We’d never heard of Istria — the triangular shaped portion of Croatia that’s closest to Italy.

Then, we’d never heard of the villages — Motovun, Vodnjan, and Rovinj.

Making these acquaintances was a delicious delight.

Konoba Mondo in Motovun

Our first destination in Istria was in Motovun. The map said that all roads lead to Motovun, a lovely walled village on top of a mountain.

Jan made a 1:00 reservation for lunch at this konoba (tavern) in Motovun. According to Google Maps, we had plenty of time to get there before they closed mid-afternoon. We were surprised to see a DETOUR sign in Croatian when we tried to turn into the road to Motovun.

We went ahead anyway but were stopped by a huge pile of gravel completely covering the road. So we reluctantly turned around, and instead of taking the direct route, we took a 45-minute detour that allowed us to access the walled city from a completely different direction.

The hassle was worth it. This first (and best) meal on this foodie quest was at this charming, unassuming restaurant nestled in a quaint corner of this hilltop town. Sadly, our friend had learned about this restaurant from an Anthony Bourdain (RIP) TV episode. Also, the NY Times called Konoba Mondo “what eating in the Old World should feel like”.

The fresh tagliatelle with black truffles was amazing  Never before had we seen such huge truffle shavings. We learned that many “Italian” truffles originate in this area of Istria.

Not to be outdone, the homemade ravioli with black truffles was also delicious. Who knew that you could make celery ravioli?

After lunch we learned that Mario Andretti is from this town; Italy claims him as well, as the town used to be called Montona, Italy.

Truffles are a big deal in this area. On our next trip, we want to join some truffle-sniffing dogs and see how they find the truffles buried deep in the forest. Now, we’ll just have to be content with enjoying the fruits of their labor. We didn’t buy this t-shirt but thought it was cute.

Vodnjanka in Vodnjan

If you blinked, you would miss Vodnjanka, a gourmet paradise on the side of the road in the tiny town of Vodnjan. 

Here, they raise their own pigs for prosciutto. As they lovingly raise only two or three pigs per year, the prosciutto was excellent–very lean and tasty, and unlike any other prosciutto we had on the trip.

We also enjoyed the black truffle ravioli and gnocchi at this restaurant and were delighted with the just-out-of-the-oven chocolate cake which was the best ever.

Rovinj

We enjoyed our three nights in Rovinj, a delightful coastal town in Istria. It was once an island.

The octopus salad was tasty.

At Baldi trattoria, we said our farewell to Istrian cuisine by savoring this incredibly fresh calamari.

The delicious Croatian wines complemented the wonderful food.

We Highly Recommend Istria!

Now that you’ve heard of these areas, we recommend them for your bucket list. Your taste buds and stomach will thank you!  Next stop:  Slovenia

Croatia offers the sports enthusiast an endless variety of outdoor activities and adventures.  Over the last few weeks we’ve enjoyed the beautiful scenery and created our own triathlon, featuring stair climbing, biking, and kayaking.

Stair Climbing in Croatia

The walls of Dubrovnik, fortified in the 15th century, offer a mile and a quarter scenic stroll around the old city.

Stairs abound  — first we had to climb up to the wall, then up and down along the wall.

Luckily there were no cruise ships in town when we took our stroll on a late afternoon. So, we enjoyed relative peace and quiet as we peered down at the red tiled roofs of the old city.

Of course, we had a change to practice our favorite position.

The scenery along the walls was breathtaking, and we were also reminded that many people and animals live within the walls.

We also climbed through the wall to the Buza bar, where we enjoyed an overpriced beer and watched the sun set.

The “street” listed for our AirBnb, was actually a steep stairway.  Houses and apartments cover the hill above Dubrovnik, and all the up and down streets are not streets at all — just pedestrian stairs. We trekked up and down these stairs every time we wanted to get back to our apartment.

But, the trek was worth it!  Our apartment had a lovely deck for watching the sunset and enjoying calm morning coffee.

Ed found even the shorter Dubrovnik stairways to be visually compelling … he had to wait a bit for tourists (and locals) to get out of the way of his shot.

The stairways beckon — by day or night!

On the island of Hvar, our AirBnB was also located up some steep stairs above a beach. it offered a spectacular view from the deck.

