Ideas and Travelling

Eat a banana! Cheer up! The combination of vitamin B6 and some other hard-to-be-pronounced elements in a banana helps our body produce a natural chemical called serotonin. With its numerous useful qualities serotonin is also able to allay depression. Rich in vitamin B6, potassium, fibre, magnesium, calcium and iron, bananas contain zinc, copper and almost no fat. What is more, eating a banana reduces the risk of heart troubles, heart attacks or strokes not love affairs ;) A banana may be a great addition to any dessert from fruit salad to smoothie. Here is a simple recipe of Banana Cream . Banana Cream INGREDIENTS 1 cup milk or kefir 200 g cottage cheese 2 bananas candied fruit (to your taste) DIRECTIONS Blend milk, cottage cheese and bananas. Pour the mass into cups. Add candied fruit. Enjoy your meal! Coming in a variety of sizes and colours bananas are not only yellow. There are green, brown or red bananas. Cretan bananas are famous...

Many acquaintances of mine still wonder if I ask them not to congratulate me on Christmas in December. They cannot realize that Russian people do not celebrate Christmas Day on 25 December. Well, now I am going to tell you a story… Russian Christmas Once upon a time there was the Russian Empire. In the XIX century it had lots of Christmas traditions similar to European. However, after the Great October Revolution of 1917 there happened plenty of changes. Some changes concerned the calendar. The Julian Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar. Thus, Christmas Day was removed from 25 December to 7 January. The former Christmas customs and traditions were banned as the official policy of atheism was discouraging any religious praxis. Thus, a Christmas tree became a New Year tree, St. Nikolaus turned into Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz) and the star of Bethlehem on top of the tree was replaced by the Red star. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 but the New Year celebrati...

The traditional Greek salad which you can order in Greece includes tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, onion, olives, salt, oregano, olive oil and a piece of Greek sun. “Greek Salad” in other countries may also contain a bell pepper, lettuce and lemon juice. Today I want to share the recipe which I use when I recollect my Greek holidays.  For 3 servings you will need: INGREDIENTS 3 tomatoes 2 cucumbers 1 onion 1 bell pepper 200 g feta cheese 200 g olives 3 tablespoons olive oil head lettuce salt, pepper and lemon juice (to your taste) DIRECTIONS Wash vegetables. Cut coarsely tomatoes, cucumber and bell peppers (putting away the seeds). Slice onion. Let it soak for 10 min in a bowl with cold water. Put some leaves of lettuce on a flat dish. Make dressing out of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put ingredients into a bowl, except feta cheese. Toss with dressing. Put mass onto the flat dish covered with lettuce...

Running dogs “Home sweet home” is almost the first phrase that comes to your mind when you arrive home. New emotions to share, new photos to be thumbed up… Living in the old appartment house Everything goes fine if you live in a cottage, somewhere in the countryside free from blocks of flats with thin walls. What I want to say is that I am really glad for those lucky ones who are not woken up by the cacophony of a neighbour’s TV every morning, a raging pee sound in the next door bathroom, loud hippo-like voices talking on the phone for hours. What discomposes more Stress surrounds us everywhere. After a working day plenty of people find home the very place to relax and escape from hustle and bustle. As for the dwellers of a flat, it is not quite possible. Old flats with brick walls without any noise isolation open a new world of Neighbourland. Don’t you like watching TV? You have to listen to it. Don’t you want to listen to your neighbour’s singing? You have to e...

Must see in Luxembourg Built between in 1900-1903 the Adolphe Bridge is a symbolic construction of Luxembourg. You can find the New Bridge (that’s the very name given to the bridge by the locals) in numerous postcards, T-shirts and mugs at any souvenir shop and you will do right if you buy any of these tourist little things to remember Luxembourg by. Adolphe Bridge in Luxembourg The Adolphe Bridge recieved its name from Grand Duke of Luxembourg reigning from 1890 to 1905. A guide will tell you that the Adolphe Bridge is 42 metres high and 153 metres long. Even though you are likely to keep these figures in your mind just for a few moments, just imagine that at the beginning of the 20th century the Pont Adolphe once was the largest arch bridge in the entire world! Best place to capture a scenic view Well, the best place to take pictures of the bridge is near the Monument of Remembrance in the Constitution Square in Luxembourg. The Monument is also known as “G...

Once you are in France, taste the traditional cuisine! You will certainly agree that the French cuisine is unforgettable: Escargots, Ratatouille, Soupe à L’oignon and many other special dishes. Escargots Recipe Escargots Recipe Today I want to share a recipe which I brought from France not long ago. Welcome snails in garlic and herb butter! In other words, “Escargots a la Bourguignonne”. (No “eww, yuck”, please! :)) For Escargots a la Bourguignonne You will need: - Canned snails (12-16 escargots for 4 first-course servings) - Bought-in-the-shop shells (they are already sterilized) - Softened unsalted butter (1/2 cup) - Clove garlic (1-2 small cloves) - Salt (2.13 grams or 3/8 teaspoons) - Black pepper (a bit, ¼ teaspoon) - Minced shallot (8.5 grams or 1 ½ teaspoons) - Chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 tablespoon) - White wine (dry wine, 1 tablespoon) Before preparing  Escargots a la Bourguignonne you should know Sometimes they add Fren...

Berner Muenster Wie du weißt, Bern ist die Hauptstadt der Schweiz. Gemäss Legende benannte Herzog Berchtold V. von Zähringen die Stadt nach dem ersten Tier, welches er auf der Jagd aus der Gegend erlegte. Im Jahre 1191 war es ein Bär! Zahlen und Fakten Währung: Schweizer Franken Sprache: Deutsch, Franzӧsisch, Italienisch, Rätoromanisch Einwohner: 139 930 Im Jahre 1779 hat J.W. Goethe geschrieben, ‘Sie (Bern) ist die Schönste, die wir je gesehen haben’. Im Jahre 1983, dank des schӧnsten Stadtbildes des Mittelalters wurde Bern in das Verzeichnis der UNESCO-Welterben angemeldet. Altstadt. Bern. BärenPark ist ein symbolischer Ort in der Stadt. Der BärenPark Park ist sehr beliebt. Kinder und Erwachsene besuchen den gerne. Zytglogge: Das ist eine riesige Uhrwerk. Das stündliche Figurenspiel ist wirklich ein Symbol von Bern. Zytglogge. Bern. Selbstverständlich hat Bern viel mehr Sehenswürdigkeiten wie der Botanishe Garten, das Rathaus, d...