Getting back to your Roots

Pictures from the Swedish Chamber of Commerce's Midsummer Party!!! I went with my friend Anki, and we had a blast :) The celebration was held at PEGAS Pension & Restaurant which has its own riding school. The interesting thing was trying to actually GET to the place. There was a direct bus (supposedly) but as we rambled through the wilderness outside of the city, Anki and I began to wonder where exactly this ride was taking us. Luckily, we finally saw the signs and breathed a sigh of relief. We wouldn't be lost in the middle of nowhere in Southwest Slovakia.

When we walked in we were both amazing, at the scenery and the event! PEGAS is located in the perfect area, surrounded by fields and rolling hills. Everything was green and gorgeous. Through the gates, you could see the May-pole that the Swedish Chamber had set up, and 2 large tents that held the seating and food areas. We saw lots of Typical Swedish cuisine like Herring, meatballs and potatoes (which Anki was ecstatic about), and even the less traditional...2 chocolate fountains. (don't worry Aunt Janet, I didn't dive into the bacteria breeding ground)

The Trencin Children's Choir also performed for us, and did some traditional Swedish song and dance routines. It was so cute watching them, and Anki taught me how to sing along to a couple :). I have to admit, my mouth doesn't make all of those sounds...but I'm working on it.

Below you can see some of the pictures that we took! At the bottom, you can see how good of friends we made with the staff :) They had these really cool cocktail menus (the whole event was sponsored by Absolut) like Raspberry Champagne Mojito. He even muddled!!!

All in all, a very successful event that included perfect weather, and the perfect company! I'm definitely ooking forward to the rest of the summer.

If that's movin' up then I'm.......

MOVING OUT!

I know you all love a little Billy Joel

I moved into a new place this week! My friend Erin from Australia was kind enough to open up her new home to me. She needed a roommate, I needed a new place to live. When I got back from Dunajska Streda, she picked me up from the bus station and me drove to my dorm. I hadn't packed anything yet because I thought I wouldn't be moving out until the end of the week, but she called me on Saturday to see if i was available, and I couldn't help but say yes!

We drove to my dorm, and she immediately realized why i was so eager to move out.

This was my old life:



We packed up everything, got it over to her house in 2 trips (she has a car, and was an angel in letting me use it!!). We then dropped everything off and headed to IKEA to get some items that we needed, and then to Aupark to get my keys made and to do some grocery shopping.

Her place is MUCH closer to the city centre, so it only takes me 15-20 minutes to get to work now by foot, or 10 minutes if I take a tram for part of the way.

Here is us trying to put together our clothing racks :) IKEA instructions are hilarious. Luckily, she had a screwdriver for us to use.





While I unpacked everything Erin made us dinner! I kept asking her if I could help, but she insisted. She made seasoned chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and a fresh salad with balsamic and olive oil. Perfect after the long day I had.



I am so happy in my new place. There is so much room everywhere! The little conveniences you take for granted just come rushing back. The only thing I have to work on now is getting internet service, or a broadband card :).

Here is my new address:

Belopotockého 3, Izba 1
811 05 Bratislava
Slovak Republic

Thank you to everyone to listened to my ranting about the closed quarters of my former living situation. I love and adore you, and hope that I did not drive you insane.

"Little Hungary"

This past weekend I went to a town called Dunajska Streda, which is about 1 hour south of Bratislava. I call it "Little Hungary" because that is exactly what it is...everyone there is Hungarian. My friend Peter Hajdu (Peti) actually grew up in this town, and he was the one who suggested that we all go for one weekend. There were around 11 of us who made the trek on Saturday afternoon, to celebrate a whole score of events including the EuroCup, Peti's and my birthday, and Rob's departure. The weather was beautiful, and we planned to go to a Thermal spa while in the city, so the whole thing was perfect. I was really jonesing for some sunlight, and made sure to keep the SPF 15 on at all times to prevent some serious discomfort.