On Hvar, we hiked to an abandoned village and saw this interesting  800 year old shelter for farmers. It has survived all these years, with no cement or grout. It’s able to move a bit during earthquakes and the central key stone holds the building intact.

We hiked a bit more and had amazing views of Croatia.

Stairs in Montenegro As Well

Our stair climbing continued into Kotor, Montenegro, where we encountered another walled city, with lots of opportunities to climb stairs.  

This “Great Wall of Kotor”, built between the 9th and 19th centuries, reminded us of the Great Wall of China.

Kayaking

In Dubrovnik, we joined a group led by Adriatic Kayak Adventures and kayaked between Lopud Island and Sipan Island (both are just a ferry ride away from Dubrovnik.) Before getting into the kayak, we learned a few tips on stroke techniques, donned our life jackets and kayak “skirts”, and headed into the water. We are glad to report that we did not capsize and held our own among the other kayakers (who were all in the 20’s or 30’s.) We learned that a 81-year-old couple from California had recently completed a 7 day kayak trip with our guide. Now that’s aspirational!

Biking

On Sipan Island, we traded the kayaks in for Trek Bikes.  

The bikes had a very familiar feel, and we enjoyed the scenic ride among the olive trees and vineyards. The 250 residents of Sipan Island are proud to be in the Guinness Book of Records for having the most olive oil production per capita than any place in the world.  We sampled the local production and it was delicious. We ended up on the other side of Sipan Island and admired the view.

On Our Next Visit to Croatia

We will expand our Croatian “Triathlon” to many move adventure sports that we witnessed, including:

Paddle boarding with white lab.

Sun bathing with a white lab.

Walking with golden retriever (don’t tell Sydney!)

But, alas we had no pets along for the ride.

We could have played water polo directly off the shore in the charming town of Cavtat (apparently many members of the Croatian National team have trained here.)

But alas, we had no water polo ball and no “speedos” (which was definitely a good thing…)

To round out our fitness program in Croatia, we  exercised our upper bodies by lifting steins of the local beers and glasses of delicious wine that perfectly matched the grilled local fish. 

After all of the exercise on this trip, our next destination will be more foodie experiences in Istria. As they say in Croatian: živjeli! 

During our three-week journey through Morocco, we embraced a wide variety of landscapes, peoples and cultures.

Meet the Berbers

80% of Moroccans are of Berber heritage. The Berbers developed a rich culture that thrives in the high mountains and desert. In the past, they lived side by side with a large Jewish population, and both cultures were influential to one another. The Berbers have a unique vocabulary and a wonderful, self-deprecating sense of humor:

A “Berber 4×4” is a mule that carries our luggage up a mountain to a Kasbah. This was a new mode of transport for our well-traveled bags.

Mules, which can climb stairs and hills are much more expensive than donkeys which only operate on level ground.

A “Berber gas mask” is a handful of crushed mint held up to the nose to combat the noxious odors in the tanneries where cow, sheep, goat, and camel hide are turned into leather goods using traditional methods and ingredients which include pigeon poop and organic dyes. These traditional tanneries operate as they have for hundreds of years large courtyards in urban medinas.

“Berber Pizza” is stuffed bread cooked in hot sand.

“Berber Whiskey” is mint tea poured from on high to aerate the flavors of the tea.

A “Berber salt mine” is a well operated by two guys with a rope and a basket. They scoop up the water in baskets and send the salty water to evaporation pools below.

Berber became an official Moroccan language only six years ago, and now it’s on many of the highway signs.

Many people speak Berber, Arabic and French, with a smattering of English in tourist-facing activities and commerce.

We spent a night in the desert, traveling on camels and sleeping in Berber tents.

We donned the traditional Berber headdress to protect our faces from sun and sand.

Berber people are friendly and hospitable; Omar, our guide, took us to his village and introduced us to his father.

He even tried our favorite pose!

Influence of Islam

Islam is the official state religion of Morocco. We learned that the “Minister of Islam” is a high government position, and the current Minister is a dear friend of the King. All communities have a mosque and the salaries for most Imams are paid by the government.

