Recipe: Weinachts Guetzli - Swiss Christmas Cookies

Hasselnuss Stängli	100gr. Butter	100gr. Sugar	150gr. Fluor			1+1 Egg yolk	100gr. Hazelnuts
Hausläckerli:		125gr. Sugar	350gr. Fluor	100gr. Powder Sugar			100gr. Hazelnuts
Mailänderli	250gr. Butter	250gr. Sugar	500gr. Flour			3 Egg whites / 6 Egg yolks + 1 Egg yolk
Schokoladen Herzli		100gr. Sugar	1 Tablespoon		2 Egg whites		300gr. Almonds or Hazelnuts
Schwarz-Weiss	250gr. Butter	250gr. Sugar	500gr. Flour		1 Egg whites	3 Eggs or 3 Egg yolks
Zitron Gebäck		100gr. Sugar		100gr. Powder Sugar	2 Egg whites		300gr. Almonds

Hausläckerli: 250g Beehoney, 1 TBLSpoon lemon juice, 50g Orangeat/Zitonat (dry/backed peels), 1Tablespoon ground clove 1/2 tspoon cinnamon, 1 tspoon  Baker's amonia (amonium carbonate). Amonium carbonate can be substituted by double the amount of backing powder.

Mailänderli: 1 lemon zest, 1 eggyolk for icing 3 eggs or 6 eggyolds for dough.

Schokoladen Herzli: 100g Chocolate, 1 pinch Cinnamon.
Weiss-Schwarz: 4 TBLSpoon NesQuick    2 TBLSpoon Cocoa.
Zitron Gebäck: (2 Lemon Zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice.


Zitronengepäck »

* Ingredientes / English version cut in half
2 Eiweiss / 1 Eggwhites
1 Prisen Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
100 gr. Zucker / 50gr. Sugar
300 gr. gemahlene Mandeln / 200gr ground almonds
2 abgeriebene Zitronenschale / 1 lemon zest
100 gr. Puderzucker / 50gr powder sugar
wenig Zitronensaft / a little bit of lemon juice



Bereitung:
Eiweiss steif schlagen, die Hälfte des Zuckers beigeben, mitschlagen, die zweite Hälfte anschliessend darunterziehen.
Mandeln und abgeriebene Zitroneschale unter die Masse ziehen.Teig ca.1/2 cm dick auf Zucker auswallen, Förmchen ausstechen. Mit Vorteil lassen wir das Gebäck über Nacht antrocknen und backen es dann kurz bei starker Mittelhitze.

Mit dem Puderzucker und Zitronensaft  eine dickflüssige Glasur herstellen, Gepäck noch heiss damit bestreichen


Preparation:

Bring Egg whites to a 'point of snow', add half of the granulated sugar and keep beating. Add the second half of sugar and finish mixing. Add nuts and grated lemon zest and mix. Spread some sugar over the counter and extend the dough to 0.5cm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut cookies out of the dough. Lay cookies on cookie pan and leave them to dry overnight. Bake for 10-20min at high heat on oven's middle shelf. While cookies are baking prepare a thick icing with lemon juice and powder sugar. Brush cookies while they are still warm with icing.


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Schokoladenherzen »

* Ingredients
2 Eiweiss / Egg whites
1 Prisen Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
100 gr. Zucker evtl. Puderzucker / 100gr Sugar or Powder Suger
100 gr. geriebene Schokolade / 100 grated dark chocolate
1 Prise Zimt / 1 Pinch Cinnamon
1 kleiner Messloeffel Mehl / 1 small tablespoon Flour
300 gr. Haselnüsse oder Mandeln / 200gr each of ground Hazelnuts and Almonds


Bring Egg whites to a 'point of snow', add half of the sugar and keep beating. Add the second half of sugar and finish mixing. Add nuts and grated chocolate and mix. Add cinnamon and flour and mix. Spread some sugar over the counter and extend the dough to 0.5cm thickness. Use heart-shapped cookie cutters to cut cookies out of the dough. Lay cookies on cookie pan and leave them to dry overnight. Bake for 10-20min.at high heat (400 degrees Fahrenheit) on middle shelf.