Here is us on the bus! There was no airconditioning, but were able to stand it with the windows open until it was our turn to get off. The next hardest part was walking all the way to the Spa, which took about 20 minutes or so. Luckily we had Peti there to lead us. We like to call him Jesus, because of his beard, so I joked that the Shepard was leading the flock to paradise.



Here we are in our cabin! We were surprised by Peti's family who made us a RIDICULOUS amount of food. This includes Cherry soup, pastries, cakes, fresh cherries, goulash, chicken, and Lángos (flatbread...SO DELISH). You can see some of the food below....it will make your mouth water.









This is the inside of our cabin where we stayed. It had 4 bedrooms with bathrooms inside, so that was really convenient in terms of people needed to take showers. The showers were funny. If you have ever lived on a boat of some sort, you know what I am talking about. The shower head is attached by a tube to the faucet, and then you just have to flip the switch according to whether you want to wash your hands or your hair.



The lake that was right outside of the cabin. The management advised us not to swim in it, but it just looked so inviting! I didn't do it personally, but some of my friends did. I didn't hear any complaints about leeches or gastric trouble.



Peti and Tommaso!


Sexy Nadja :) My weekend roomie. She brought her sleeping eye cover to the pool with her...im sure that would have made for a fabulous tan line :)


Turecky Muz!!! BESIKTAS!!!!!! He was on a high all weekend because of how amazing his Turkish football team has played in the EuroCup 2008. Well, at least they have been winning ;) However, the whole time they have only lead the series for a total of 9 minutes or something...



The whole weekend was incredible. I got to break in my Dora the Explorer ball!!! Each pool was a different temperature, and one of them had jets and spouts that massaged you. I got a little bit of color :) It felt good to be in the water again, just playing around. I even got thrown in! It took 4 of the guys to do it, but they eventually succeeded. On Saturday night we watched the Holland-Russia game and Peti's friends came to meet us, which doubled the size of our group. After the game we started a bonfire close to our cabin, and brought out the guitar to sing some songs. At around 2am, i decided i was too tired to keep my eyes open anymore, so i turned in. I guess i missed a naked swim. Not too upset about that ;).

The next day we went back to the pool! It was so incredible. Unfortunately, I had to leave at around 2...which will be the subject of my next post :)

Supplementary Photos: Birthday

Here is the group of us at Bar 17's in the centre. As you can see, we dominated the outdoor seating section.


Me getting my gifts! It was completely unexpected (even though I've help to organize presents for everyone else on their birthdays) I love everything! You guys are the best!


My silly Danish friend Anders. I didn't know he was going to make a funny face...otherwise we could have engaged in a contest (which i would have won of course)

Please Help.

Iceland has reinstated whaling. Please use your voice to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Times, they are a Changin...

So, this past week as been FULL of exciting events. Pictures and details to come...:)

23 years, no end in sight.

June 18, 1985...the day I was brought into this world (after how many hours of labor mom?)

I have been very lucky to have a birthday in the summer. This means that my day of celebration usually corresponds with perfect weather and travelling. For example:

#13: Obscure town, France
#16: Paris, France
#18: San Gimignano, Italy
#20: London, England
#21: Washington, DC
#22: Myrtle Beach, SC
#23: Bratislava, Slovakia

This year's birthday was really fantastic. Not only did I get messages from like 50 people through facebook, I also received some calls, Skypes, and emails :). I had a great lunch with two of my friends while sitting in the sunshine, and then met a group of people after work to celebrate at a place called Bar 17's in the city center. Sometimes it can be difficult to celebrate in a foreign land because you are somewhat detached from life as you knew it, but my friends here proved that I have a real family here is Bratislava. The group started out with 5 of us crowded around one table, then progressively became bigger and bigger until we had scared off any other potential customers and procured another 4 tables. I felt special :). They also bought me presents, which I of course didn't expect, because I barely told anyone it was my birthday! I am a low maintenance person when it comes to that sort of stuff, and didn't want them to go through any trouble. I received some mango lip balm, flowers, an etched wooden heart with Devin Castle, and.....



