Montenegro: A Jewel by the Adriatic Sea

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels, On Agriculture and Food

I am back in DC now after little over a week in Montenegro. Admittedly, Montenegro is one of my favorite countries (one of 10 of the about 45 countries that I’ve been to, but nevertheless a favorite!) The landscape is so beautiful, ranging from the rocky cliffs and turquoise water at the Adriatic coast in the south, to the steep, seemingly black mountains and pasture slopes in the north, and with interesting cultural sites like hidden monasteries, the old capital Cetinje, and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Venetian town of Kotor (there are photos from all these places in my blog archives). I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to work there. I also work with a very good team, so I always look forward to going back. And not to forget: the food is fantastic! Locally produced fruits and vegetables, meats and seafood, and delicious cheeses. The dishes are something of a blend between typical Balkan food and Italian dishes, with lamb, dolma/sarmale, prosciutto, cheeses, pasta, and polenta. As I wrote earlier, my favorite dish is seafood risotto and I have to admit that I tried it at several different places this time, from black to saffron risottos. And as all countries in the region, Montenegro has a proud history of wine production, with Vranac and Krstač being domestic grapes. I would recommend Montenegro to anyone who wishes to visit Southern Europe for vacation!

My favorite: Saffron risotto at Hotel Podgorica. The black risotto is colored by octopus ink.

The Millennium Bridge at Night

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

After an evening stroll (everyone in Podgorica seems to be out tonight!) and a gelato, here is a picture of Podgorica’s Millennium Bridge at night. What the picture doesn’t show is all the frogs that were sounds in the Moraca River under the bridge. I was really tired before the dinner, but the ice cream seems to have done the trick! Sugar kicks… The nutritionist in me knows that they should be avoided this late in the evening, of course, but the food lover in me finds it difficult to say no to quality gelato. The eternal struggle of man, I guess! Anyway, it is very nice to be here these first days of summer.

Back in Podgorica

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My life, My Travels

After another very interesting day listening to farmers and extension workers, I am now back in Podgorica. The weather is perfect! I have a busy week in front of me but I work with very good and committed people so I really look forward to it. And I look forward to the food, of course! Montenegro has the best seafood risotto and I always have it at least twice when here. And then there is the vegetables and cheese, which are wonderful. Dinner soon… In the meantime, here is the view from my hotel:

In Montenegro

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My life, My Travels

I am in Montenegro since Thursday afternoon. I can barely believe that it’s only three days since I arrived because I have already done so much. As always, I am here for work and I went directly into a meeting as soon as I arrived, and it has been non-stop ever since. But it’s interesting and inspiring as always. Friday afternoon, we went out to Kolasin (about an hour’s drive from Podgorica) for a two-day conference with female farmers and extension agents. Yesterday was a day filled with presentations by ministry staff and international experts, and discussions between farmers and extension workers about gender issues and obstacles to female farmers’ full participation in the agricultural sector. It is so interesting to listen to what these women say about the obstacles that they see in their work. The hotel where the conference is arranged is located in the town Kolasin, which is a ski resort in the mountains, and the surroundings are beautiful. A sign on one of the squares informed us that Kolasin is traditionally famous for its many cafes and food establishments. Already in the beginning of the last century did the chairs at the town’s cafes equal its numbers of inhabitants! On the way here, we passed the Monastery Moraca, which dates back to the 13^th century. The church had amazing paintings but we weren’t allowed to take photos inside, so I can’t show. The gardens were, however, so peaceful and I could have stayed for hours. In short, even though I have worked all weekend, it’s been very nice! Here are a few photos:

Changing Chisinau

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

I spent five lovely days in Chisinau, and almost every moment of every day in the company of friends and colleagues. I had to work for a few days but could go in to my old office and catch up with my colleagues over a coffee in the kitchen. It was great! Everyone asked me if I thought a lot of things had changed since I lived there, but since I have been back almost every year since I moved to Washington in 2008, I’ve seen the changes that have taken place over these years. There were, however, two things that had happened since I was there in September. One was that there were recycling bins for plastic bottles all over town (and in use, as E pointed out), and the other was that “The Park With the Lake Without the Lake”, i.e. Valea Morilor, finally had gotten the lake back! (I wrote about it in 2008, you can see here how it looked then.) Otherwise, I have to say that most of the visible changes relates to food. New cafes and restaurants are popping up, and small snack and beverage vendors are everywhere, leading Moldova on the overweight and obesity path of other middle-income countries. Here are some photos of that and other:

The new lake in Valea Morilor

Message close to the American Embassy and not entirely clear if by a Moldovan or American signatory…

Waiting for the baptism to start in the Romanian Ortodox Church on Strada Puskin.
A few of the snack and beverage vendors in the Central Stefan cel Mare Park.

