Meeting Friends at Enriko's

It's hard to believe I've been back in country for only 2 weeks... my time in the US seems so long ago already. One of the things I missed while in the US was meeting friends for coffee or breakfast/lunch at a little place called "Eriko's." It's tucked away in the Leptokarija shopping center, around the corner from "Gringos" (lol) and on the opposite end from Tutunska.

For you Californians, I'm sure this name makes you imagine all sorts of Mexican cuisine. Sorry, this restaurant, though it's decor and menus boast African/tribal themes, the food is all Italian... Macedonian-style. :)

The atmosphere is quaint and inviting with seating both indoors and outdoors and the servers always polite and helpful. The food... well, let's just say that they make the BEST pepperoni pizza on the PLANET! (No, I'm not exaggerating.) Not too much sauce or cheese, lots of real pepperoni and the most amazing crust ever.

Other favorites include what's called the "Enriko Breakfast" and is the perfect blend of flavors; the fruit salad that's always changing according to the season, but always flavorful; and rich coffee that always comes with a small piece of homemade chocolate. I've never tried their pastas, but as the pasta itself looks like it's made from scratch I imagine it's great too!

The best thing about Enriko's, though, is to enjoy this atmosphere and meals with friends. I've had the pleasure of going a couple times now with two different friends. One friend & colleague and I had a "girls days" that consisted of a trip to our favorite hair-stylist and then heading out to lunch. We enjoyed a great time catching up on each others lives and continuing to build on the friendship. The other friend is a relatively new one. I'd met her just before I went to the US and this was out first day hanging out since I got back. Enriko's was again a great place to go and hang out and chat, while enjoying some of the best food Skopje has to offer. =)

It's great to be back in Mac!

[My apologies for how much like a commercial this sounds! That was so not intentional!]

Chewing Coffee

"Karolina, in the morning, first thing take a little honey. Because it's sweet all the bad things will be drawn to it in your stomach. Then drink one coffee to make everything dark so that the bacteria doesn't see what's coming. Then you drink a little rakija and it will kill then all."

That was a little story a local told me a while back. I think it was her father's daily routine to keep healthy. It's not surprising that his morning ritual included coffee as this is very much a coffee culture, though the type of coffee is much different than in the states. US coffee is frequently referred to as, "flavored water." One drink of the local brew, commonly known as "turkish coffee," and you would see why. Just be careful not to chew it...

The coffee beans are ground to a fine powder, similar to the consistency of cornstarch. A heaping spoonful for every cup (approximately 1/4C in size) of water is heated together with a lump of sugar (optional) until just boiling and foamy. It's then immediately removed from the heat and served one spoonful at a time so as to evenly disburse the foam between the cups.

My first encounter with turkish coffee was 8 years ago. As I sipped I kept getting mouthfuls of coffee grounds and found myself literally chewing the coffee. I was bewildered that people would actually enjoy coffee that way. Then I noticed that none of the locals were drinking yet... then the 'DUH' light went off in my head and I realized that the cup needed to sit for a while to let the grounds settle to the bottom before drinking. Aaahhaaa!

Those grounds become a finely-packed sludge on the bottom of the cup which some ladies will "read" much like some read tea leaves. When I was in Bosnia our host lady would flip her cup over when she was finished drinking and let the grounds drain down. Later when she was doing the dishes she'd look intently into the cup to figure out what the grounds were saying. Then with a "hmm" and a nod of her head she'd then wash the grounds away. I have no idea what she "saw" but she seemed satisfied.

I can't tell you how many cups of "turkish coffee" I've had over the years, but I can tell you that each cup represents many wonderful conversations and connecting with locals: learning language, hearing their life stories, future dreams and becoming friends. And for the privilege of that I'll happily keep chewing coffee. :)

Cafe's & Coffee-Bars

This city is a very social city and especially on these summer nights you'll find people crowded around the outdoor tables in the numerous coffee-bars around town enjoying their drinks, conversations and the (sometimes) cooler late evening temps. In fact, there's a whole strip of restaurants and coffee-bars nestled under huge shady trees along the Vardar river where the Povardarska breeze (like the Deltra Breeze of the Sacramento valley) can temper the hot summer nights. There is also at least one coffee-bar that appeals to young families as it has a huge playroom for the kids... and serves a wonderful macchiato and relaxing ambiance for the parents.