A DORA THE EXPLORER BALLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So appropriate :). Bienvenido a Bratislava!! I mean, let's get serious for a second, I don't speak Spanish (yo quiero les hottos boyos?...mui guapo?) but Dora experiences something new everyday with her best friend Boots. I kind of do that too, minus the monkey and plus some amazing international friends. The card almost made me cry.

After taking over the patio seating in the middle of Hviezdoslavovo námestie (try pronouncing it, I dare you) we decided to go see the Sex & the City Movie, because the theater is cheaper on Wednesdays. When we got there to buy the tickets, they were handing out whitening toothpaste! I guess it was some sort of promo? It was funny though, because I had just finished explaining to some of the group why my teeth reflect light when I smile. (yes, they really asked...I have also been asked if they are fake) So, I guess everyone won yesterday! Entertainment, and dental hygeine! The movie was good...interesting...and LONG. We were in the theater from 9:30 until 12:15, meaning that I completely missed any bus that I could have taken back to Vlčie hrdlo. Oh well, I had plenty of Slovak friends around who were nice enough to call a cab for me :) (its cheaper if you call them, otherwise they charge the living daylights out of you) That is actually how I got my new "nickname". The last time I tried to call a cab, the woman kept yelling "MENO! MENO!", meaning she wanted the name of the person for the cab. I kept repeating my first and last name, but I guess she didn't believe that was someone's actual name...or something. Here is Slovakia, people's names are shortened into a cute form, sort of like how Elise goes to Lisie in the States. Here, they substitute in a "K"...so Katerina becomes Katka. So, to avoid any confusion as to whether my name was genuine, my new pseudonym is Eliška (pronounced Eeleeshka). I like it. Obviously not as much as I love "Punkie Pie", "Lisie Cakes", etc as bestowed on me by my parents, but it is regionally acceptable.

I made it home only to realize that I hadn't prepared anything for my English class the next day, which starts at 7:30am, meaning I have to leave my place at 6:45 or so to catch the bus. YIKES.

I came up with a plan in the shower the next morning (today). I knew that I had to bring in some sort of treat for them as a post bday celebration, and then I also brought in the book I was reading, A Year in the Merde, and copied the part where he goes out to the country to look at un petit maison pour les weekends. It's fun for them to read something that is a little less than official, and a bit more adult friendly. I know they are mastering the language when they laugh before I laugh at the jokes :).

So now, it is back to work! Tonight, Anki and I are going to the Swedish Chamber of Commerce's Midsummer Party, so that should prove to be an interesting post for tomorrow!

Love to all of you who sent me warm Birthday wishes yesterday. It means the world to me that you remember, and take the time out of your busy lives to share a special occassion with me.

I WANT!

If you're into extreme water sports...

CRUNCH ("Can we serve this?")

On Sunday Sherisse and I decided that we wanted to test our culinary prowess. She had a tub of mascarpone cheese that needed to be used pronto, and I was hungry. I did some searching on the internet for uses of large amounts of mascarpone (low maintenance of course...we are poor and don't have really cool kitchen accessories) and found a version of a "breakfast pizza". It would need some tweaking to accomodate ingredients that we could find, but looked promising. We didn't know if we would be able to find ready-made pizza dough in TESCO, and neither of us really wanted to walk in the rain to find out, so we found an alternate recipe for home-made dough and got to work!

I nominated myself to start the dough while she wrote down the rest of the recipe. Sticky is the best word to describe it. Very simple of course...Flour, Baking Soda, Salt and water (plus I added some cinnamon sugar to make it more of a treat pizza) Then I beat the crap out of it and tried to spread it out because we didn't have a rolling pin (we're poor...remember? and we didn't think that using one of the old wine bottles would be effective). Once it submitted to my violence (who ever said it wasn't the answer?), we laid it out on a wax papered cookie sheet, and then went to dinner. In retrospect, we probably should have covered it with a wet towel, or just baked it right then and there. You bake, you learn.