Bereiting
Eiweiss steif schlagen, die Hälfte des Zuckers beigeben, mitschlagen, die zweite Hälfte anschliessend darunterziehen.
Mandeln (Haselnüsse) geriebene Schololade, Zimt und Mehl unter die Masse ziehen.Teig ca.1/2 cm dick auf Zucker auswallen, Herzförmchen ausstechen. Mit Vorteil lassen wir das Gebäck über Nacht antrocknen und backen es dann kurz bei starker Mittelhitze. Wir müssen es sofort vom Blech lösen.

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 Hausleckerli »

* Ingredients
350 gr. Mehl / 350g Flour
50 gr. gehacktes Orangeat und Zitronat / 50gr finely chopped Orangeat and Zitronat*.
1 grosse Prise Nelkenpulver / 1 big pinch of ground clove
1/2 kleiner Messlöffel Zimt / 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon.
1 kleiner Messlöffel Triebsalz (5 - 10 gr.) / 1 Teaspoon Baker's Amonia**
250 gr. Bienenhonig / 250 gr. Bee Honey
125gr Zucker / 125gr. Sugar.
100gr. grobgehackte Haselnüsse / 100gr coarsely chopped Hazelnuts.
For Icing:
100gr. Puderzucker / 100gr. Powder sugar.
1 grosser Messlöffel Zitronensaft oder Wasser / 1 Tablespoon lemon juice or water

* Orangeat and Zitronat are dry candied orange and lemon, but can also be very well substituted by finely chopped dry/backed orange and lemon peels.
** 1 teaspoon Backer's amonia (amonium carbonate). Amonium carbonate can be substituted by double the amount of backing powder., or 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon and baking soda.

Instructions:
Heat Honey and sugon in a saucepan. Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix them well. extend the dough to 1.5cm (half inch) thick rectangle. Place dough on a greased baking pan and bake at high heat fo 5-10min on middle shelf.

Prepare icing with sugar and lemon juice or water and spread it over the dough, as soon as it finish baking. When the icing starts to dry, cut dough in 3cm x 2cm rectangles.

Bereitung:
Honig und Zucker erhitzen, alle Zutaten vermischen, gut verarbeiten. Wir wallen den Teig sofort auf eingefettetem Blech aus und backen ihn bei starker Mittelhitze 5 - 10 Min.

Puderzucker, Zitronensaft (Wasser) eine weisse Glasur herstellen, die heissen Leckerli sofort damit bestreichen.
Sobald die Glasur angetrocknet ist, schneiden wir das Gebäck in gleichmässige Rechtecke von ca. 5x4 cm Grösse.

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Mailänderli


Zutaten - Deutsch:

Grundrezept
1 Teil Mehl : 1/2 Fett: 1/2 Zucker

250 gr. schaumiggerührte Butter
250 gr, Zucker
2 Prise Salz
3 Eier oder 6 kleine Eigelb
abgeriebene Zitronenschale
500 gr. Mehl
Eigelb, 1 Prise Zucker, einige Tropfen Wasser

Ingredients - English

250 g (9 ounces) butter or margarine
225 g (8 ounces) sugar
1 pinch of salt
3 eggs
1 lemon zest
500 g (18 ounces) flour
1 egg yolk, 1 Pinch sugar a few drops of water.

Preparation:

Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt, eggs and lemon zest. stir until ingredients are evenly distributed. Add flour and knead to a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for two hours.

Spread a bit of flour on a flat surface and extend the dough over it to a 5-7mm thickness. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Add a few drops of water and a pinch of sugar to the remaining egg and sweep it over the dough rectangles. Place on baking pan. Bake at hight heat (200°C / 400 °F) on middle shelf for 10-15min. Let the cookies cool off completely before serving.