Most women wear modest dress with headscarves in public. Only men are seen in most cafés and if there is a woman in a café, people think, “she must be waiting for transport.” Beer and wine are only served in selected hotels (and some restaurants) that cater to tourists.

The call to prayer is heard five times a day. Jan previously thought that this was a pre-recorded tape, but she was corrected…. “No, the ‘muezzin’, a respected member of the mosque community,  chants the call to prayer in the minaret”. In cities, we could hear the call in “surround sound”, as multiple mosques were calling the faithful at the same time.

Jewish Heritage

Historically, Morocco had a large Jewish community that lived alongside and in peace with the Muslim community; as of 1980, most Jews had emigrated to Israel or elsewhere. Many Moroccan cities have a “Mellah” as the Jewish quarter is known. Mellah homes are different from traditional Moroccan riads. Unlike riads, which are focused on an inner courtyard or garden, homes in the Mellah have street-facing windows and balconies so Jewish residents could chat with neighbors without leaving their homes.

In Marrakech, we visited an active synagogue, which is a pilgrimage sites for many Israelis. We met a local man who had just returned from his mother’s funeral in Israel. She was 94 years old, and had left Marrakech in 1950.

And we learned that Chefchaouen, one of our favorite cities, was painted blue by original Jewish residents to differentiate it from green—the color of Islam!  This city offers picturesque vistas from every turn and is an absolute delight.

French City Planning in Morocco

French is the second language of Morocco (after Arabic). Wide boulevards, reminiscent of the Champs Elysees radiate from the King’s palace in Fes. These were designed by a French architect. Even Essaouira, a sleepy beach town with incredible kite-surfing and windsurfing, somewhat incongruously practiced alongside camel rides along the beach, was laid out by a Frenchman who wanted the “Medina” (old city) to have an organized feel and not be a labyrinth.

Gnawa Music (from Sub Saharan Africa)

The only “profession” in the village of Khamlia is making music. Whenever a tourist shows up, this talented bunch of musicians brings their traditional drums, string instruments, and castanets to perform mesmerizing music, as well as their attractively packaged CD’s for sale. This music originated with animism religions of West Africa and can often put the musicians in a trance.

Uniquely Moroccan

Riads are traditional Moroccan houses which focus inward, allowing family members to communicate easily across the inner courtyard. Traditional riads also have specialized doors with one knocker sound and smaller entry for family members and a different knocker sound and larger entry for visitors. If the family knocker sounds, the women inside know that they do not need to put on their robes and veils.

Not all doors have this feature.

In Morocco, the North African culture lives side by side with Islam, even though many aspects of the culture are “forbidden” by Islam; for example, trance-inducing music, tattoos (often worn by countryside brides), and “liberated” women.

Couscous is the go-to Friday meal (because it takes four hours to cook!) We were lucky to visit a friend’s home on a Friday, where we enjoyed this home-cooked beauty.

Jan  went to cooking school, where she chopped and diced her way to create delicious Eggplant Zaalouk and Seafood Pastila. She even got to eat it for lunch– and bring leftovers home to Ed.

The shopkeepers in Marrakech are friendly and the leather goods are lovely.

Weavers are everywhere, producing traditional woven goods from agave, wool, and cotton.

Blue Chefchaouen has become the new “Santorini” as a destination for Chinese brides and their photographers.

The Marrakech Medina is lively with girls in school uniforms. The future is bright, if these girls have anything to do with it!

Oil from the abundant olive trees is pressed and bottled using traditional methods.

Traditional fishing boats set sail every morning from Essouaira, on the coast.

The gigantic mosque of Casablanca — the largest one outside of Saudi Arabia —  can hold 25,000 worshipers inside and 80,000 outside! During Ramadan, we learned that both locations are filled to capacity on a daily basis.

“Au revoir”, “Salam Alikome”, and “B slema” Morocco! It was amazing. We are fortunate and ever grateful for your hospitality.

As they say, “inshallah”  (if God willing), we hope to return.

A few years ago, Ed’s second cousin, Shep Forman, suggested, “Let’s go to Eastern Europe to try to find the Forman roots.”  We thought, “that sounds fun … let’s plan it!”  As a result, we spent ten days with Shep and Leona Forman exploring Latvia and Lithuania–searching for Forman roots. Shep is the cousin of Ed’s father, and is the youngest member of that generation.