Dinner was fun, we went to Trafená HUS, and I had picante risotto with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes. It was sort of the "final goodbye" for Juste :(. We will miss her terribly. After dinner, we invited everyone back to Chez Sherisee et le Dane for some (what we hoped would be) dessert.

The dough had dried out a little, but we figured it would be ok. We brushed it with butter and stuck it in the oven.

As those of you who have baking experience probably know, the dough came out a bit "crispy"...aka: kind of like biscotti. NEVER FEAR! We still had to spread on the mascarpone...which we hoped would soften it a bit, and the raisins, which would add an extra flavor element, and sprinkled on some more cinnamon sugar. Then I had the idea of adding ice cream, which would further distract people from the crunching noise going on in their mouths as they ate.

To our surprise however, everyone liked it! They obviously made comments, but the whole thing was gone by the time we left! I apologize for not having any pictures, maybe the next round...when we're smarter, and have added more fruit!

Garden Party (aka: shiver fest 2008)

On Friday the Informal Association of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Slovakia (I know, longest name EVER) hosted its 7th Annual Garden Party in the Presidential Palace Gardens. The day promised to be a lot of fun, except that the morning of the event, the Presidential Palace was opened to the public (picture unsupervised children running around while people are trying to put up tents and set up catering), and the weather looked a bit ominous. Luckily, it didn't rain, but the wind was formidable and the temperature was less than desirable.

Still, I trudged through my 8 hour work day (nope, she didn't let me out early) in hopes that tonight I would meet Ambassadors, congratulate the First Lady on the success of her fundraising campaign, and eat fantastic food.

One of those things happened. My favorite. If you've been following my blog, you know which one that is.

So, after work, I headed to my friend Sherisse's apartment to get ready. It was really nice to have "girly" time, just like when I was at Cornell and the girls and I would get ready for formals together. Put on some music, make a cocktail, and let's get to primping! My old apartment was perfect for this because the bathroom was HUGE, and had a large (almost full body) mirror and plenty of counter space. Slovakia doesn't put as much emphasis on checking your reflection before you leave the house to make sure that you look like you got dressed with the lights on. Oh well. I had the eyes of my friends!

After Sherisse and I did each other's hair (the first time I had done anything besides blow dry it!), we progressed to make up, and then getting dressed!

That's when the first of our visitors showed up. I was lucky enough to be able to invite a couple of my friends, mostly because they worked for companies that were members of one of the Foreign Chambers. All together, it was Sherisse, Justina, Basack, Dominic, Bondi, Kevin, Maxime, Anders, Sarp, and MOI. Quite the band of misfits. We do clean up well, however, as you can see from the photos below.





After toasting with some of Slovakia's finest sparkling wine, Hubert deLUXE (for those of you from Cornell, think Andre, only better and cheaper) We headed out into the early evening for some dancing, auctioning, and of course...eating. The caterer for the event was Red Monkey Group, which I had actually suggested when I overheard that the ladies were looking for someone to do the meal. They are a branch organization for a couple of the best restaurants in town, so I figured it would be a safe option. If there is something I love, it is researching for event planning. I got a taste of it when I was the Social Chair for KD with Melanie Tu our sophomore year...and now I keep going back for more.

Here is part of the buffet that was out on our way to the cocktail station (they had Mojitos!) Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, fresh mozzarella and tomatoes, slices of cucumber hollowed out with fresh tuna and chili powder, and new potatoes filled with cream cheese and caviar. All very tasty. (as was the mojito)



These are the plates we got from the main course buffet table. I have to say, the staff did a great job of getting pans in and out in time for the guests so that no one had to go without one particular item. Some of the things I had:

Tiger Shrimp roasted with cherry tomatoes and citrus butter
Salmon wrapped in bacon with spinach gnocchi
Marinated white asparagus
Caramel drizzled cream puffs with vanilla cream
Panna Cotta with lychee
Apple Strudel with English cream

...there were more things, but translating them is difficult :)



This is the damage afterward....