Bereitung:


Butter, Zucker , Salz und abgerieben Zitronenschale schaumigrühren. Mehl dazusieben, kurz mischen, bis ein gleichmässiger Teig entsteht, der 2 Stunden kaltgestellt wird.Teig 1/2-3/4 cm dick auswallen beliebige Förmchen ausstechen, mit dem Eigelb bestreichen und bei guter Mittelhitze ca. 15 Min backen


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« Haselnuss Stengeli »

* Ingredients
100 gr. schaumiggerührte Butter / 100gr soft (room-temperature) butter
100 gr. Zucker / 100gr Sugar
1 Prise Salz / 1 Pinch Salt
2 Eigelb / 2 Egg Yolks
100 gr. Haselnüsse gemahlen / 100gr ground Hazelnuts
150 gr. Mehl / 150gr. Flour

Bereitung:

Butter, Zucker, Salz und Eigelb, alles zusammen schaumigrühren. Mehl und Haselnüsse beigeben, kurz mischen, bis ein gleichmässiger Teig entsteht, der 2 Stunden kaltgestellt wird.
Den Teig wallen wir 3/4 cm. dick aus, schneiden 1 1/2 cm. breite und 6 cm lange Stengeli, bestreichen sie mit Eigelb und backen sie 10-15 min zu hellbrauner Farbe


Instructions:

Stir butter in a bowl until it is smooth. Add sugar, salt and one of the eggs. stir until ingredients are evenly distributed, Add flour and ground hazelnuts. Knead to a soft dough  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for two hours.

Spread a bit of flour on a flat surface and extend the dough over it to a 5-7mm thickness. Cut dough in 4cm x 2cm rectangles. Add a few drops of water to the remaining egg and sweep it over the dough rectangles. Place on baking pan. Bake at hight heat (200°C / 400 °F) on middle shelf for 10-15min. Let the cookies cool off completely before serving.


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« Schwarz  -  Weiss »

Ingredients - English

500 gr Flour
250 gr room-temperature Butter
250 gr Sugar.
2 Pinches Salt
3 eggs.
4 tablespoons chocolate powder (Nesquik)
2 tablespoon Cocoa
1 Egg White.

Zutaten - Deutsch:
500 gr Mehl
250 gr. schaumiggeruehrte Butter
250 gr. Zucker
2 Prisen Salz
3 Eier oder  kleine Eigelb

4 grosse Messlöffel Schokoladenpulver
2 grosse Messlöffel Kakao
1 kleiner Messlöffel Eiweiss

Preparaction:

Mix butter, sugar, salt and eggs, and stir until evenly distributed. Divide mix in two halves. Add half of the flour to one half of the mix. Add the egg white to the second half of the mix. Also add the second half of flour, cocoa and chocolate powder to the second half of the mix. Both dough halves should be kneaded quickly. Wrap them in plastic wrap and place them in refrigerator of two hours.

Extend both doughs on a flat surface. Brush an egg white or some water over one of the doughs to help it stick to the other dough. Pace the other dough over the egg white coated dough. Cut dough in 10cm wide stripes. Roll all stripes on their width. Use a sharp, non-serrated knife to slice each roll in 1cm thick black&white spirals. Lay on baking pan and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, on middle shelf, for 10-15min.

Bereitung:

Butter, Zucker, Salz und Eier, alles zusammen schaumig rühren, in zwei Hälften teilen.
Schokoladenpulver, Kakao, Eiweiss in die eine Hälfte mischen, Mehl dazugeben , rasch zusammenarbeiten.

250 gr. Mehl in die andere Hälfte mischen, beide Teige kaltstellen.
Wir können das Schwarz-Weiss Gebäck auf verschiedene Arten formen, Es ist vorteilhaft, die ausgewallten hellen und dunklen Teigstücke mit Wasser oder Eiweiss zu bestreichen, damit sie besser zusammenhalten  beim Formen.

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« Kräbeli »

* Ingredientes
3 Eier
300gr. Puderzucker
2 Prisen Salz
1 - 11/2 grosser Messlöffel Anis
eventuel 1 kleiner Messlöffel Kirsch
ca. 300gr Mehl

* Preparación
Eier, Puderzucker und Salz gut schaumiggrühren, bis eine helle, luftige Masse entstanden ist.
Anis leicht rösten, zugeben, Kirsch zufügen. Mehl dazusieben, bis ein fester, aber noch feuchter Teig entsteht.
Daraus formen wir eine ca. kleinfingerdicke Rolle und schneiden 3 - 4 cm. lange Stücke schräg ab. Diese kerben wir mit dem Messer 2 bis 3 mal schräg ein.
Wir legen die Kräbeli auf ein Blech und lassen sie bei Zimmertemperatur ca. 24 Stunden trocknen (sie sollen an der Oberfläche gut angetrocknet sein)
Sie werden bei schwacher Hitze (mehr Unterhitze) 15 - 20 Min. gebacken. (es sollen sich sogenannte Füsschen bilden.