Tracking Down Family Genealogy

Specifically, we were looking for the birthplaces of Simon Forman (Shep’s father) and Samuel Forman (Ed’s grandfather) and their parents — Michael Forman and Maria Zimina. Shep’s father had told him that he was from Riga and records showed that Maria was from Kanaus, Lithuania. Shep’s father also said, “I’m Litvak”… which Shep assumed meant that he was from Latvia.

The Forman family emigrated to the US in the early 1900’s. Ed and Shep had researched their relatives on Ancestry.com before our trip, and they came equipped with some online records and documents. US Census data listed Simon and Sam as being born in “Russia”. (In the early 1900’s, Russia controlled all of Eastern Europe including the Baltic countries which are now Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.)

Riga, Latvia

Ed and I met Shep and Leona in Riga, a very cosmopolitan city, with many green parks and open spaces. At the Jewish museum of Riga, we met with a historian, who referred us to an expert a the Latvian archives. We made an appointment with her to meet the next day. This historian also commented, “I’m 100% sure that Maria Zimina is a Russian Orthodox name. This means that she was not Jewish. Instead, she was probably Russian Orthodox.”  This news was disconcerting to both Shep and Ed, as they had never imagined that there were Christian roots in their backgrounds.

At the Latvian archives our historian Rita could find no record of the Formans in Latvia. But she said, “often, people said they were from Riga, if they left Eastern Europe from Riga … even when they didn’t live here.”  (It was a major seaport and a gateway to the west.)

We were a bit discouraged by this data, but we enjoyed our stay in Riga anyway. We loved touring the old town and sampled “Black Balsam” … the native liqueur of Latvia. (If you ever need a really effective cough syrup, try Black Balsam–highly recommended!)

We attended the World Premier of the opera, “Rose of Turaidas” performed by the Latvian State Opera. Since we bought tickets in advance (for the sold out performance), we’d learned that it was a black tie event and packed appropriate attire. Ed and I bought our jackets and my scarf at the “Gold Mine” thrift store in Ketchum, Idaho since we received the news about “black tie” after leaving SF for Ketchum. This was the first time Ed ever put on a size “44 long”. But for $5, who can complain that the length goes below his second knuckle (!).

Little did we know that our seats for the opera would be five rows behind the President of Latvia and his wife. We learned this because the President’s beefy bodyguards (with earpieces) sat in our row! The lighting and staging of the opera was very innovative, and even though we couldn’t understand the nuances of what was going on in the opera, we enjoyed the performance.

Kanaus, Lithuania

After four days in Riga, we drove our rental car to Kanaus, the town where we hoped to find records for Mary Zimina who at this point could be characterized as our Russian Orthodox great grandmother. As we entered the town, we were not impressed. We saw rows and rows of Soviet-style dreary apartments and confusing traffic patterns. We checked into our hotel and after a lovely dinner at the Dia Restaurant, attended Yom Kippur services at the Kanaus Choral Synagogue, the only surviving synagogue in the city. It was a traditional Orthodox service, with melodies unfamiliar to Ed and Shep.

The next day we drove to the Museum of the Ninth Fort, on the outskirts of town. We were sobered to learn that this location was a killing field for 3,000 Jewish people from Kanaus who were marched here and shot in 1941. This picture in the museum illustrated the horrors of the period.

This monument was placed in front of the mass grave to honor the legacy of those who perished.

Vilnius, Lithuania

We traveled to Vilnius, a bustling, charming city with a vibrant spirit and lively Old Town. On our second day, we met with Regina Jopilevich, a local expert on Jewish genealogy and Lithuanian history. We took her to the hotel’s computer and she instantly started researching in online databases.

After about an hour of work, she had an ‘aha’ moment …. and found the birth records of both Sam and Simon Forman!

We learned that Sam, Simon, and their sisters were all born in Kanaus, Lithuania. And, Maria Zimina, was not really “Maria”, but Mariausha, daughter of Moshe …. These are all Jewish names, so the idea of some non-Jewish relatives was put to rest. Shep and Ed breathed a sigh of relief!  Jan just smiled with acceptance.