All in all it was a great night, other than the fact that I had to keep seeking shelter from the cold in the arms of my friends. I had a coat on, but it wasn't enough to stop the wind from piercing my soul. However, we stayed all the way through the Charity Auction, and even got to watch the BCC SR's member, Trevor David Smith (a famous singer) sing some songs. I was able to coax Sarp to dance with me :).

We'd had enough after that, and ordered some taxis to take us to Las Vegas Club, which was conveniently right by my bus stop to get home. We danced to 70's, 80's and 90's music (including Kylie Minogue's "Lucky"...I didn't know she was so cute back then!) and then went home. I was beat, and happy to get out of my dress and sleep.

Let me out!!!! (pwease?)

On Saturday we celebrated my friend's Justina and Mattia's farewell. (We celebrated Friday too, until 5am, but I guess we can focus on other things) We decided to have a BBQ up in Koliba, which is essentially the Slovak equivalent of going up to the Metropark or to the mountains, taking over an area big enough for 20 people, and starting up a decent fire. I was unsure of the skills of my pyro counterparts, so I packed other forms of food that did not require roasting. This was very smart.

The area that we were in was beautiful. The sun was shining, and there was just enough shade to escape the heat if necessary. We unpacked our brigade right next to a small stream and got busy trying to burn stuff. The only problem was that it had been raining earlier in the week, so most of the usually lightable twigs and leaves were still a bit damp. Never fear! We had someone's guidebook to torch! (that was NOT my idea) So, as the boys worked on the fire, we girls unpacked our non-grillable items and got to munching :).

They did finally get a decent fire going, and suddenly sausages, chicken wings, and steaks were being either grilled, smoked, or burned on top of an aluminum plate that the Mattia had brought. He was in charge of the grilling apparatus...and that is what he provided. A disposable broiling sheet, and some charcoal. Bravo! Next time, maybe the AMERICAN should be in charge of grilling items, since it is kind of a historical past time for us...I'll let the Italian be in charge of antipasti. (Mattia, if you're reading this, everything was fantastic!!!!! :))

The day was super. There was music, laughter, food, and even a playground! Friends took loads of pictures, so I'll try to steal some of those in the near future.

After the BBQ, we all went back for a brief recharge, and then went to a bar called Za Operou (which literally means, behind the Opera) to watch the UEFA Euro Cup! The game we were interested in was Portugal v. Turkey. Portugal won 2-0. We then planned to move on to a places called Harley's, or Harley Davidson's. Yes, the rip roaring, crotch rocket riding bunch has infiltrated Central Europe. The difficulty was trying to figure out how we were all going to get there. The bus routes were a bit confusing, and there were only so many cars. Luckily, I was able to snag a spot riding in a car with Sarp's friend who works for the Turkish Embassy. She is the nicest person, and has been working as a diplomat in Bratislava for 1 year now. They give her a company car, so she drives a really nice BMV suv. Since there were so many of us, I volunteered to ride in the back :)




It was actually a really smooth ride, and they fed me Toffifees, which are these delicious caramel, chocolate and hazelnut candies, so I was ok :) It brought back memories from when we used to pile 8 girls into a VW Super Golf in order to get to swim practice. Contortion was our specialty.



Harley's was a really cool place. The majority of it was outside, and they had multiple bar areas, good music, and an elevated dance floor. We were able to take over a whole area of picnic tables so that we could give Juste and Mattia thier gifts :) I won't reveal what they are, because it may be sort of embarrassing for them, and it's kind of an inside joke anyway. SORRY!

More to come on the play-by-play action of my life!

A tour of food!

Last Wednesday was my last English Lesson with my Public students (*tear*) They decided to take the grammar teacher, Mirka, and me out for dinner and drinks! I of course was not going to say no. Therefore, you get another food foto frenzy! (I know it's spelled "photo", but the triple-f action was just too difficult to resist). Here are some of the dishes that I have been introduced to recently:



My friend Jana ordered this. It was potatoes, vegetables, and a fried egg on top. It looked delicious, but I didn't ask her for a bite. She tried Hoegaarden for the first time that day. She liked it!



