Germany

Posted on August 7, 2012 | 11 comments

Once we joined the tour, our life ruled by schedules. It will be like

6.00 am: wake up call

6.30 am: Suitcase out to be picked up

7.00 am: Breakfast

7.30 am: On the bus to go to the next destination

From Belgium, he made our way to Germany.  After a while on the bus, we stopped for coffee and croissant in a cafe and it was the first place where we had to pay money to go to the toilet. Yes, it may sound a bit ridiculous but most of the places in Europe charges from € 0.40 to € 0.60 to access the public toilets.

Then we made our way to Sankat Goar via Frankfurt.

Frankfurt

Frankfurt is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region .Frankfurt is the financial and transportation centre of Germany and the largest financial centre in continental Europe. Frankfurt lies in the former American Occupation Zone of Germany, and it was formerly the headquarters city of the U.S. Army in Germany.

The centre city is very nice, lots of shops, old sections of the city to see, lots of outside cafe’s and very walkable.

Sankt Goar

Sankt Goar is a town on the left bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis and it’s well known for its central location in the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage.

Sankt Goar is lovely, we arrived early in the afternoon, so had some time to wander around before we needed to join the Rhine river cruise. We were lucky to have a beautiful bright sunny weather.

We walked along the river and then went to the town square with churches, lots of little cafes with outdoor sitting and souvenir shops. There was a really interesting Statue of a lady and a boy. I didn’t know what it meant but it looked like the boy was asking for some food and she was giving something from a pouch in her hand. It reminded me of Oliver Twist 🙂

We took some photos in front of the church and then went inside to look around. There were a few people praying so we left them in peace and continued to wander around the area.

We bought few items from a souvenir shop but were really disappointed by the service. I was not planning to buy any breakables if they didn’t have proper wrapping so I specifically asked if they had boxes to pack them in and the owner said he did. But when I bought the item, they wrapped it in just a newspaper without any box. When I tried telling her that I really needed a box, she was so annoyed and replied, they don’t keep any boxes. I’m glad that the piece came to Sydney in one piece.

There were some shops selling really beautiful lace works as well. As it was almost time for us to catch the boat for cruise, we made our way towards Rhine River.

Rhine River Cruise

We had almost 40 people in our tour and there were many other buses that were waiting for the Cruise boat. So when we boarded the boat  it got very crowed. As we didn’t get time to have lunch, we went straight to the counter to order something to eat. There was a long queue already and it was almost 30 minutes before we were served.

AS ordered a beer and tortellini pasta stuffed with cheese herbal sauce and I ordered orange juice and Schweinshaxe which is knuckle of pork with sauerkraut and mash potatoes. We took a window seat and enjoyed our food with the river view. Once we were done, we went to the top deck to join the other. It was a nice sunny day which made the trip quite pleasant.

There was a commentary along the way pointing out some of the main features. We passed the Castle Pfalz situated on an island mid river and small towns on the riverside including Oberwesel with its stunning mountain top castle/hotel.

The highlight of the trip was The Lorelei .The mighty slate rock Lorelei in the Romantic Rhine Valley rises up almost vertically to 132m above the water-level. Downstream the river is squeezed into its narrowest and deepest (22m) point, so the Middle Rhine at this point used to be very difficult to navigate and the correct passage is (today) clearly marked with buoys. Even in the 19th century, reefs and rapids made it extremely dangerous for ships to pass this point.

The legend tells us, that a siren called “Lorelei” bewitched the hearts of the sailors and when they looked up to the rock, their boat crashed and they sank.

From there was the turning point with Burg Katz and Maus (Cat and Mouse) on display. Overall it an nice trip

Wurzburg

Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia, Northern Bavaria, Germany. Located on the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia.

After we settled in the hotel (Novotel) and had our meal, a few of us decided to discover the city by ourselves. The first stop was Rezidenz, a royal castle which looks pretty much like every other royal castle. It has beautiful gardens behind the palace.

