A Visit to the Volčji Potok Arboretum

Dog water fountain. Curious, since I never see water fountains for HUMANS.

Thanksgiving and Slovenian Peacekeeping Cakes

the groaning table at our Thanksgiving party last Saturday

On the heels of the report of my first successful Thanksgiving here in Slovenia,* some New York friends sent along an interesting an article from the New Yorker (abstract here) by a woman who's cooked Thanksgiving in seven different countries. It was a harrowing tale, and one section especially jumped out at me:

"The worst was a dinner I put together in Södertälje, Sweden, in the fall of 1975, for the families of three Yugoslav workers from the local Saab-Scania factory. It wasn't the food that failed. My cranberry (well, lingonberry) sauce was good, and the turkey, fresh from my babysitter's boyfriend's mother's oven, across the street, even better. But my guests, as history soon showed, didn't really think of themselves as Yugoslavs. They though of themselves as Serbs, Slovenes, and Croats, and, while, they had always been agreeable and even effusive when we talked alone, they were not in the habit of breaking bread together. The conversation was, putting it nicely, strained; it flowed with the slivovitz that the men had brought, and each of them brought two bottles. They were close to brawling when the Slovenian's wife opened a box of homemade pastries -- flaky, buttery, mille-feuilles layered with thick whipped cream.** Peace returned to the kitchen table in my borrowed flat and lasted until, flushed with compliments and brandy, she smiled at the Serbs and Croats and said, "Slovenians make the best cakes."

* Super holiday party. 15 people strong. Juicy turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and more!
**kremšnita without a doubt

Lovely London Town

Last week, your fateful narrator took a lovely jaunt to the dreary but sparkling and wonderful London. It was food, friends, family, more food, and fun! Here are some images from my wanderings.


early morning Camden


massive amounts of donuts in Camden Town


(for you dad!) a weimaraner on the counter of a laundrette in Croydon


pieces of the Parthenon at the British Museum


at the Palm Tree jazz bar in Dalston where the cutest little old lady was on piano


something greasy and huge in Camden


the Lord Mayor's Parade - an old and annual tradition


a narrow London street


Camden Lock - the Horse Hospital side


celebrating my birthday at the National Gallery's cafe - two free scoops of ice cream!


a performance at Institute for Contemporary Arts


cupcakes at Old Spitalfield's Market


me under a rainbow in ASDA's car park - Mitcham, Surrey

Berlin Diary Nummer Neun: Carneeeeval!

Some people are lucky enough to go one carnival in their lives. I've already been to two this year. The first was in Venice, and the second was last weekend here in Berlin.  Last weekend, I was fortunate enough  to attend the four-day dancing in the street debauchery of Karneval der Kulturens. It was parades and bands and music and of course tons of drinking and bootyshaking in the streets of Kreuzberg in the name of multi-cultism.

Here are some images and video!