Anastasia

A Farewell to 2010 and a Warm Welcome to 2011

In my part of the world, in less than 10 hours, we'll be saying farewell to 2010 and welcoming 2011 feeling hopeful and positive that this brand New Year will be much happier, much jollier than 2010 and, most importantly, much more peaceful. As we are all preparing to welcome 2011 regardless of the time difference, let me share with you some of our customs and traditions on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The photo above is my humble "Vasilopita" - Saint Basil's Cake. I didn't have time to bake it myself this year, so I got it from a cake shop. For us Greeks, it is unthinkable to welcome the New Year without our Vasilopita. Saint Basil is our very own Santa Claus who also visits the Greeks on New Year's Eve after Christmas!. So we prepare a cake for him in which we bake a coin. When the cake is cut on New Year's Day, the one who has the piece with the coin in it is the lucky person of the year. The lucky person must put the coin in his / her purse hoping that the New Year will bring them money.

Saint Basil will also visit the Greek children again and put presents under the tree or in their stockings. In Cyprus we've also got what we call "pouloustrina" - a small amount of money given to children on New Year's Day apart from the presents brought by Santa (Saint Basil)..But beyond the material side of the New Year , there's also the sentimental one. On New Year's Eve, the young ladies in the villages of Cyprus, will throw olive leaves into a glowing fire. And they will say: "Please Saint Basil, show me if  X or Y loves me. If the olive leaf burns, it means that the boy named loves the girl! The sad thing is that this romantic tradition is threatened with extinction.

I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. And may all your dreams and wishes come true.

 

Christmas in Vienna

Saint Stephen's Cathedral

If you asked me to describe Vienna in one single word, I'd hesitate a lot. It's hard to find one word to describe the city where Europe's heart beats fast. Vienna is definitely a multi-faceted city: romantic, cultural, modern, musical, magical, surprising, light-hearted, tranquil, safe, peaceful, sophisticated, warm and friendly, awe-inspiring. This was my first impression of possibly the most seductive city in Europe.

Day 1 - Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I spent most of the morning packing while Alkis was at work - yes, it was his own choice to go to work. I made a mental note while packing: google "workaholic and cure!" Alkis came back at 1:00 pm, we had a snack for lunch and then called a taxi to drive us to the airport. I hadn't flown Austrian Airlines before and, I must admit, that was the best flight I've ever had in years! I completely forgot all about my fear of flying during the 3-hour flight to Vienna, Austria. Must be this delicious Viennese coffee they served after a light lunch!

Just arrived - Vienna International Airport

We arrived on time - 7:30 pm local time - and couldn't wait to meet the...snow! I don't usually like snow but when you live on a sunsplashed Mediterranean island, you sometimes long for  white Christmas. Once out of  Vienna International Airport, I could only feel the ...cold.  Minus 2 C. And NO SNOW! The taxi driver said there had been a lot of snow the previous week but it hadn't snowed for the last four days! When most of Europe was literally frozen - covered with snow to such an extent that most European airports closed, causing havoc, Vienna was spared! During the taxi ride to our hotel, Alkis asked me not to complain too much about not having snow. We were lucky to be in Vienna when other airports such as Heathrow in London and Roissy -Charles De Gaulle in France - not to mention Germany - had closed because of the snow.

Twenty minutes later, we were shown to one of the best rooms of Vienna Marriott Hotel situated near Saint Stephen's Square. We unpacked and soon afterwards we went for a walk in the city centre where Alkis kept taking photos of the fabulous Christmas tree and the Christmas decorations at Saint Stephen's Square.

I guess Alkis did his....best as a photographer! We ended our first night in Vienna at Huth's - a Viennese restaurant where I tried the boiled beef roll! I can't say I loved it but I do like trying the local cuisine when I travel.

Day 2 - Thursday, December 23 2010

After breakfast, we walked to the city centre, did some window shopping and had coffee and Sacher Torte at Sacher Cafe.

Vienna Marriot Hotel

Day 3 -  Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve. We decided to spend yet another day exploring the city centre in Vienna. We also did some Christmas shopping and bought each other presents. In the evening , we enjoyed one of the most beautiful Christmas Eves I've ever had - filled with Christmas Carols, Mozart, and Strauss Waltzes. The food was delicious! I loved the parfait of smoked trout with crayfish and...honey cucumbers, the Christmas goose with caramelized chestnuts and red cabbage and all the desserts!

The Christmas Eve Buffet at Vienna Marriott Hotel

Christmas in Vienna - Vienna Marriott Hotel

Christmas Eve 2010

Day 4 - Saturday, December 25 2010

Christmas Day. Having attended the Christmas Mass at Saint Stephen's Cathedral, we had a coffee at Sacher Cafe and then went on to see the Vienna Boys' Choir sing Christmas Carols. They were beautiful!.Then we had lunch at Huth Da Moritz - one of the best Italian restaurants in Vienna.