Then we move to the Market square of Wurzburg, where they had Würzburger Weindorf (Wine Festival) going on. There was music, lots of wine stalls and food on display.

The square itself looked beautiful with lights everywhere. The square houses most of the city’s top landmarks and it is a charming and pleasant area to congregate as there are cafes, restaurants, shops, and of course the open market where one can delight in the fresh produce and flowers for sale.

Due to the wine festival the place was transformed into a giant fairground, food with wine and lots of people.

We saw a bridal party having something similar to a hen’s night. She had this box and it has small paper with prizes on them. You needed to pay 1 euro to play the game. Some of us did and there was only one winner who got to dance with the bride. The money was going toward her hen’s night drinks in the evening. It was quite interesting for us to find such a nice culture.

Everyone loved the wine and we got a souvenir cup from the place. From there we saw a few more historical churches and landmarks on the way back to our hotel.

Nuremberg

Nuremberg is Bavaria’s second city after Munich. While its history dates to the 11th century, Nuremberg is tied in most minds to the 20th century and more specifically to World War II. It first served as the site of many pre-war Nazi rallies, then was nearly levelled by Allied bombing, then was the site of the famous post-war Nuremberg Trials.

We were dropped off in the central square in Nuremberg. There is this beautiful church called St. Lorenz Church at one end and at the other end there is Der Schoene Brunnen.

St. Lorenz Church looked so amazing despite it being ruined after the war and was refurbished.

Der Schoene Brunnen is a 19 meter fountain with no running water which originally was erected around 1385. It looked really beautiful in the morning sun. It was originally intended as a church spire for the woman. Two rings are attached at the fountain, said to have been forged from one piece supposedly. There were few cafes and souvenir shops in the square as well.

From there we walked around and went to Heilig-Geist-Spital over the river Pegnitz. It was one of the largest hospitals in the middle ages for the care of the sick and elderly in the city of Nuremberg. After the World War II, the building complex was razed to the ground. It was situated on an island and has two lovely arches. Now it is partly used as a restaurant with a beautiful courtyard with fountain and summer houses, pretty tables for dining by candlelight and distinctive places within the premises furnished in typical Bavarian style.

Germany was interesting, a place I’d definitely go back to visit. Nice people and really awesome looking villages.

Please click here for more photos.

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Jamie Oliver Paneer, potato and pea curry

Posted on August 6, 2012 | 2 comments

Here is another of Jamie’s recipe I tried. This serves 4 people.

Ingredients

  • 250g Paneer cheese
  • 2 Medium potatoes
  • 150g Frozen peas
  • 300 g Basmati rice
  • 8 Green cardamom pods
  • 1 Small bunch fresh coriander
  • 2 Medium red onion
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 5cm fresh ginger
  • 1 tsp Korma curry paste
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Ground tumeric
  • 1 tsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Tomato paste
  • 100 ml Creme fraiche (sour cream if you can’t find it)
  • 1 knob butter
  • Vegetable oil
  • Sea salt

Steps

  • Preheat oven to 170 (low) and place 3 bowls (large soup size) in the oven to warm.
  • Cook rice according to package directions but add cardamom pods to the boiling water. Meanwhile…
  • Roughly chop the coriander leaves and put to one side, reserve the stalks.
  • Peel and halve the onion, then peel garlic and ginger. Whiz the garlic and ginger with the coriander stalks and half of the onion in a food processor until you have a paste.

  • Place a wok on a medium heat. Cut the paneer into cubes. Finely slice the remaining onion in half.
  • Add a splash of vegetable oil to the hot wok then stir-fry the paneer with a pinch of salt until golden brown. Tip into one of your warmed bowls then pop back in the oven to keep warm.