This is what is called a "Thieves Pocket", and it is one of the specialties made at Bastion Pub. Mirka ordered this one. It is like a pirohy, but only folded over rather than wrapped. It had LOTS of good stuff in there. She shared with me :).



Now THIS is what I got to eat!!! RIBS BABY! I was a little bit nervous, because the last time our group ordered ribs at a restaurant, it was not too pleasant (aka: charred with minimal meat, and no sauce) These were actually pretty good! Very tender, and the sauce, though minimal, was a nice honey glaze. I ate all of them...I couldn't help myself! I did share with Mirka and Peter though, because I could tell they were interested.

This next one is a house-made pita (that the chef gave to us on the house!) with 2 different sauces. One was a "harissa", or spicy bell pepper, and the other was a "picadillo", or a mixed veggie salsa. Both were delicious. So delicious, that I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the food! My Swedish friend Anki and I decided to go out to dinner before the Sweden-Greece game yesterday. We found this great tapas restaurant called Rambla on Michalska with outdoor seating. We had proscuitto with melon, spicy shrimp skewers, roasted potatos with a spicy tomato sauce, and spinach with raisins and pine nuts. Very satisfying.




That ends our food foto frenzy for today. More to come!

Near Death Experience

So it is a beautiful day today, and to bask in the sun's glow I met Anders and Rob for lunch near the Danish Embassy. We were enjoying our daily menu selections when I heard the following:

*rumble*
(silence)
*CRASH*
*roll*

A basketball sized piece of the roof had gotten loose from the top of the building, careened down, and crashed 3 feet from where I was sitting! I almost had my head clobbered in by an end piece of clay tile roofing! That would certainly have put a damper on my mood! Everyone around us was so shocked. Luckily, I only heard what happened, I didn't actually see it coming toward me. The boys however, were so surprised that they kept asking me if I was ok! Don't worry, no damages, but a very embarrassed restaurant staff.

High Society (but without the Gin)

If you have any bartending experience, you know that a High Society is generally made of the following components:

1 part Gin (typically Beefeater)
1/2 oz. Peach Liqueur
1 part Campari
2 parts Grapefruit Juice

If you do High Society in Slovakia (aka, a posh event) here is what it looks like:

1 part Scotsman
1 part Ambassador
2 parts thick accents
1 part handcrafted bar
5 parts leather couches
1 part Kilt
Free Alcohol to taste





I was invited to the Grand Opening of Whisky Bar 44, a very masculine, but elegant bar near Old Town. The owner, who is now a member of the BCC SR, is Stiubhard Kerr-Liddell (pronounced Stuart). He is a jovial guy, who I have never seen out of his traditional Scottish garb. On the day of the opening, he became a grandfather :). I actually was able to have a nice conversation with him, where he recommended certain types of Whiskey for me to try, including Bruichladdich. I am excited to take people there who would like to experience the refined art of savoring a well made single malt, or a respectable blend. They also have Zlatý bažant Xtra Cold, a beer that has an iced tap. Very interesting, as I'd never seen a frozen tap before!

All in all, a great event to see some of our members in a relaxed atmosphere. I was able to sneak in a couple of my friends, so I wasn't too awkward. I still hesitate a little when rubbing elbows with all of these big time CEO's, but I think I made an impression on a couple of them (in a good way!) and that should prove fruitful in the future.

Moment of Peace

Quote of the Day:

"Someone was trying to shit-stir, and if they wanted their shit stirred then stirred their shit was jolly well going to be"

-Stephen Clark, A Year in the Merde

OOO! AHHH! IMPRESSIVE!!

Matt's future (we hope)

Where have I been? Just look.

Baltimore, Maryland

(sorry about the blurry ones...)