Home for the Holidays

  6:30 AM came fast, as it felt like my head had hit the pillow seconds earlier.  After spending the majority of the night at our company holiday party, with over 1200 colleagues that lasted well into the morning (3:30 AM to be exact), I learned that next year, I will have to better plan my trip home for the holidays.  With my apartment cleaned, fridge cleared, and bag delicately packed, mostly with glass and gel candles from the Vienna Christmas markets that I cannot carry-on, I departed for the Vienna airport, for my short hour flight to Zurich, then 10 hours of fun in coach to the windy city.

  Upon arrival in Switzerland, I received some bad news while passing through Swiss customs to my connecting flight.  Since I have a Slovak work permit, I was told I will no longer receive EU passport stamps when traveling through Europe.  I love travel, and my reaction to finding out that I will not be receiving stamps was the equivalent of being told that Santa Claus does not exist.  I will definitely have to find a way around this obstacle, or else book all my travel through non-EU countries.  After passing through customs, I made sure to stop for lots of Swiss Chocolate, and headed over to the next security line, which the airport was handing out candy for the wait.  Although the flight was long, the ride was easier because Swiss Air provides the widest selection of movies of any airline I have traveled on, and you can start and stop each movie at anytime.  Which made the experience even better was they served ice cream mid-flight!  I think I know where I will be connecting on my future flights.  The only odd moment about the flight was when landing, where as usual, the pilot provided the weather and wind conditions, which were 0 degrees, and 40 mile per hour winds, followed with a “hope you enjoy your stay in Chicago”.  He probably could have ended on a better note saying at least there is no snow, but regardless, I am happy to be home.

  While I packed light for my travel to Chicago (1 bag), my “bags” for the return trip to Bratislava will be much different.  Two weeks earlier, I started ordering items online to bring back with me.  Other than my computers, I only brought one electrical item to Bratislava from the US, which my Playstation became so hot from 20 minutes of use, that a 240/220W to 120/110W power converter was essential if I am going to watch any of my DVDs.  I was warmed of this potential issue by a colleague ahead of time, but like most guys, did little research and still went ahead anyway.  Unlike my past travel when I packed just a laptop that had power converter capabilities, I now know that a regular plug adapter does not account for the wattage difference, even if the product does work while plugged in without the converter.  Hopefully I did not fry my Playstation, or else is it back to watching Shawshank in Slovak. 

  The second item on my list is something that I have had trouble finding in Slovakia.  A couple months ago, when viewing different apartments to lease, I was told you could always tell when an American was the prior tenant.  In Europe, it is not common for the bath tubs to have a shower curtain, so anytime there was a curtain, the prior tenant was most likely American.  While my apartment here does have a shower curtain, there is no holder for the handheld water sprayer.  Since using the handheld faucet is the only way to shower, and I have just two hands, I must set down and turn off the water mid-shower each time, which is absolutely awful.  So I ordered a portable shower arm suction grip to hopefully make that not one of the worst parts of my day.  While I am trying to live as European as possible, there are some things that will just not work, at least not in the winter months.

I am looking forward to seeing my family and spending time with friends during the holidays.  I want to wish everyone happy holidays, and hopefully will get to see some of you while in Chicago.  Please note the pictures below were taken in the summer, and it is getting colder there now, which I did hear snow fell in the city for the first time.

View from my desk; my apartment (or flat) is exactly right in the middle of this photo and a 7 minute walk each day

UFO bridge on the Danube

Christmas Markets

  Fried, and covered with cheese and garlic, my taste buds were telling me to continue, however, my heart was crying to stop.  Another bite and I might as well order a side of bypass surgery to go along with my plasky potato pancake dish.  Since my first trip to a local hospital, which was required for my residence permit, began with a chest x-ray from a 50 year old machine the size of a Hummer, and resulted in a month long bruise on my entire right forearm from giving blood to a woman who did not wear protective gloves, I decided to listen to my heart.  No, I was not at another American fast food establishment, but rather enjoying the Christmas Markets of Bratislava and Vienna this past weekend. 