  • Carefully wipe the wok clean with paper towel and place it back on the heat.
  • Add a splash of vegetable oil to the wok and when it’s hot, add the paste from the processor, the korma sauce, cumin seeds, tumeric, garam masala and sliced onion.
  • Fry and stire the mixture until the onions are soft and the mixture is golden and smells fantastic. This is your curry base. Meanwhile…
  • When the rice is done, drain it in a strainer, then place the strainer back over the warm saucepan. Add the knob of butter to the rice and cover with a lid or aluminum foil.
  • Peel the potatoe and cut it into little chunks. You want them smaller than your paneer cubes.
  • Once the curry base is golden, add the potato chunks and the tomato paste. Pour in 300ml hot water and stir well.
  • Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes until the potato chunks are cooked through and tender.

  • Once the potatoes are cooked, tip the peas and paneer into the wok and stir through. Turn the heat off and cover with a lid.
  • Make your table look respectable. Get the cutlery, salt and pepper and drinks laid out nicely and lay out poppadoms and naan breads if you have them.
  • Get your warmed bowls out of the oven and divide the buttery cardamom rice between them.
  • Taste the curry season with a little salt if you need to then gently stir in the creme fraiche so it ripples through the curry. Spoon this over the rice, scatter with cilantro and tuck in!

You may also like :

*Jamie Oliver Szechuan stir fry with chicken and brown rice *Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Tikka Masala *Jamie Oliver’s Dan Dan Noodles

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Learn Nepal Bhasa / Newari – Chapter 11

Posted on August 5, 2012 | 6 comments
English Nepal Basa
Is lunch/dinnerready Jaa-bu-ta-laa? (rice cooked)
What’s for lunch/diner? Thauu chuu tar-kaa-ri? (today what vegetable)
No meat? Laa-ma-du-laa? (meat is not there)
We will have fish tomorrow Ka-nhay nyaa da-ye-ke-gu
Your lunch is getting cold Jaa-khwaa-unn-la
I will cut the vegetables. Jinn ta-ra-kaa-ri taa-naa bi-i
The milk is boiling over Du-ru daa-si wa-la
You can out the pan on the fire. Taa-kyaa de-chuu-saa ji-la
The fire is burning idly. Mi gyaah ju-la.
Something is smoking. Kuu wa-la
The roof is leaking. Paujwah
There won’t be any lights today. Thauu ma-ata-wa-i ma-khu.
The try is dry. Hi-ti-i lah ma-wah
I have been robbed Ji-thay khu-yaa yanka-la
I lost my ____________ Ji-gu ______________ta-na.
My room is on fire. Ji-gu ko-thaa mi chyaa-naa chwa-na

Please click here for previous chapters.

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Posted in Learn Nepal Bhasa / Newari, Nepal

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Nwaran for my nephew

Posted on August 3, 2012 | 3 comments

Baby BJ was 11 days old last Friday so we had a ceremony held for him called Nwaran.

The ceremony is also known as Machabu Byakegu in Newari. It takes place on the  11th day from birth. This ceremony is performed to give a birth name to a child according to his/her lunar horoscope, this is usually not the name by which he/she will be known. This ceremony is normally small and celebrated amongst close family.

We are lucky to have a friend who is also a priest. He gave us a list of things that are required for the day and everything was ready when he arrived at my brother’s place at 8.30 am.

The main ceremony was conducted in the balcony of my brother’s apartment.  Before the priest arrived we had cleaned and mopped the place. So, when he arrived, he started making a Mandap on the balcony. Once it was ready he asked my brother to come and join him for the Puja.

He had all his books of mantras and it took more than an hour for the first phase of the Puja to finish. It involved lots of mantra reciting from the books and lots of different Pujas to God, with candles on the Mandap.

Then he asked my Sister in law and Baby BJ to join the Puja. He chanted more mantras from the book. Then he asked my SIL to perform Puja to the sun. Then he put tika on Baby BJ’s forehead and gave him a piece of paper which had details required to make his Jaata (lunar horoscope chart). It will be done by my parents in Nepal.