It was quite an exciting moment to see the records of all the Forman Family members. Regina was an expert at looking for different spellings of names (Fuhrman vs Forman, etc.). Also many of the children had Hebrew names, which were changed to American names when they moved to the US. The key to her genealogical research was finding the same names in previous generations, but because of the differences in the records between Hebrew, Russian and Lithuanian names, it truly took an expert to figure it out.

While researching, she found that Sam’s wife, Rose Fanger, was born in Moletai, a nearby village. (This town is also called  Malat and Malata… which adds to the confusion to the genealogy for the uninitiated.) So, we got in the car and drove to her village. We had a lovely lunch in a local cafe … complete with dumplings and herring.

After lunch, we met this 85 year old resident of the village who described her life in Moletai.

She invited us into her home (which had no running water). We imagined that Rose (Ed’s grandma) and her family could have lived in a similar home prior to emigrating to the US in the early 1900’s.

We met her husband, and were impressed with his US Air Force hat!

In this painting of Moletai’s past, we imagined Ed’s relatives strolling the streets.

In his role as “paparazzi”, Ed took photos of other houses in the village.

In Moletai we also visited an old Jewish cemetery by entering  through a hole in the fence.

On the outskirts of Moletai, we visited a somber sight where 2,000 Jews perished in the Holocaust. Recently, over 2,000 people were present for a commemoration and a screening of a  documentary  for the 75th anniversary of this atrocity. The memorial was in a relatively small space and we are told it was incredibly impactful when 2000 people surrounded the memorial in 2016. To provide perspective, the Jewish population in the region of Vilnius was in the hundreds of thousand before WWII and is less than 2000 today.

On our second day of research in Vilnius, we visited the Lithuanian Archives, where we searched for records on microfilm and ordered paper copies of documents. Leona was impressed by the  original birth records for the Fanger family.

And Ed and Shep found records from the SS Emory, the ship that carried the Forman family to the US in 1905.

During this research, Ed discovered that the aunt he was named for, Aunt Henrietta, was born in Kedainiai in 1874. We were also able to flesh out more of the details of Ed’s family. This was the Block family — Ed’s great grandma and great aunt on his mother’s side. So, we were off to Kedainiai where the Block family lived.

Kedainiai, Lithuania

We visited Kedainiai on our way back to Riga. This village can trace its heritage back to 1372. At one time in the past, Kedainiai hosted a large Scottish community. (Who knows, perhaps Jan’s ancestors crossed paths with Ed’s family in this village.) We saw many wooden homes. Maybe Henrietta lived in a house like one of these:

Our trip wrapped up back in Riga. Both Ed and Shep were very satisfied with our research results. It’s wonderful to know the connection with Lithuania. We celebrated our good fortune  during our farewell dinner. We were able to trace the Forman, Fanger and Block branches of Ed’s family back many generations and to gain perspective on their lives in Europe. We felt very lucky that most members of our families were able to leave early in the 20th Century, well before the Holocaust.

So, here’s a toast to Ed and Shep for a wonderful trip to Latvia and Lithuania! All four of us hope to return to these beautiful countries in the near future.

Recently, we spent 72 hours enjoying the sights and scenes of St Petersburg, Russia. We didn’t really know what to expect. Images derived from the TV show, “The Americans”, of KGB-types following us around and large pictures of Putin everywhere came to mind … but neither proved true. Instead we found a cosmopolitan city, alive with charm and idiosyncrasies.

The city was a delight. And although 72 hours is quite rushed to absorb such a culture-rich environment, we tried our best. At its core, St. Petersburg is a very European city with rivers and canals, wide avenues lined with traditional six-story buildings and many churches, although these churches are topped with Russian Orthodox “onions” rather than steeples.

Visit to The Hermitage

On the “beaten track”, we enjoyed the visual feast of the Hermitage, floor after floor, building after building. This museum had more riches and abundance of art than anyplace we have visited: twenty-six Rembrandts, two daVincis (out of the 20 still in existence), numerous works by Monet, Gauguin, Degas, and many other luminaries. The art ranged from Ancient Egypt to 1920’s Russia in hundreds of galleries in various buildings. The older art was in the Romanov palaces that line the Neva. The Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works were in the General Staff Building across Palace Square, which has been renovated brilliantly. (We saw much of this newer collection in Amsterdam in 2012 while the General Staff building was under renovation, but it is so special and unexpected at the Hermitage that it was worth seeing again.)