In the evening , we enjoyed a good Igler ( red austrian wine) and candlelit dinner at the hotel.

Day 5 - Sunday, December 26 2010

Bratislava, Slovakia is only a one hour train ride from Vienna. So, being adveturous, Alkis and I caught the train to Bratislava and then all ...the wrong buses to the city centre! After having toured Bratislava on various bus rides, we got off a bus at the airport and asked the bus driver how to get to the city centre. He didn't speak English or German or French or Greek but he was so helpful! He told us in his language the bus number .... osso sometihing. I thought osso could be eight and said so to Alkis. Then Alkis drew in the air  83. The slovakian bus driver smiled and said YES! Well, it was the only English word he knew. And he showed us which bus to take in order to get the 83 to the city centre. At the bus stop, a young lady whose English was almost perfect clearly explained how to get to the city centre. And so we did. But it was freezing cold! Minus 4, pretty much like in Vienna but there was a cold wind that made things worse. So, that's all we saw in Bratislava.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava, Slovakia

Day 6 - Monday, December 27, 2010

Salzburg. Being a great Mozart lover and a great Sound of Music freak, I couldn't leave Austria without visiting Salzburg. We set off at 7:00 am on a day trip tour. We were 6 people  - 5 Greeks and an Australian! AND Peter - our Austrian driver and guide. We had a stop at Linz for a coffee break. Peter explained that not far from there was Hitler's birthplace - Braunau-am Inn (Upper Austria). He went on to say that Adolph Hitler went to school in Linz before leaving Austria for Germany. And YES! Snow at last !

Linz, Austria

Next stop: Mondsee - The Moonlight Lake - the lake where part of The Sound of Music was filmed.  I couldn't believe I was looking at that very lake where Maria and the children fell into the water! We had a brief stop to take pictures. But I think that even the best photographer will be unable to capture so much beauty!

Next stop: Wolfgang Lake and Saint Gilgen - the village where Mozart's mother was born.

And finally, the beautiful town of Salzburg. We visited Mozart's birth house and the castle. I only wish we had some more time to visit the house of The Sound of Music located at about 25 km outside Salzburg.

Salzburg Castle

Salzburg Cemetery

That was the place where the Von Trapp family escaped from the Nazis in The Sound of Music. Fox wasn't allowed to film in the cemetery, so they made an exact copy of it in the studios.

Day 7 - Tuesday 28 December 2010

On our last day in Vienna we visited the Hofburg Palace. What was for 700 years the residence of the Habsburg Dynasty - to be more accurate from the 13th century to 1918 -is in fact a cluster of buildings erected at different times and in different styles. What I loved most was the Sisi Museum. Photos were strictly prohibited in both the palace and the museum but here's the main entrance.

Vienna, the Austrian capital, sits on the banks of the Danube, right at the foot of the last slopes of the Alps and is surrounded by that large green belt made up by the Vienna woods. Life in what was once the capital of one of the most powerful 19th century empires  unfurls at the pace of a slow waltz. At the same time, it is the city of lively flea markets and modern fashion stores, of Sachertorte, appfel strudel, schnitzel, the unique viennese coffee and select pastry shops, of the Habsburgs and the headquarters of different international organizations. Now you see why it is impossible to describe Vienna in one single word.

Christmas Past

Trying to ...flame the Christmas Pudding

Christmas has always been my favourite time of year after the summer. As a little girl, I would help mum decorate the Christmas tree and make the traditional Christmas sweets - melomakarona and kourabiedes. On Christmas day all the family would gather together at mum's. I can still picture me sitting on grandma's lap , asking for yet another Christmas story....Mum would then serve champagne and canapés in the shape of Christmas stars or Christmas bells which prepared the palate for the festive lunch.

What mum named "Christmas Village" - made of chocolate, sugar and fresh cream inside the little houses.

A Christmas starter: king prawns decorating an edible Christmas tree. 

After lunch, the Christmas cake was served in the living-room with coffee and liqueurs while we'd open up our presents which had been placed under the Christmas tree a couple of weeks before Christmas - all bearing the label "Don't open before Christmas". I remember how anxious I was to open them before Christmas but mum said that if I did, Santa would never again bring me any presents at all. Terrified at the thought of Santa's wrath, I would sit on the floor by the Christmas tree contemplating the nicely wrapped boxes..trying to guess or imagine what was in them.

 

Nothing much has changed through time as I still anticipate Christmas with the wonderment of a little girl. 

May the beauty of Christmas bring you all special happiness and a special time to keep in touch and say how much we care.

Merry Christmas!   