 
 


         The Christmas markets begin in late November throughout cities and town across Europe, and become a mecca for celebrating the holiday spirit with local crafts, foods, and of course, drinks.  Although more than a decade years ago, but since my university degree came with an elective course in ice staking, the ice rink built in the middle of the town square was no match for my skills.  I spent Saturday night with friends from the small American community here.  The weather was cold, but the vast selection of hot Slovak punches or wines with spices and fruit, and warm sandwiches made by the Serbs kept the conversations spirited.  I ended back to the markets multiple times this month to sample the fried potato wedges and different chicken, beef, and sausage items on delicious homemade bread.  At this Bratislava market, grease seems to be considered a condiment equivalent of ketchup, mustard, or onions.  Upon ordering a sausage that was prepared and waiting on the side of the grill, the cook took the sausage, rolled it around the grease pan, and put it back on my plate all while I stood there wondering if it would have been easier to just serve me a shot glass of used cooking oil.

  Sunday consisted of a quick hour long train ride to explore the various markets of Vienna.  Wandering down narrow pedestrian streets lined with shops and stands, Vienna offered a numerous selection of hand-blown glass, jewelry, and candles.  After a quick meal and tea, it was back to wandering the streets.  I found a nice selection of glass ornaments and candles for family, and the fun part will be traveling to Chicago with so much delicate glass.

  The markets may not be for the health conscious, and fortunately for my arteries they only a short time during the year, but they are definitely a fun and exciting time that are worth the experience.  

Stacks of fried plasky

Serbian Chicken and Beef

American Traditions

  Traditional Thanksgiving dinner this year was done “My Way”, and what isn’t more American than a flame broiled burger and fries from Burger King?  However, I did end up enjoying a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday at a party which was run by the American school in Bratislava.  But, while living in the US the last few years, I have probably eaten at McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC in total no more than four times in a given year.  In less than two months that I have been living in Europe, I have already eaten at these fine establishments a total of 12 times.  As I continue to experience new foods and traditions, I know I will eventually not eat at those places as often and more similar to the frequency which I did in the US.  However, as we make changes to our daily routine and travel or live in new places, I believe we initially search for things that we are familiar with, which make any change more comfortable, while slowly adjusting to the new surroundings.  Even the other day while compiling my Christmas wish list, this year I actually asked for frozen meals from local Chicago restaurants to bring back to Slovakia.  I am really looking forward to the challenge of bringing a suitcase full of Portillo’s Italian Beef and Giordano’s Deep Dish Pizza packed with dry ice through airport security.

My first duck meal with the team

  I believe that has been the case with me, and I have searched for some familiar things to slowly transition to living here, but I have let that stop me from trying and enjoying local foods.  Duck is one of the more traditional meals here in Slovakia, and I was able to enjoy a meal with my entire team one night.  It was my first time trying duck, and I had some initial hesitation.  Growing up, my family and I would vacation on a lake, and I run down to the lake to feed the ducks as they came by.  But the thought of fattening a duck up only to eventually grab one for dinner never crossed my mind.  The meal was delicious, and I will continue to try new traditional foods.  The one thing I told friends and colleagues here is to tell me what I ate after trying it, so that I go in with a clear, unbiased conscience, otherwise I may not even try the item.  I just hope that does not come back to bite me, but I will definitely blog about if it does.

  Another tradition that does not exist here is Trick or Treating on Halloween, which as a child, was one of the highlights of the year.  I am not sure how I would have survived here because if you ask any of my family, colleagues, or dentist, sugar and sweets are a constant staple in my diet.  Before you read this next sentence, I do actually eat pretty healthy, but we all enjoy certain foods.  Some of the items which are more difficult to find or do not exist here but are prevalent in American society are peanut butter, pancake mix (I have no idea how to make them without the mix), maple syrup, bagels, donuts, Cherry Coke, Chips Ahoy cookies (which I actually suffer from cookie binging can take down the entire row in 10 minutes without even noticing), Cheetos, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (and any Hershey product).  However, they have a wide selection of taco mix, soft shells, and salsa, as well as Philadelphia Cream Cheese.  So if you are able to visit me while here, you are always welcomed to stay at my place, but, I may request you bring a couple of the items mentioned above.

  Finally, one interesting observation in transitioning from a world of miles and gallons to kilometers and liters.  In the US, if I asked someone how far a city within the same state of my current location might be, I was always given an answer in the form of time – 30 minutes, 2 hours, etc.  But when you ask any here that same question, the answer is always in the form of distance, in kilometers, which I still have absolutely no idea.

Old Town Square

Walking through the Old Town to the Castle

Bratislava Castle