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« Makronen Masse »

* Ingredientes
Grundrezept

auf 1 Eischnee eine Prise Salz, 50 gr. Zucker
60 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (mit Spritzsack
100 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (zum formen mit Loeffel)
150 gr. gemahlene Nüsse (zum auswallen)

Coming back to the U.S. - A surprise for Alia

Introduction

In February 2012 I received notification my U.S. green card application had been approved. At that time, we were actually in Messina, on the Northeastern corner of Sicily. We were in the midst of our travels through Europe. Alia wanted very badly to be back in the U.S. and rejoin her family. However, I tried to make the point it did not seem a good idea to put an end to our trip, all of a sudden, just to run back to Madrid and get the green card. Indeed, we continued traveling through Europe for several more month, eventually reaching as far East as Cappadocia (in Central Turkey), to finally turn around and rush back to Spain in one last month, going through Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, etc. On Friday, July 20th 2012, we left Budapest with only four days left to cross Austria, the Alps, into Cinque Terre, continue to Monaco and Southeastern France, to finally reach Madrid for my interview at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, July 24th. Those four days were quite another adventure!

I passed my final interview for the green card on July 24. After more than two year, we were finally able to go back to the U.S. Alia was ready to resume and finish her forestry studies at the University of Montana in Missoula. She only had one year left! Alia flew back to Missoula on Sunday August 26 2012. I, however, had to stay a couple of more months in Spain to wrap up a few issues, before I could finally go back to the U.S. During those last months in Spain, Alia kept calling me from Montana, asking when I was going to come.

On Tuesday November 6th 2012, I was finally ready to take my flight. However, I had thought I would not tell anything to Alia: it would be a surprise! I thought I would just show up one day: I would just knock on the door and there I was back to our new home in Missoula!

My flight, however, was only to Seattle, so I had to figure out how to get, on my own, from Seattle to Missoula. Once more I thought of the internet and posting some advertisement on Craigslist - Rideshare. A couple of people replied offering some ride. I finally got a ride from an Australian going hunting to Plains, MT. However, another guy by the name of Jeremy had also offered a ride. He even said he was not even thinking to ask for gas money. Next, is a message I wrote Jeremy telling my ordeal ridesharing and hitch-hiking from Seattle to Missoula.


The Story

Hey Jeremy!

Thank you so very much for your message. I am writing finally from Missoula. I finally arrived yesterday night (Thursday night). It was a bit complicated, but the whole trouble was worth it. As I was explaining in my message, I wanted to give my wife a surprise. I could have told her to come pick me up. I guess it was not very sensible to have her pick me up from Seattle or Spokane, but I could have told her to pick me up from Silver Dollar (Haugan) ...

At the end somebody had offered me a ride from Seattle to Plains, MT. It was not exactly what I needed, but it was still OK. Plains is very close to Hot Springs and I have a very good friend there. I thought I could stay in Hot Springs and hitch hike from there to Missoula on the second day.

I got to see your message, Wednesday morning, right before leaving to the meeting point for our ride to Plains. It was rather complicated to switch plans. On one hand, I wanted to arrive to Missoula as soon as possible to give Alia as less time as possible to figure out I was actually on my way here, on the other hand, I had not been able to find a place to stay in Seattle, so the sooner I could leave the better.

I felt bad to miss out on the ride you were offering, but it didn't seem sensible to let this other people down at the very last minute.

The ride to Plains ended up being more complicated than I had expected. They arrived to pick me up rather late. As a consequence we got into Montana late in the evening. It was too late to try to get to Hot Springs. I was dropped off at Silver Dollar close to Midnight. I had some hopes I would be able to ask somebody at the gas station to give me a ride to Missoula. However, it became clear very quickly, the place was dead for the night.