Christmas Shopping 2010

Although I decided to do most of my Christmas shopping online this year, I honestly couldn't resist a stroll in the city centre early on Sunday morning. For the first time this year, all shops are open on Wednesdays afternoon and weekends throughout December. In the past, this only happened two weeks before Christmas. Only a year ago, while shopping for Christmas, I felt I was literally ripped off. This year, I was very glad to see that many shops had special offers. Just imagine! I got two pairs of leather boots for 209 euros.  Is it the financial crisis that has also affected Cyprus to a certain degree?

Beyond the tinsels and the sparkling decorations, apart from the shopping and all that commercial aspect of the season, Christmas is above all a representation of the love we universally feel for mankind.  

 

 

All I Want for Christmas

I was complaining the other day about our sunny weather, which is very unlike me because I love our blue skies and all the sunshine we're blessed with for the greatest part of the year. But when Christmas is round the corner, I really don't mind rainy days and colder nights.  Yesterday, all of a sudden, a storm broke out and the temperature dropped considerably. Despite my fear of storms - thunder, lightning, thunderbolt - I enjoyed reading Faulkner by the fireplace while listening to my favourite Christmas Carols.

Christmas is that time of year when we are all looking forward to spending time with family and getting presents. Although I look forward to getting many presents, all I really want for Christmas is spending some more time with Alkis and friends I haven't seen in a long time.

What do you want for Christmas?   

The Whims of the Weather and the Christmas Spirit

The Christmas Tree In My Office

I admit to being a Christmas freak. I love everything about Christmas: the sparkling decorations, the presents, the carols, the food.... So, by the end of October, I start making plans about my Christmas decorations both at the school and at home. December 1st is normally   the official decorating day. It's the only day of the year I enjoy listening to the rain and singing Christmas Carols during the whole decorating process. I decorate every single room at home including bathrooms. Christmas decorating usually takes me the whole day. But at the end of the day, I sit back - happy and content- I light a fire and all my Christmas candles. This is also the only time of year I don't mind stormy nights. On the contrary, I love them as being part of Christmas weather!

The Christmas Tree in my Classroom

Weatherwise, this year  feels Spring in December. When we have about 27*C (80F) at midday and 16*C (60F) at midnight, when we can still enjoy a meal outdoors, when we are still practically in summer clothes , I can't feel the Christmas spirit. Yet, Christmas is round the corner - whether the weather says so or not! So, I eventually got over my disappointment and decorated the school and home with.... a slight delay.  I am now enjoying a glass of Chablis at the vernada but I am determined not to allow the weather to spoil my Christmas!

The Christmas Tree at Home

 

I'm having a problem with my DSL connection - something's wrong with the telephone line. Hope to be back soon. Until then, have a great week ahead.

Born Free: Elsa the Lioness

Photo Credit

This is the most famous lion to ever walk on this planet. Her life was very short but she left a mark that will be there for many centuries to come. Elsa came in to the life of George and Joy Adamson in 1956 with her two sisters 'Big One' and Lustica when George was forced to kill their mother during one of his game drives. Later on, 'Big One' and Lustica were taken to the Rotterdam Zoo in Netherlands.

Elsa remained in the care of the Adamsons. A relationship soon developed and she was more of a domesticated pet than a wild lioness. Joy Adamson was closer to Elsa than anyone else and their relationship was that of equals. Joy Adamson was determined to teach Elsa how to survive in the wild and she gave it her all. With a lot of setbacks, she managed to teach her how to survive in the wild. Elsa's life was documented in many books and films earning her world recognition and fame. When she was three years old, she brought three cubs of her own to show the Adamsons. This was an emotionally charged moment as the Adamsons hugged and embraced Elsa and her litter. They named the cubs little Elsa, Gopa and Jespah. The four later returned to the wild but they kept in touch with the Adamsons.

Elsa's life was suddenly cut short when she was only five years old when she succumbed to an attack of babesiosis, a blood disease that mostly affects the cats' family. Her remains were buried in the Meru National Park. Elsa's story shows us that there is more to the wild animals than we care to know. They too have a compassionate and softer side that we can relate to if only we take time to understand them; those animals too need love, care and affection, that we humans can coexist with them and still respect each other. Let us all do all we can to make this a better planet for all animals.

via www.articlesbase.co

Let us all respect animals' rights to be free in their natural habitat. To me, hunters are criminals and there should be a law banning all animal hunting. Environmentalists and conservationists don't seem to be working hard on this as most countries make big money out of hunting licences. It is also cruel to train animals to perform tricks for our entertainment! Experimenting on animals is just as cruel not to mention that animal experimentation can raise ethical questions such as :

• Is it acceptable to give a laboratory animal a human ear or heart?
• Is it ethical to experiment on animals without painkillers or anaesthetics?
• Genetics engineering can mean that laboratory animals are given genes which can cause  birth defects. When they reproduce, their youngs will be born with genetic problems. How justifiable is this?