Everything about the Hermitage is enormous, including the plaza outside.

We snapped our obligatory picture at the Church on Spilled Blood.

We traveled within the city by subway, which was easy to navigate and very clean. Because bedrock is quite deep here, the escalators from the surface to the platforms were quite long, leaving ample time for passengers to send text messages, read their Kindles or turn around and have a conversation with their companions.

Giselle at the Mariinsky Ballet was terrific. The first act featured more pantomime than we are accustomed to at the SF Ballet; the second act had some brilliant technical dancing.

The ballet crowd was a mix of tourists and well-heeled locals. Some tourists donned sneakers and jeans, while most locals wore formal attire. We overheard one suit-and-tie attired cruise passenger proclaim: “They lied. They said jeans were not allowed!”

Only In St Petersburg

We wandered through the backstreets of Vasilyevsky Island and came across this surreal sight.

It seemed like a scene right out of Dali. But, later we saw that some entrepreneurs created a riding ring for children in an area that was once the courtyard of an elegant home.

One horse looked like she needed a bang trim.

In the enormous Palace Square, a mine troupe was joyously wrapping up their street performance.

And, instead of following us around, this red army soldier was carrying reams of paper back to the office!

This street musician was playing a saw, delighting his audience.

It’s a St Pete tradition for a bride and groom to pose at several locations around the city on their wedding day. We saw several couples. One bride was crying.

And one couple posed on a destroyer in front of a large gun.

St Petersburg is modern and lively. Instead of old rickety Soviet-style cars, we saw Mercedes, Land Rovers, BMWs, KIAs, and many other international brands. The young St Petersburg gals were dressed to the nines, and wore a lot of makeup. Lip plumper seemed especially popular. Locals even enjoyed sun bathing on the shores of the Neva river at the St Peter and Paul Fortress. (Not everyone thought it was chilly.)

The only images of Putin we saw were on matryoshka nesting dolls, in one set encasing the line of Soviet leaders and on the other, alongside Trump with a series of American leaders on the smaller dolls.

Logistics

We didn’t know anyone previous to this trip who had visited St Pete on their own without a visa; our trip went off without a hitch. The 72-hour no-visa rule is designed for cruise ship passengers, but it also applies to travelers on the ferry from Helsinki. We traveled on roundtrip tickets on the Anastasia (Moby St Petersburg line). It was a large, smooth boat with staterooms and cafes, and an all-night gaming lounge.

As we boarded the boat, we received a pile of bar-coded coupons, which acted as our boarding passes allowed entry our room and permitted us to dine.

We took a shuttle (run by the boat line) to our hotel on Vasilyevsky Island. Most of the other 100-or-so no-visa visitors were on tours, and were shepherded from location to location by flag-carrying guides

Our boutique hotel was delightful and provided very fast Internet. (Hopefully it was secure, as spent some time online commenting on Business Plans for our African Business School client. We made sure not to conduct any financial transactions while we were online.) The hotel even had a sense of humor, as illustrated by the door tags.

There are definitely trade-offs with this method of travel. A Russian visa costs at least $350 per person, and takes a while to obtain. But, with a visa, you can stay more time in St Pete and see more cities, including Moscow. With the visa-free visit on the ferry, you spend an additional four hours on the ship (after landing in St Pete and before departing the city), since you cannot spend a moment beyond 72 hours on the ground. In our case, the ship was quite sunny and hot, but we coped.

Even though our journey back from St Petersburg – Helsinki – Tallinn (and then on to a bus from Tallinn – Riga) took around 30 hours, it was worth it. The crew onboard told us that the satellite wifi was unreliable, so we enjoyed the chance to unplug, read, and binge on downloaded Netflix.

Spasibo, (thanks) St Pete! Do svidaniya (bye!) until next time.