Although the kiosks and food vendors are spreading around Chisinau, I also found this little bookstore by the tram stop, next to the news paper stands. No wonder I like Chisinau so much!

New recycling bins

And finally outside the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, where I spent a lot of time while working in Moldova.

In Chisinau

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

With popcorn and a book in the Pushkin Park in Chisinau, which I just discovered has been equipped with wi-fi! I’m only here for a few days, for the baptism of E’s and C’s little son Leif, to whom I will be one of the nanas (godmothers). But though short, it is so good to be here!

Kew Gardens

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

We spent the first half of the day today in Kew Gardens. Or the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as they are officially known as. It was amazingly beautiful so if you ever have a chance to go there, do! I am definitely a city person and I love big cities. As you already know, Paris and New York are my favorites and I find DC a little too small for me. However, I also believe that we humans have something of a spiritual need for nature. Gardening has, for example, been proven to be beneficial for our mental and physical health. And my impression is that consumerism becomes more exacerbated in more urban areas (though it might be difficult to say if it’s a result of supply or demand). As cities grow across the world and cover an increasing part of land areas, making parks and other green areas an integral part of the urban landscape will be even more important for the wellbeing of people. Personally, I feel so relaxed after spending time in a large park, and I really love designed city parks and botanic gardens, where plants and paths and decorations have been planned by someone with a passion for landscaping and where every detail has a thought behind it. The English are obviously experts at this and Kew Botanical Gardens exceeded all my expectations. It was really a wonderful start of the day!

London Snaps

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

These past days have been really full, with sightseeing, a work related meeting, a visit to the Google Office here in London (it was amazing by the way!), a brunch and a dinner with different friends of E, a coffee and a walk in the Kensington Gardens and around the palace with my friend Igor from Moldova (there is a post about him somewhere in my blog archive from around September/October 2008), tea and chocolate shopping at Harrods, and lots and lots of just walking around and playing with E’s and J’s little children. I have to say that I like London better this time than any of the other times that I’ve been here. Perhaps thanks to E who also made me fall in love with New York. The weather is still what it is, though, and I have been freezing most of the time since I, as always when I go to northern Europe, didn’t manage to pack warm enough. But it’s greener than I remember and there are so many nice neighborhoods, parks, cafes, and restaurants everywhere, so it’s been a very nice weekend. Here are a few pics from the past days:

Liberty

Royal Albert Hall

Igor in Kensington Gardens

Queen Victoria and the Kensington Palace

On E’s and J’s street

Birthday in London

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

So this year, I ended up being in London for my birthday. The graduation for my MSc program is in a few days so I decided to take a few days and visit my lovely friends Elisa and Julien, who moved here a few months ago. They surprised me this evening with cake and sparkling wine, to celebrate. So nice! I can’t even remember the last time I had candles on my birthday cake. Best of all is their company of course! Since I arrived from DC this morning, I’ve been very tired all day and didn’t do much other than walk around in the neighborhood here in Chelsea and enjoyed the sunny weather. But I have a lot planned for the rest of my stay, with brunches, dinners, and sightseeing. And then the graduation ceremony of course! I will try to post updates will here.

Apologies for the boring post – I think my jet lag is catching up with me…

Three Lovely Days in New York City

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Åsa Giertz under My Travels

I just got back a few hours ago after three wonderful days in New York. I visited a friend of mine who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I had a really relaxing time with him and his friends. As he had other friends in town, we ended up doing quite a bit of touristy things and took several ferries around Brooklyn and over to Staten Island. We also had time for quite a few restaurants, cafes (Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint and Egg for brunch today, among others), and bars these days. A really good restaurant that we went to was Traif. It served French inspired food, tapas style, and everything was delicious. (Or I see now that they refer to it as globally inspired soul-food, but I thought what we ordered very French.) It’s on South 4th Street in Brooklyn and I can recommend it! And Sunday afternoon, we went to a band session at The Shanty (New York Distilling Company), which made me feel a little like a student again and thinking that I should do such things more often! I ended up working all day yesterday, but working in New York still feels a bit like vacation to me. The trip was totally spontaneous, but I am really glad I went! Here are some pics: