farm. They were very good and I have the recipe. The farm house was built in 1904. The main income for the family is dad who is a forester and works in the local national park. Mom and grandma run the tourist cooking demo for AMA. They have 20 acres most of which is rented out to another farmer who grows corn there. They get 50% of the profit.
We were back on the boat for lunch -- which I didn't need so just had soup, salad and dessert. Yes, I always have to have dessert. Today it was a Serbian cheesecake. Yum.
Croatia
After lunch we departed Serbia and sailed for about three hours ending up in Croatia. Here we went on the Yugoslav Civil War tour. It was sad but a must for anyone going to Croatia. Our guide was a young lawyer and very honest about the situation there. The govt is very corrupt, even now. And after the war the powerful ones split up the land giving it to their cronies and relatives. She claims the war was only the result of political manoevering so they could get rich. We were taken to the memorials and graveyards. There were many people killed in one day and buried in a mass grave. They are gradually identifying them with DNA and they are given a gravesite and headstone. It was so weird to see the same date of death on rows and rows of graves. It was sad to see all this.
Our guide was a child during the war so has odd memories which were good eg they were refugees and were put up in a hotel. She remembers the beach and her grandpa buying her ice cream. Her father has a totally different memory of course. She had high praise for Rotary -- they came with clothes and shoes and still donate today to help the town. There are still landmines around the town but luckily no child has been maimed. Each year they manage to find a few more.The town is being fixed up so lots of nice houses. Eventually everything will be but they will leave two places as is. One is the water tower which was bombed many times and still stands (will show that their spirit didn't fall down either) and one building downtown. The owner plants flower boxes on each of the bombed out windows. A picture of this made it onto a National Geographic cover.
In this area there is nothing really old as they had a war about every 50 years which destroyed everything. The climate is perfect for vinyards. They love their fruit trees because they make brandy out of everything -- even walnuts. The apple trees I saw today were covered with nets. And the apples weren't harvested yet.
When we left the ship this afternoon for our tour, the ship continued up the Danube ending up in Vukavar. And this is where we ended up too -- had a walking tour of the city. I must say that the parts of Croatia that I have seen make me want to come back. It is quite lovely. I don't really have any desire to see Bulgaria or Serbia again.
Internet intermittent so am trying again this morning (Mon) to send two blogs out.
We have had a busy few days so will now recap.
Friday night was the Captain's cocktail then Gala Dinner so we got dressed up. The dessert was Baked Alaska which arrived with music and sparklers.
That night we set our clocks back an hour so are only 9 hours ahead of back home.
I am now becoming an alcoholic, starting Sat. More about Sunday later! We went on the brandy tour which was fascinating. We had an excellent guide (7th year doing this for a job) -- Milos pronounced Milish. Sooo, the brandy in this area is made from a special plum only grown here. It is extra meaty and sweet. It is traditional for every family to have their own still to this day but a few rules have crept in. It is legal to drink your own in your own home but you aren't allowed to take it anywhere else. Eg like we take a bottle of wine if we are going to someone's house for dinner. I'm sure they still do it though. And everyone's brandy is of a different quality as the temperature during the distilling process is quite critical. We saw stills for sale in the shops. So the tradition is that when you visit someone's home, you are immediately offered a glass of brandy. The locals drink it "bottoms up" but we sipped ours. It is also the tradition to have a 10 liter cask saved for a child's birth. So, Milos' father drank his 10 l, along with friends, when he was born.( His grandfather had done the same thing, etc,etc. in previous generations.) Then he refilled it and stored it until Milos' son was born. He and his friends drank it up then he refilled it for when his son has a child. When the brandy is made it is clear. They then put it in oak/mulberry barrels for from 5 to 18 years where it gains color. The longer in the barrels, the greater the color and quality. Milos also told us that if you want to "bribe" a local official or policeman, you offer a bottle of brandy, never money. They also have a version of brandy called Shumadia (sp?) tea. This is drunk for your "health". It is made from boiled lo proof brandy to which a pinch of sugar is added. It is drunk warm and keeps the germs away -- similar to English grog and Japanese saki. He said that during the SARS outbreak, noone in Serbia got sick!! Even the kids get a bit.
There is another interesting custom in this area. Because it was a forested area it was difficult for people to travel to the next village. They were tired when they got there so, on arrival, they would receive a spoonful of a sweet jam plus a glass of water. We got that as well. The "jam" is quince cooked then soaked in honey. Later we were also given stinging nettle water -- leaves put in boiling water then a bit of sugar added. Keeps for two days in the fridge. Tasted great.
The area we were in was middle Serbia, as opposed to north and south. They get down to -5 to -20 in the winter and as hot at 40 in the summer. The weather patterns have changed drastically eg. got three months of rain in two days earlier this year. In one area, 300 bridges were destroyed plus many villages. It was the small streams which did the damage --- eg just like in Canmore last year. Also, everytime a crop was in blossom, it rained so the bees didn't pollinate. And as a result of that there is also little honey this year.And many crops not producing.
The ship was parked on the Sava River, just 200 meters from where it enters the Danube. I couldn't figure out in the morning why the river was suddenly so narrow with bridges going across.
We are parked in the city of Belgrade (1.7 million). There are many 13th century buildings which are neglected now. One area is getting torn down in the near future and will be a huge development of condos, hotels, etc being financed by AbuDabi rich cats.