We have just embarked on a seven-week journey around Eastern Europe and North Africa; we feel privileged to have the opportunity to experience new cultures and cuisines. We spent eight days in Poland, where we enjoyed visiting Krakow, Warsaw, and Gdansk. Our favorites were Krakow and Gdansk.  Instead of a popular view of Poland being a dour land of older ladies in head scarves sweeping their fireplaces, the Poland we visited was young, alive and vibrant. Along the way we tasted many new Polish delicacies.

First Course: Soup

Warm and hearty soup is central to the Polish cuisine. One day in Krakow, we visited a “Milk Bar” — an inexpensive, no-frills cafeteria style restaurant that used to be subsidized by the government during the Communist era. Here we tried: Zurek–a white soup from a sourdough base that included a hard boiled egg and sausage and Barszcz, otherwise known as Borscht—a clear tangy, beet soup. Both were pretty good, but basic. Later in our trip, at the Gdansk Solidarity Museum, we elevated our soup game by trying Carrot and Orange Creme soup. This was definitely more gourmet than the first soups we tried!

Poland is Pierogi Paradise

Pierogi are ravioli-like dumplings that come in all shapes and sizes. We tried a combo platter in Warsaw, which included Potato, Duck, Cheese, and Spinach.

Our favorites are the Russian Pierogi–which are not Russian at all, but are filled with a mixture of boiled potatoes mixed with quark (a type of cheese) and seasoned with salt and pepper  They are served with fried onions (sometimes crispy … sometimes sauteed.) Yum!  Some of the pierogi we tried were light and delicate; others were more dense. The thickness of the dough was inversely correlated to the quality of the restaurant!

And, on the potato front… they are everywhere!  Boiled, baked, mashed, fried.  The magazine on the LOT Polish airline even included an article titled, “22 ways to eat potatoes”. Potato doughnuts, anyone?

Traditional Dishes

We also dined on several traditional entrees: Beef Cheeks with wine sauce  and Pig Knuckle. Both were delicious. Sometimes they were served with an extra flair, including a flower!

And, we tried a few more unusual dishes — Bigos , a sauerkraut stew cooked with meat (surprisingly tasty) and Golabki, cabbage stuffed with meat and rice.

Dinner of the Knights

For Ed’s birthday, we celebrated at a Krakow restaurant in a medieval cellar. Here we dined in the style of the Knights of the middle ages. Wild boar.  Lamb chops. Goose carpaccio. Clear chicken soup that the bride and groom drink on their wedding night. And, Chilean wine that had a label printed in Polish. (Who knew that Chilean wineries can customize their wines this way for restaurants in Poland?)

Lots of Other Cuisines Exist in Poland

Lest you think that Poland only offers traditional dishes with lots of potatoes, we also enjoyed seeing the emerging “foodie culture”.  We were surprised to see the variety or restaurants, many with inventive names.

Gdansk Dining

Since Gdansk is along the waterfront, the seafood was fresh and delightful (with potatoes, of course).

And, we enjoyed Beef Bourguignon at Correze, a local French restaurant named for a department in southwestern France we had not heard of previously.

To Top it Off:  Vodka!

We tried many types of artisanal vodka (wodka), which was often served as a “bonus drink” with the check. Here’s our (not-too-scientific) analysis:  Ginger — very strong, tastes like a huge portion of candied ginger; Blackberry — tastes like cough syrup; Pear — not too “true” of a flavor; Mint — nice and subtle; Hazelnut — not too sweet and our favorite!

As they say in Poland, Na zdrowie! (Cheers!)

Sri Lanka embraces its long history as the “pearl of the Indian Ocean”. It has had its share of rulers (Dutch, Portuguese, British), but celebrated its 69^th year of independence on February 4, 2017 (while we were there). Tradition and history lurk around every corner, and since the end of the civil war in 2009, modernization has been on the rise.

Tea Time!

During our recent visit to Sri Lanka, we stayed in two tea plantations and hiked among the tea plants. In Dickoya we stayed in a Governor’s Mansion that was visited by Queen Elizabeth in the 50’s.

At this beautiful tea plantation, local women pick the fresh tea leaves in a methodical and organized fashion. We learned that each plant can be ready for picking every six days. The ladies work in groups – each picks her own row, selecting the freshest and newest leaves. They pick the bright green leaves on the top of the plant, leaving a spot for new growth to come.

