CZECH REPUBLIC

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog on this new week!
Today's country is the beautiful


                                                                 
                                                           CZECH REPUBLIC
                                                (Česká republika in Czech)


Here is the Czech flag.


Here is a map of Czech Republic.

                                                   SIGHTS

Czech Republic's size is: 78,866 km² in total.According to the travelling website http://www.touropia.com , the TOP 10 Best Places to visit in Czech Republic are the following:
1. Praha (the Capital City)
2. Cesky Krumlov
3. Kutna Hora
4. Karlovy Vary
5. Castle Karlstejn
6. Telc
7. Olomouc
8. Litomysl
9. Moravian Karst
10. Plzen

Castle Karlstejn looks so beautiful and so full of history! I wish I could visit it.


Kutna Hora is a wonder of old archictecture. Don't you imagine a movie being shot here?

Now that we've seen the sights, let's eat!

                                                   Czech Food

First:

"Tatarak" is raw meat. 

"Chlebicky" is a sandwich that can be served as a first meal, but also as a main. It is an open faced sandwich that is often served during parties. Toppings are usually eggs, ham, salami, pickles and cucumbers.

Main:
- "Vepro Knedlo Zelo" is roast pork, bread dumplings and stew cabbage.


"Gulas" is the Czech version of the Hungarian Gulash. 


"Smazeny Syr" is a street food composed of deep fried cheese served with fries, salad or bread roll. Ideal for the cheese lovers!


"Grilovane Klobasy" is a grilled sausage tucked into a bacon roll and served with tasty sauces.

Dessert:

"Palacinky" This is almost like French crepes, but prepared on a different cooking method and batter. 


"Trdelnik" Originally Hungarian, this Czech speciality is usually served warm and topped with sugar.
.
                                                   

                                                  MOVIES
Here is a list of the best 10 Czech movies for movies lovers like me!
1. He Stood at the Till (U Pokladny Stal), Carl Lamac, 1939
2. Closely Watched Trains (Ostre Sledovane Vlaky), Jiri Menzel, 1966
3. Christian (Kristian), Martin Fric, 1939
4. Once Upon a Time, There was a King..., Borivoj Zeman, 1955
5. Cesta do Hlubin Studakovy Duse, Martin Fric, 1939
6. The Emperor and the Golem, Martin Fric, 1952
7. The Hand (Ruka), Jiri Trnka, 1976
8. Love of a Blonde (Lasky jedne plavovlasky), Milos Forman, 1965
9. The Fishermen's Ball (Hori, ma Panenko), Milos Forman, 1967
10. Three Wishes for Cinderella (Tri Orisky pro Popelku), V. Vorlicek, 1973
My favorite danish movie director is Milos Forman, I love his movies! 

Here it is for Czech Republic!
Doesn't it seems so beautiful? Have you already been there? Seen these films? Tryed these food? Don't hesitate to comment on my blog!
Want to see which country is up to next? Then come back next week!!
Have a lovely week, and let's fly through Europe together!


PS: In bonus this week I wanted to share this recipe video with you:

LATVIA

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog on this new week!
Today's country is the beautiful


                                                                 
                                                              LATVIA 
                                                (Latvijas in Latvian)


Here is the Latvian flag.


Here is the Latvian map.

                                                   SIGHTS

Latvia's size is: 64,589 km² in total.According to the travelling website http://www.touropia.com , the TOP 10 Best Places to visit in Latvia are the following:
1. Riga (the Capital City)
2. Sigulda
3. Jurmala
4. Ventspils
5. Rundale Palace
6. Cesis
7. Cap Kolka
8. Kuldiga
9. Gauja Natural Park
10. Liepaja

Here is the beautiful capital, Riga.


Have a look at this Jurmala beach! Isn't it perfect for the summer? Originally it was a cluster of fishing villages, but is now a seaside resort! (since 200 years)

Now that we've seen the city and the beach, let's eat.

                                                   Latvian Food

Appetizer:

"Piragi" are half moon shaped bacon rolls with onions and eggs served with a cup of chicken broth.


"Sklandrausi" are delicious vegetable tarts. Most of the times, it is either with potatoes or carrots.

First: Soups!

"Auksta Zupa" is a cold beet soup.

- "Frikadelu Zupa" is a meatball soup, it is delicious!


Main:


"Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi" is the most latvian speciality. Its a stew made from peas and mixed with onion and diced speck.


"Kartupeli ar skilki un biezpienu" is a meal that mix three of the most typical latvian foods combined in one: herring, cottage cheese and potatoes.

- "Karbonade": breaded pork chops. One of the most common dishes.


