Albania

Today we were on to country 2, Albania- our first European country. 

 Albania is coming around since it's communist days, and now you can go visit and enjoy some really nice beaches, and mountains worth a look, along with ruins that date back to prehistoric times. An interesting history, we learned about the bizarre King Zog who has the record of the leader who survived the most assassination attempts (and the only leader to pull out a gun and shoot one of those would-be assassins himself.) Kind of reminds me of that Andrew Jackson/assassin/cane incident, No?  On the other end of the spectrum, Mother Teresa was born in Albania, and she's the only Albanian to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Fun fact about the Albania language: it's unrelated to any other European language. And, it's kind of complicated. I mean, if there's more than a dozen ways to talk about mustaches, I think you've gone too far, but what do I know? The flag sports a pair of eagles, as Albania is known as the 'land of the eagle'. 

The boys took all their info they learned and made their Albania post cards. Peyton and Hayden's feature eagles. (You can't really tell but Hayden's people are wearing sweaters with the Albania flag, while Peyton's stick person is playing the gusle, a rather interesting musical instrument). Calib focused on the long coastline with some Albania's in a canoe (fun fact: He has them wearing Eagles Jersey, so that he would remember they are the land of the eagles.) 

Dinner tonight was Qofte Piqum, a bake of meatballs, red onion, potatoes and tomatoes. It was super easy to make, you just throw everything in the bubble and brown (the potatoes for a little longer), and ta da! Dinner. 

Salads in Albania are typically topped with tomatoes and red onions as well. (Tomatoes are big in Albania!) Feta cheese is also popular. 

Meals usually are accompanied with fresh bread (we, however, have never gotten down bread making, so we took some help from Publix), and for our fruit, we had figs. Albania's like their Rakia(grape brandy), so we had grape juice with dinner. 

This meal was MUCH better than last night, it got 5 spoons up from the Waterstrauts (well, forks tonight). We ate every last bit of it, with the exception of the figs. I was the only one that ate all of mine, and I did it mostly to set a good example. Calib claimed they were just giant raisins, and if you read last night's blog, you know how he felt abou tthat. 

We colored in our first European color. Again, Peyton did the honors, everyone else just claims they are going to mess it up. 

Albanians also like their evening walks, with a tradition called 'xhiro'. In the evenings, whole towns stroll down main roads, in many towns roads are closed to accommodate the evening walkers. Calib and Peyton had that activity covered with their 5K this morning. We were all going to go to cheer them on, and walk the 1K. But, did anyone else see those temperatures in Tampa this morning? It was literally in the 20s. Getting up at 6 am to go out in that was less than appealing. But, Calib and Asa stuck it out. Good job, guys! 

But, there was still an evening walk, because Ellie insists, no matter how cold it is. I love that Peyton took her in his onsie. Good part about having slip on sandals, you can walk your neighborhood in your onsie! 

2 down, 191 to go!

Next Up: Algeria 

Olympics Day 16: Hockey & The Best of Europe

Today was our last 'Best of' Day, we celebrated Europe, and played our Hockey event. 

 But first of all, who stayed up late last night watching curling? We tried, and made it part way though. Peyton joined us to see the girl from the Czech Republic get her gold medal, and then we watched the rest of curling this morning. 

When I went to check the mailbox today, I had a complaint from Hayden. Yesterday the Home Office said all the pictures were from North America, but they weren't. It was an honest mistake. I think maybe the Home Office collected the pictures the night before and then the next morning they sent the letter, and kind of forgot what pictures they had set aside. I mean, if I had to guess. 

But, today they did get all European pictures to help them with Jeopardy later in the day. 

There was a lot of five spoons up meals to choose from, so we decided to have a lunch and dinner. 

For lunch we had the San Marino Piada wraps, where Asa made the wraps and then we filled them with everything from chicken and pesto, to Strawberries and Macedonia Eurocreme (nutella). 

Then it was time to mix up the Europe flags and see who did the best. Peyton studied up. 

He only missed one (Liechtenstein and Luxembourg are hard to distinguish for the boys, I've learned.) He went first, and they aren't allowed to watch anyone else (so there isn't any distractions), so he knew he had won when the Google Home started blaring the Soviet Union's National Anthem, Peyton's usual choice for his 'anthem' when he wins. 

It was kind of a busy day, we had to get new tires on the Fit, and Calib was gone for a few hours volunteering at the animal shelter. When he came home, I said it was time for Jeopardy, and he protested, saying he didn't have time to study, because he was 'busy helping poor homeless animals!' So, I let him study for a bit before we did Jeopardy. (They get very intense about Jeopardy, in case you couldn't tell!) 

After that, the boys picked out their favorite Europe Postcards. 

Calib picked Portugal, Ireland, Norway, and Albania

Peyton went with San Marino, Georgia, Croatia, and Macedonia 

Hayden chose Austria, Croatia, Belarus and Albania. 

For dinner we had the Sopapilla and Pears from Spain, Pan roasted carrots from Liechtenstein, and the qofte piqum from Albania. 

Having the main dish from Albania was kind of funny. It was our second country nearly 14 months ago, and tonight is the night before our last country. It was our second country meal, and our second to last. Also worth noting: It was just as good the second time around. 

Our event tonight was hockey. I just opened up my lamp that has all of our golf balls  (Pucks) we um... borrowed... from all of our mini golf trips, used a little putter (hockey stick) I picked up at the Target 90 percent off summer clearance and made a net using one of the kitchen chairs and some masking tape. 