The picking process has been the same for over 100 years. The ladies pick approximately 7 kilos per shift, and carry the bags of leaves on the back of their heads. It is a social endeavor – the ladies talk and laugh together while picking, and they receive frequent breaks for tea-time.

But now there is a modern twist. At the weighing station, the foreman uses a smart phone to scan the picker’s ID Card and register her in his database. Then he weighs her load and enters it on the phone. We don’t know if it’s beamed to the cloud immediately, but somewhere the “payroll department” receives it. The ladies earn $7 – 10 per day, depending on their productivity in picking.

Another of our Sri Lanka plantation accommodations was on a hilltop, nestled among 125-year-old tea plants. The road to get there was so old and rutted that it could not accommodate a regular tourist van. Instead, we were shuttled up the 3 km mountain road in a trusty Land Rover. Most locals walked up and down the hill, but those who could afford it used the dependable tuk tuk.

The ladies used the same picking and tea-carrying methodology.

And, this plantation’s modern twist was… an infinity pool!

Colombo – Old and New

The Dutch Hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka is considered to be one of the oldest buildings in town. Recorded as early as 1681, it has housed a hospital and a police station. It’s a beautiful building with Dutch-style architecture, and is steeped in history. The 50-cm thick walls keep out the heat and humidity. Old illustrations show patients on mats and mattresses. (It’s doubtful that the food was very good back then …)

Now … it’s been restored and hosts several gourmet restaurants. One of them, The Ministry of Crab, is rated one of the top 50 restaurants in Asia. We enjoyed dinner with our traveling companions, even though the restaurant charges New York prices! Keep Calm and Crab On!

At Colombo’s Independence Day Parade (held on Feb 2, 3, and 4), the traditional falcon-handlers were showing off their prowess in front of the Galle Face Hotel.

Traditional bands and drum cores marched through the streets with a huge show of military pride.

And, with a nod to the modern, the parade also included PT-boats, missiles and drones!

The Galle Face Hotel is the grand-dame of Asian hotels. Built in 1854, it has hosted celebrities from Arthur Conan Doyle to Scarlet Johansson. Now it’s a gracious, elegant respite with lovely restaurants and vistas. A marching brigade plays bagpipes at sundown and marches to lower the Sri Lankan flag. The pool is delightful and the Gin & Tonics are plentiful.

However, we saw that they were dredging the area to the right of the hotel (on the Galle Face Green). A Chinese company is developing an entire marina, complete with Hotel and Casino. Yikes! This is not the type of modernization that we would favor. Hopefully it won’t wreck the peace and tranquility of the lovely hotel.

Ancient Cities

Due to UNESCO World Heritage status, the ancient 5th Century AD palace of Sigiriya has been maintained by archeologists. Nestled atop a steep rock, there are the foundations of palaces, throne rooms, gardens and swimming pools.

While climbing down the rock, we watched a cobra snake charmer do his “magic”! Nothing modern here.

The ancient city of Polonnaruwa, from 13th Century, once hosted 20,000 residents but has been abandoned for 900 years. Beautiful ruins and statues still grace the area.

Yet, even near this ancient area, we stayed at a modernist, exciting hotel designed by Sri Lankan architect, Geoffrey Bawa. It has only 141 rooms but boasts one of the longest hotel corridors in the world. We almost reached our 10,000 steps on our Fitbits by walking to and from breakfast!

Riding the Rails

One area that has not been modernized is Sri Lanka’s train system. It is still reliable, heavily used, and a bit slow. The passing lanes are still monitored manually by a conductor.

And each station is a period-piece.

But the ride through the tea fields was beautiful and we arrived safely to our destination.  Luckily we didn’t need the “traveling repair van”.

Another Old and New City

On this trip we also visited Tamil Nadu, India.  And, on our trip back to the US, we stopped for a 36-hour layover in Singapore. This city-state exemplifies the exquisite combination of old and new. The Raffles Hotel is still a gracious queen of civility nestled among high rises.

And the Singapore Sling, a traditional delicious concoction that originated at this hotel, is served with grace … but once again, at New York prices.

The “Slings” allowed us to conclude our trip with a (albeit pricey) toast to this wonderful adventure!