Dessert:

"Kartupelu pankukas" Potato pancakes. These are crispy and salty with sour cream and berry jam. Doesn't it water your mouth?


"Debessmanna" is cranberry pudding. 


"Rupjmaizeq Kartojums" layered rye bread dessert. (rye breadcrumbs, whipped cream and cranberry jam) This is the most delicious latvian dessert. Its second name is Latvian Ambrosia, because even the pagan gods in Livonia used to love it! (So you also will !!)


Other:
Black Bread is served with every meal! Varieties include "Ista rupjmaize" (dark rye bread), "Saldskaba maize" (sweet sourdough rye bread).

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                                                  MOVIES
Here is a list of the best 10 Latvian movies for movies lovers like me!
1. A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer's Eve, Janis Streics, 1981
2. Kapteina Enriko Pulkstenis, Ericks Lacis & Janis Streics, 1968
3. Mans Draugs (Nenopietns Cilveks), Janis Streics, 1977
4. Teatris, Janis Streics, 1978
5. Cilveka Berns, Janis Streics, 1991
6. Motociklu Vasara, Uldis Brauns, 1975
7. Vella Kalpi, Aleksandrs Leimanis, 1970
8. Elpojiet Dzili, Rolands Kalnins, 1967
9. Ezera Sonate, Varis Brasla & Gunars Cilinskis
10. Klavs - Martina Dels, Olgert Dunkers, 1970

Here it is for Latvia!
Doesn't it seems so beautiful? Have you already been there? Seen these films? Tryed these food? Don't hesitate to comment on my blog!
Want to see which country is up to next? Then come back next week!!

Have a lovely week, and let's fly through Europe together!



PS: In bonus this week I wanted to share this funny video with you:

SLOVENIA

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog on this new week!
Today's country is the beautiful


                                                                 
                                                              SLOVENIA 
                                                (Slovenyia in Slovenian)



Here is the Slovenian Flag.


Here is a Slovenian map.

                                                   SIGHTS

Slovenia's size is: 20,273 km² in total.According to the travelling website http://www.touropia.com , the TOP 10 Best Places to visit in Slovenia are the following:
1. Ljubljana (the Capital City)
2. Lake Blade
3. Triglav National Park
4. Postojna
5. Piran
6. Ptuj
7. Celje
8. Kranjska Gora
9. Koper
10. Maribor



Lake Bled seems so relaxing!


In Maribor you see beautiful architecture but also you can drink the oldest wine in the world!

Talking about wine, let's go into the food!

                                                   Slovenian Food

There is an expression in Slovenia that can be translated as "Love is experienced through the stomach".

The traditional first course is a soup (mainly beef or chicken soup), thick soups take an obligatory and important place in Slovenian cuisine.


Here is some thick Goveja jukha beef soup.


Here is some Kisla Juha soup, with pork, vegetables and vinegar.


Then, you can order many different main courses. For example:
- Shashlik
- Sausages "cevapcici" or "carniolan" served with sliced onions
- Ravioli "Zlikrofi"
- Calamaris with cheese and ham
- Pilaf, which is a speciality with rice and crabs, shrimps and mussels


This is Carniolan sausage. As mentionned before, this is served with onions.



Here is some Pilaf as mentionned before.

For the sweet tooths, Slovenian cuisine has lots of desserts:

- Potica is the most famous slovenian dessert. It can be flavour from about 80 different fillings. The most common potica is walnut flavored.

Here is some Walnut Potica.


Here are some other Potica with different fruit fillings.

- Bled Cream Cake, originally from the Gorenjska region, this cake is a cream slice made of dough packed with a layer of vanilla and a thick layer of cream. Doesn't it seems delicious?



- Prekmurska Gibanica.


                                                   

                                                  MOVIES
Here is a list of the best 10 Slovenian movies for movies lovers like me!
1. Kekec, Joze Gale, 1951
2. On Our Own Land (Na Svoji Zemlji), France Stiglic, 1948
3. Don't Whisper (Ne Cakaj Na Maj), Frantisek Cap, 1957
4. Vesna, Frantisek Cap, 1953
5. To so Gadi, Joze Bevc, 1977
6. Outsider, Andrej Kosak, 1997
7. Rooster's Breakfast (Petelinji Zajtrk), Marko Nabersnik, 2007
8. Hang On, Doggy! (Sreca Na Vrvici), Jane Kavcic, 1977
9. Don't Cry Peter (Ne Joci, Peter), France Stiglic, 1964
10. Masquerade (Maskarada), Bostjan Hladnik, 1971


Here it is for Slovenia!
Doesn't it seems so beautiful? Have you already been there? Seen these films? Tryed these food? Don't hesitate to comment on my blog!
Want to see which country is up to next? Then come back next week!!
Have a lovely week, and let's fly through Europe together!