There were ten 'pucks', the winner was whoever could get the most goals. In the event of a tie, we also timed everyone. 

Hayden was the winner of Hockey. He said he had to pick his 'anthem' song carefully because it could be the last one he got. He picked Greenlight by PitBull again. 

Peyton was not thrilled to be the one handing out the medals this evening, and he was sure he had lost ground on Hayden (they were tied last night). 

Everyone was very interested in tonight's tallies. I checked country medals, got those all up to date, and then did the totals. Even after everything today, Peyton and Hayden are still tied going into tomorrow, the last day of the Olympics. 

There are two events tomorrow: World Jeopardy and World Flags. It's a culmination of everything. 

Peyton is currently studying flags with Peyton, and it's something. (Asa has never done flags before, so he doesn't actually know them. 

And, it's a little sad tonight is our last night with our Olympic Flame lit. 

But, it's also a little exciting. Because, I just got to write this: 

Next Up: We will see you tomorrow, for our VERY LAST COUNTRY! 

Montenegro

It seems like whenever we're in Europe for the last few months we've been in the Balkans. I guess I left a lot of these countries until the end of our project, and while the food is similar, there is a uniqueness to each country. 

Montenegro carves out it's own space in 5,000 square miles along the Adriatic Sea, sandwiched between Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. 

While Montenegro is tied for the 3rd newest country, along with Serbia (they officially split into their own countries on June 3rd, 2006- bested only by Kosovo and South Sudan), Montenegro has a long and storied history of Adriatic pirates, Venetian plunderers, Ottoman pashas, and Yugoslav technocrats. 

Montenegrin's have been referred to as a 'race of heroes' and 'born warriors'.  They are a country built on resistance and resilience, who prides themselves on 'humanity and bravery'. 

These days it is known as the 'pearl of the Mediterranean'. 

Old stone architecture and monasteries can be found all over Montenegro. There's the famous Ostrog Monastery carved into the cliffs in the 17th century, and still visited by a million tourists every year.

For our landmark we went with a village that dates back to the 15th century. Located on the coast, and attached to the mainland only by a narrow isthmus, is a one time fishing village with cobbled lanes, red-tiled roofs, flowery courtyards, and pink sand beaches. 

But today, Sveti Stefan, as it is known, doubles as a luxury resort with 50 rooms, cottages and suites.  

Montenegro's tourism industry suffered from Yugoslavia's civil war in the 1990's, but in recent years people have been rediscovering this little gem of a country. 

It really does have it all: historic monuments, old walled towns, dramatic coastlines, and the high, rugged mountains. 

Montenegro's native name is 'Crna Gora', meaning 'Black Mountain', describing the high, rugged country perfectly. 

The dramatic landscape includes the Tara River Canyon, Europe's deepest river canyon. In some places it's nearly 4,300 feet deep. Hidden along the canyon's cliffs are large caves, running for over 50 miles. 

Also, was anyone else aware that there is a Mimosa flower? I've always just known it as a drink. The yellow flower has its own festival in Herceg Novi, Montenegro.  The Mimosa Festival is held every February for the start of spring, and is marked with parades, feasts and masked balls. 

Other fun botanical facts for you: 

Montenegro is home to beautiful and plentiful pomegranate trees. 

It's also home to a 2,000 year old olive tree. Olive trees are so ingrained in the culture there, couples plant them on their wedding day, honoring a tradition that goes back to King Nikola in the late 19th century. 

The boys made their Montenegro post cards. 

Calib's featured a big black rock, a la Crna Gora. 

Peyton's featured a church that was made on an island that was created out of sailors leaving rocks to honor the Virgin Mary. Eventually a church was built on the island. 

Hayden's featured the rugged coastline, but he included one tree- because Montenegro was once entirely covered by the only rain forest in Europe. 

I took our dinner pictures separately for Montenegro, because I thought it might look nicer before I plated it all up. 

For Montenegro dinner we had Njeguski Fruit Salad, which is cantaloupe, cubed sharp cheese, prosciutto, red onion, sunflower seeds, parsley, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. 

We also had Shopska salad , which I know we've had before- but I can't quite find it. I know it was somewhere in the Adriatic Sea area. It's basically just a quick chopped salad with feta, dressed with olive oil and red wine vinegar. 

We also had Kijukusa, or  Hashbrown Potato Pie. 

And finally our main dish, ground beef phyllo pie (full disclosure, phyllo dough is expensive. But I had a coupon that made crescent rolls just 50 cents a tube. So, we substituted for the sake of economics.) 

This dinner all plated up, earned three-ish spoons up. 

Asa and I really liked the Njeguski fruit salad. Calib thought it was SUPER gross, and wouldn't even eat it all. Peyton refused to try it, because he didn't understand why in the world ANYONE would ruin cantaloupe in that manner, and Hayden claimed to like it, but only ate about half. 

The Shopska salad was a hit with four out of the five (Peyton also refuses to get behind feta cheese). 

And the hashbrowns were hit or miss. But everyone enjoyed the meat pie. 

Montenegro got colored in a light blue color along the Adriatic Sea, just to the west of dark red Serbia, south of bright orange Bosnia and Herzegovina, and north of purple Albania.   (and oh my goodness, when you click on that Albania link,  you'll see a totally not-colored in Europe. It was country number TWO!) 

Next Up: Tajikistan