Social life is very important here as witnessed by a bar(?) across the river from us -- thumping music 24 hours a day. I'm glad we are moving on tonite. People here visit in bars and coffee shops for hours at a time, any day of the week. Booze and food are cheap.
During the 1st WW, 27% of the population died (57% of the men). They are part of the former Yugoslavia and had Tito as a leader. The history is long and complicated and I`m not sure I understand it all even though we had a long lecture in the evening about it. Then when they had the latest conflict, NATO bombed all their bridges. There doesn`t seem to be any animosity about that.
In addition to our brandy yesterday we were fed. They had grapefruit on which were stuck toothpicks each loaded with a variety of cheeses and meats plus a pickle. It looked a little like a porcupine. And with it were two types of breads, one with a tomato-baked red pepper relish on one side and fresh mozz cheese on the other. Every time we got a bit low on the ``supplies`` the hostess would fill up the plate. Needless to say, we did not need lunch when we got back to the ship.
In the afternoon we went by shuttle bus to the city center to look around. It is like most big cities which I`m not fond of. Also, since we haven`t bothered getting local money, we can`t purchase anything small. It`s been a bit of a problem going through so many different countries. They aren`t on the Euro here but will often accept it. And we are running out of tip money as our small bills are just about gone.
Sunday, Oct 5
Our ship arrived in Novi Sad, Serbia this morning. I signed up for the "Serbian Specialties" Culinary Delights tour and Don went on the walking tour of NoviSad. He said the city was beautiful and peaceful (peaceful maybe because it was Sunday?). My tour was very, very interesting. In 1999 NATO bombed the area and knocked out all their bridges. NoviSad was only established in the 18th century so no Roman ruins and all that sort of thing which we've been seeing elsewhere. The buildings are Baroque style. We crossed over a 550 mile long man-made channel which is used for irrigation and transportation. We went past a huge flea market. Would have loved to wander around that. This area of Serbia is multicultural as it is on the border of the old Austrian and Ottoman empires -26 different nationalities and 6 official languages. Most are Protestant. This area is the bread basket of Serbia. They also grow tobacco (encouraged by the govt) -- 60% smoke including 30 % school age. No smoking indoor laws of the EU didn't work here and aren't enforced. Their social life is tied up in the restaurants and bars so a smoking ban would be the death of these establishments. 26% unemployment in the country but less in this area as agriculture provides a lot of jobs. The cuisine is different in the north area where we are as it is influenced by the closeness to Austria and Hungary.
We arrived at the farm (where we were having the cooking demo) at about 9 am. And we were met with the usual brandy! I really am in danger of becoming an alcoholic drinking at that time of the day!!! Today we had a choice and I had mead which was sweeter and very nice. We then went into the little dining room where we were given what would be a quick meal for a housewife -- potato pasta with cheese. And we had a glass of wine with it -- see what I mean? -- two drinks before 10 am. Don says he's going to put me in rehab when we get home. Then the grandma brought out her dough which she had started earlier. She rolled it out about 1/4 inch thick then cut it into squares. We each made our own -- jam in the center then sealed and brushed with butter. She baked them for 30 min while we explored the farm. They were very good and I have the recipe. The farm house was built in 1904. The main income for the family is dad who is a forester and works in the local national park. Mom and grandma run the tourist cooking demo for AMA. They have 20 acres most of which is rented out to another farmer who grows corn there. They get 50% of the profit.
We were back on the boat for lunch -- which I didn't need so just had soup, salad and dessert. Yes, I always have to have dessert. Today it was a Serbian cheesecake. Yum.
Croatia
After lunch we departed Serbia and sailed for about three hours ending up in Croatia. Here we went on the Yugoslav Civil War tour. It was sad but a must for anyone going to Croatia. Our guide was a young lawyer and very honest about the situation there. The govt is very corrupt, even now. And after the war the powerful ones split up the land giving it to their cronies and relatives. She claims the war was only the result of political manoevering so they could get rich. We were taken to the memorials and graveyards. There were many people killed in one day and buried in a mass grave. They are gradually identifying them with DNA and they are given a gravesite and headstone. It was so weird to see the same date of death on rows and rows of graves. It was sad to see all this.
Our guide was a child during the war so has odd memories which were good eg they were refugees and were put up in a hotel. She remembers the beach and her grandpa buying her ice cream. Her father has a totally different memory of course. She had high praise for Rotary -- they came with clothes and shoes and still donate today to help the town. There are still landmines around the town but luckily no child has been maimed. Each year they manage to find a few more.The town is being fixed up so lots of nice houses. Eventually everything will be but they will leave two places as is. One is the water tower which was bombed many times and still stands (will show that their spirit didn't fall down either) and one building downtown. The owner plants flower boxes on each of the bombed out windows. A picture of this made it onto a National Geographic cover.
In this area there is nothing really old as they had a war about every 50 years which destroyed everything. The climate is perfect for vinyards. They love their fruit trees because they make brandy out of everything -- even walnuts. The apple trees I saw today were covered with nets. And the apples weren't harvested yet.
When we left the ship this afternoon for our tour, the ship continued up the Danube ending up in Vukavar. And this is where we ended up too -- had a walking tour of the city. I must say that the parts of Croatia that I have seen make me want to come back. It is quite lovely. I don't really have any desire to see Bulgaria or Serbia again.
Internet intermittent so am trying again this morning (Mon) to send two blogs out.
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