PS: In bonus this week I wanted to share this cool video with you:

POLAND

Hello Everyone!

I hope you're excited to discover more about today's country!
Today's country is: 

                                                                 
                                                              POLAND
                                                     (Polska in Polish)


Here is the Polish flag.


Here is the Polish map with its important cities.

As always on this blog you will discover this lovely country through the best things in life: sights, food and movies. Let's get started, shall we?



                                                   SIGHTS


Poland's size is: 312,679 km² in total. Pretty big country, isn't it?

According to the travelling website http://www.touropia.com , the TOP 10 Best Places to visit in Poland are the following:

1. Krakow
2. Warsaw
3. Gdansk
4. Wroclaw
5. Poznan
6. Tatra National Park
7. Torun
8. Bialowieza Forest
9. Lublin
10. Malbork

Unfortunatelly I have never been in Poland, but it's on my travel list!

Nature seems very present in the country side, and very beautiful, and on the big cities, it is the architecture that seems so lovely and authentic!



Here is a panoramic picture of the main square in Krakow.


The vivid colors of Wroclaw can heal any bad day away!


Tatra National Park, isn't it the perfect hiking spot in Poland?

So you now know where to travel in Poland to see historical building, and even where to hike. 
Now what do we eat?


                                                 
                                                   The Polish delights


Let's go meal by meal. And of course our day starts by having a breakfast! (breakfast: sniadanie)

Before getting into breakfast, I'd like to explain more deeply the way Polish eat because it is very different in terms of meals during the day:

Usually Polish eat 5 times a day:
1. a light / quick breakfast,
2. 10:00am second breakfast, usually a sandwich (sarnie)
3. 14:00pm lunch is late and very light, usually a soup
4. an afternoon meal
5. supper, usually late in the evening


A typical Polish breakfast consists of bread, cheese, raw vegetables, and not on the picture but there are also hard-boiled eggs and cold cut meats. Usually the second breakfast is a sandwich (sarnie) just like in breakfast but closed (so it can be packed into bags).

Now that they have had a great morning, Polish eat their lunch! (lunch: na obiad)

Here is some Rosol a typical chicken soup. Usually for their afternoon lunch, they eat soup with as side dishes vegetables or rice. The most famous soups are Zurek (potato, sausage and egg), Kapusniak (sour cabbage), Grochowka (thick pea) and Zupa grzybowa (mushroom).

Placki ziemniaczane (potato pancake) Potatoe pancake made with grated onion, carrot, parnsnips or other vegetables.

Finally here comes dinner. Dinner is the heaviest meal of the day!

Here are some Pierogies filled with meat and vegetables. These are a delight!

 

Kotlet schabowy Breaded pork and potato dumplings.

Bigos is a traditionnal meat stew with cabbage, sauerkraut, cuts of meat, mashed tomatoes, honey and mushrooms.

If you want good deserts, Polish tend to bake wonderful cakes (wonderful looking and delicious tasting!)

Here is a Christmas treat called Chrusciki.

Piernik the Polish Gingerbread with lots of different tastes.

Makowiec is served at Christmas and Easter.

Ok so now that we've eaten everything, it's time to relax in front of good old (or less old) movies!

                                                 
                                                  MOVIES

Here is a list of the best 10 Polish movies for movies lovers like me!

1. The Dybbuk, Michal Waszynski, 1937
2. The Ghosts, Eugeniusz Cekalski, 1938
3. The Last Stage, Wanda Jakubowska, 1948
4. Wajda's War Trilogie: A Generation (1954), Kanal (1956), Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
5. Eroica, Andrzej Munk, 1958
6. Dom, Jan Lenica and Walerian Borowczyk, 1958
7. The Last Day of Summer, Tadeuz Konwicki, 1958
8. Night Train, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1959
9. Knights of the Teutonic Order, Aleksander Ford, 1960
10. Mother Joan of the Angels, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961

I think it weird that Roman Polanski the famous movie director has no movie on this top 10!

My favorite Polish actress is Carroll Baker.

Here we are for Poland! Hope you've enjoyed this beautiful country!

Have you ever been in Poland? Visited Krakow or Warsaw or even hiked in Tetra National Park?

Tryed Makowiec? 

Don't hesitate to comment on my blog! 

Want to see which European country is next? Then come back next week!!

Have a lovely week, and let's fly through Europe together!

PS: This week the bonus video is a wonder to the eyes!