Then we took little BJ for Surya Darshan, i.e. to let the sunray fall on him as a blessing. He was also given a holy cloth with his birth name written on it.

Then he put Tika on my brother, SIL and then the rest of us. He also put Janai (holy string) around our wrists.

After that all of us put Tika on baby BJ as our blessings.  Little BJ got lots of gifts from all of us, mainly clothes and toys.

After the Puja was concluded we had our morning brunch.

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Posted in Family, Nepali Culture, Newari Culture

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Jamie’s Italian : Restaurant Review

Posted on August 2, 2012 | 5 comments

As you already know that Jamie Oliver is my favourite chef, I meant to go to Jamie’s Italian for a while but didn’t quite seem to manage. Finally last night I and my hubby decide to give it a go and we are so happy that we did…

As my friends had told me there could be a wait during dinner time as the restaurant doesn’t take bookings, we decided to go a bit early to avoid the queue. We were there at 6pm and were delighted to get a table straight away.

As we walked into the restaurant, there is pasta-making area in the front window and there is an area where you can have a drink while you wait for a table. The whole place has this big warehouse, rustic/industrial vibe. We were seated in the ground floor and we could see the frantic open kitchen where chefs were busy preparing food. There was an upper floor above us as well. The tables upstairs and down were all metal with graffiti walls, wire mesh and copper pendant lights.

Also when I went to the ladies, the bathroom looked like it was from the 1930’s with a dim light and old style basin and tap.

When we were seated, we were given menus, water glass and a jug of water. As it was a restaurant by an international celebrity chef, I was expecting the place to be pose and high-end with menu price at top of the range but I was really happy to see that he has catered for the mid range rather than high-end. The prices seem so reasonable and comparable with a normal café.

The staffs seemed busy but were polite and filled up your water as required.

Crispy Squid

Sweet Mini Chilli peppers

For entrée we ordered Sweet Mini Chilli peppers, stuffed with whipped ricotta, mint & lemon and Crispy Squid, fried squid served with really garlicky mayo & lemon. The size of the squid was not that big but for the price and as an entrée, they were fine. The most important part is that they were delicious.

As we finished the entrée and the table was cleared and while we were waiting for our main we got homemade Rosemary Focaccia Artisan Sourdough, Ciabatta & Tortano from their bakery Crispy Carta Di Musica. It was on the house and the timing was perfect. They were nice with olive oil and herbs on them.

For the main I ordered Osso Bucco Milanese which is an Aussie lamb cooked overnight with tomatoes, saffron, wine & herbs, served on oozy polenta Bianca.  AS ordered Tuscan Wild Boar Sausages which isjuicy red wine & fennel sausages served with a warm, minty lentil salad & salsa rossa piccante.

Osso Bucco Milanese

Tuscan Wild Boar Sausages

I was really happy with my lamb as they were so soft and they came off easily from the bone. The sauce was so yummy as well that I didn’t leave anything on my plate. I tried sausages as well but I didn’t like it that much as I found the flavour a bit strong for my likening but AS loved it. The food did taste fresh and  the portion size was generous.

Tiramisu

After the main, we ordered their famous Tiramisu which is a coffee-flavoured trifle with orange mascarpone & chocolate. As a non coffee and alcohol drinker, I found that it had more coffee and alcohol than most tiramisu I have had. The mascarpone layers were set and unripened and the cakey layers were a bit wet but overall the dish tasted nice.

I know as a fan of Jamie Oliver, I was meant to like his restaurant but my review is honest to my taste buds and I have to say the food actually speaks for itself. From the dishes I have tried, I can honestly say I loved them all. The service was always prompt and friendly and the atmosphere casual and welcoming. Jamie’s Italian is good honest food for the body and soul.

You may also like :

*Jamie’s Crackin’ Crab Briks, Couscous Salad & Salsa *Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Tikka Masala *Jamie Oliver’s Dan Dan Noodles

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