My language teacher once commented to me that the coffee-bars tend to have English names and over the years I've noticed the trend. Names like "Hemingway," "Light," "Green House," and "Soho." Sometimes I do wonder at the names given, though, like "Bummerang" and "Pub Porta." Is it just me or does it just not seem right to go sit and have a coffee at the Porta Pub??

:::::Language lesson alert:::::

There is also a bookstore cafe called, "Magor Books." Now for those English speakers, that would be pronounced "major" but here it's spelled with a "g" because in Macedonian that's what makes the "dzuh" sound. The "j" here is pronounced like our "y" or "yuh." Confused yet? Well, lets put that principle to work on the cities name, Skopje. How do you think it's pronounced? Is it Skop-gee (with a short "o") or Skopyeah (with a long "o"). It's the later. No worries, though, until I came here I was pronouncing it the first way as well. ;)

:::::end language lesson:::::

There is one cafe, though, that is most like our Starbucks, imported beans and all, called "Broz." It's a popular place and is named after Marshall Tito. Inside the cafe the urban decor would rival even that of "Central Perk" and comes complete with old-style picture-sketches of ancient heroes on the wall (sadly they wouldn't let me take a picture so you'll just have to imagine it).

As this is one of the few places in town where you can get a cup-o-joe-to-go I made a point of stopping by this morning on my walk to work. Ahh... that chilled mocha in a styrofoam cup was so refreshing. I also purchased some of the imported beans and as I type this I'm sitting at my desk, getting ready to dive into another full day of bookkeeping and enjoying a cup of freshly ground columbian roast.

Ahhh. Now I'm ready to jump into the books. :)

Speaking of coffee, ordering a coffee here is not as complicated as in the US. Here there is one size, only a handful of choices and shared space (meaning no lines). A friend in Paraguay blogged quite eloquently about her recent re-entry experience in the US and the "simple" task of ordering a coffee. Judging by the number of comments there's a lot of us who can relate! :) [She's a great blogger to, so I thought I'd share.] :)

Thank you again for walking with me as we live this call together.

Day 16: $46.51 and counting.

Balkan Balkon...Come join me on my balcony

The Balkans may be gray, cold & uninvitingly dismal in the winter, but now that it's almost summer they're transformed. First came spring and the riot of colorful blossoms and trees. Now locals have transformed their balcony's into delightful and fragrant gardens.

Pictured left are some examples of balcony gardens that have begun to spring up all over town. Then there is that cottage with the full flower garden in Bosnia. Aren't they gorgeous!?!

In some ways it's not surprising that balconies and gardens are such a cultural thing here. With the hot temperatures during the summer these places become the centers for community and relationship. People will have their meals there, coffee and juice with friends, or sit and read the local paper and enjoy the gardens and shady temps. In the heat of summer neighborhood balcony's will be centers of activity well past midnight. So why not make this busy place beautiful and enjoyable? [As you can see they're also used for drying laundry, but I'm sure they're not made pretty just for that.] ;)

This year, heading into my 6th year in the Balkans, I finally decided to get onto the bandwagon and to transform my 6x6 balcony a little. There are two fragrant petunia plants with pink and purple flowers hanging down over a foot now. Oh they smell so good! And blended with the fragrance of the rosemary and (unedible) lavender plants is amazing. There are a couple of other small evergreen type bushes as well as a couple houseplants that thrive outside in the current weather. I've completed the transformation by adding a chair and a small fold-up table with an aloe plant in the middle. It's a little crowded and not as gorgeous as the locals' but I love it. :)

So, if you want to come and visit me sometime, I'll be happy to serve you some Balkan garden hospitality, turkish-coffee or juice if you prefer on my balcony. Then we can spend time like the locals and converse for many quality hours about life and everyday things, enjoying the fragrant warm evening summer air. :)

*******

Now the downside... Of course (!) the local turtle-dove pigeons have decided they really like my balcony as well and have made several attempts to build a nest... leaving branches and other... uh... stuff all over. Everyday I have more mess to clean up. :( Maybe I should get a plastic snake like my friend in Paraguay used to scare off her pigeon problem? But that's another blog.