Leon took this from our upstairs window about a week ago. It's already melted away... but I know there's more on the way
I forgot that I already uploaded my photos from our trip to Berlin this summer - a few of them. Above, Leon and I are standing at the footprint of the former Wall. There are more in my flickr set here.
We went for a long weekend - we took the train and stopped in Dresden along the way. I liked Berlin a lot. It was hip and vibrant and stimulating, and yet so moving for all its history. At the Reichstag, we saw the memorial to the 96 parliament members of the opposition parties killed by the Nazis in 1933. All over the city I saw places where inspired Korean tourists had written "Korea reunification" (in Korean). Leon really liked the Silent Room inside the Brandenburg Gate - he says he wants one built into our future house! We went to a great wine bar, where you paid 1 euro to "rent" a glass, drank what you wanted, then paid what you thought was fair on the way out. And we ate a lot of kebabs, because they are so cheap and good in Berlin.
I'm a sucker for songs about long-distance love (I know a thing or two about it) or lovers otherwise parted. Also, this is worth listening just for Buddy Holly's rockabilly way of singing "I love you." *Leon and I watched Juno over the weekend (it finally came to the CR); this song was on the soundtrack. I'll be back with a real post soon (probably later this week).
So I followed the recipe in Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (which is fantastic - both Leon and I use it all the time), and was surprised to learn that osso buco is veal. I don't believe I had ever had veal before this meal. (Is there something unethical about veal? If there is, someone please enlighten me.) If there is something wrong with eating veal, I have to admit I'm glad I didn't know about it last Sunday night because wow... it was soooo delicious. If I do say so myself. And it was really fitting for the cold, rainy weather we were having that day. I also made risotto milanese, which is the traditional accompaniment to osso buco, and the gremolada, a sort of herbal topping that cuts through all the richness... Oh, heavens. It was all great. It was probably about 2000 calories per plate, but hey, that's okay, we're fattening up for winter.
I also didn't realize the timeliness of my making this dish. Osso buco, it turns out, is a dish that originated in Milan... where we're going this weekend!
Today the new semester begins, and I start my new classes. I'm really going back to school, now. A little nervous, but excited. Wish me luck!
With the start of school, I'm going to consider this the official end of my summer, which means that time is up for our list. We didn't cross off everything, but a great many of them. And it's been really fun. The list was good for making us be more proactive about the things we'd been talking about doing. So we'll probably keep doing things on the list. As a matter of fact, I crossed off #24 yesterday - I made osso buco! Will post that soon.
The photo above is from inside the building where I'll be taking most of my classes. It's old and rickety, but charming. It reminds me of my favorite building at Berkeley, Wheeler Hall.
Last Sunday, we took the train to nearby Karlštejn Castle, about 50 km outside of Prague. On the way we noticed that our train was really crowded with people, and when they all seemed to get off at Karlštejn, we just thought the place must be popular. As it turned out, there was a wine festival going on at the castle that weekend. There were many stands selling cups or bottles of burčák ("young wine"). We're not sure how burčák is made exactly, but it seems to show up every year around this time - I guess around grape harvest time. It's very sweet and a little tart and usually appears to be homemade (judging by the 1.5L plastic soda bottles they're sold in, often with the old labels still on). We got one cup each of red and white burčák. It was a really lovely fall day, and as we walked up toward the castle with the rest of the throng, all around us there were live music and festivities going on.
Divoká Šárka is a nature reserve not far from where we live. We didn't spend an entire day, exactly - more like an afternoon. It's really big, and we only saw a corner of it, so we'd like to go back sometime. It was a little cold, but the air was clear and brisk. Afterward, having noticed that there was a McDonald's by the entrance to the park, we stopped by to get some of their apple pie- which is one of those things that suddenly seem to taste so good when you're living abroad.
They have Smurf-flavored ice cream at the gelateria down the block.
Aaaaaaaaaand... we're back! Actually, thanks to my ever capable husband, I was back in business a week ago. Now, I can have iPhoto AND my web browser open at the same time. People, it's amazing. It's like it's 1995 around here. Maybe I'll even get one of these e-mail accounts people keep talking about.
Sorry I've been holding out the past week. And look what I've been holding out on: kimbap!
We did it! We made kimbap. My friend Sunbee came over to help. And by coincidence, Davey, who was supposed to leave Prague that day (we've been here long enough now that we actually have friends moving away) was "stuck" for one more night in Prague due to a cancelled flight. So he also joined us in the kimbap-rolling. Sunbee, the most experienced kimbap-maker among us, led the way and we followed. We made a lot - about 15 (uncut) rolls, maybe? It was so fun! And delicious.