If there was no chance to get a ride, at least I needed to try to get some sleep. Unfortunately, the guy at the gas station, Patrick, was a real asshole and did not allow me to stay inside the station, in the convenience store. Wednesday night was freaking cold up there and it had been possible to die from hypothermia. As he kept insisting I should go as far as possible, I remembered I had a very good down coat in my suitcase. I got it out, put it on and was feeling pretty warm, so I even thought of laying down on my suitcase and try to get a couple of hours of sleep. That Alaskan-style down coat was like being wrapped in some bear skin!

I thought I would be able to get a ride pretty soon once there was light again. I was wrong, it became impossible to hitch a ride to Missoula. Everybody seemed to be going the opposite direction towards Idaho. It was really disappointed. Actually, I have had really good experience hitch-hiking in Montana. As a matter of fact I met my wife, Alia, hitch-hiking, thanks to the guy who gave me a ride from Lakeside (up in the Flathead) to Missoula. From my experience, hitch-hiking in Montana works much better that most other places. For example, we tried quite a bit in Southern Europe and it sucked hard core.

However, this time in Silverdollar was really bad. Even worse considering it was freezing cold, with lots of snow and I was freaking tired from not having slept in the last two days: First sleeping in the airport, in Seattle, after a 20-hour flight from Spain, and then sleeping on my suitcase, outside of the gas station, at freezing temperatures.

Worst of all, the asshole in charge of the gas station kept bitching about me and even called the cops on me. Even if I stayed away from the convenience store, he just did not wanted to see me around. Fortunately, the cops did not do anything.

At least, at the Silverdollar hotel and restaurant they were very nice. They had seen me desperately trying to get a ride all through the morning and they were starting to feel pity for me, I think. They started trying to help me and trying to find somebody who could give me a ride to Missoula. However, for some weird reason, anybody who showed any interest turned to be going direction Idaho. At that point it was mostly the women working at the bar who were asking anybody going to Missoula willing to give a ride that poor guy outside, in the snow. Finally some man came out and asked me if I was the guy looking for a ride to Missoula. "Yes!! I am trying to get to Missoula!". "Well, I can give you a ride to Missoula". "Awesome! Where shall i go, what shall I do?". I guess I was desperate and was still wondering if it was for real, if it was going to work out. The thing is the guy was weird as shit! "Well, my truck is over there, give me five minutes". "Where?, your truck is where? I can't see it! I can't miss this one". The guy was gone. I went to the hotel lounge, where they had allowed me put my suitcase: "I think somebody is going to give me a ride!". "Oh! we are so happy for you!". "Yeah! me too!". I run out, but could not see the guy. Finally, I found him messing around his.... truck? That was the weirdest thing ever: it was a crappy pick-up, full of crap, pulling a boat with the biggest pile of crap ever! The guy told to get on, but I was very confused and really did not know how to do it. There was so much crap on the copilot's sleep there was no way to find some sit there. I could only lay on all that crap.

We finally left, so it really seemed like I was finally to make it, ...or, maybe not? I was really not sure if that four-wheeled piece of crap was going to make it to Missoula. The thing did not even have side windows. I was laying on a pile of crap, so my body was lifted, horizontally, several inches over the seat. Actually, my body was at the same height as the side window, so I was holding for dear life, hoping I will not fly off at the first curve!

Well, we made if over the pass and finally reached Missoula. The guy first stopped at some place to have some food. He asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. I tried to tell him, but he made it clear he was not going to bother to go off of his route. We were going down Reserve and I could not see what was my cross-street. I finally told him to drop me off at Rossauers. I still had several blocks to walk to my place, but I least I knew where I was, ...well, sort of. It was really dark and I could barely see anything. I stopped a few cars asking for directions. I had been out of Missoula for a few years, so I could not remember very well. Dragging my suitcase was a real pain. The people who stopped could tell I was desperate. They tried hard to help me: "Are you Russian?". "No, not really". Finally, I reached our place. I walked across the lawn and came close to the window. I could see Alia sitting at the desk in the living room. She looked so sweet! I finally knocked on the door and ran away quickly to hide. She, however, sprung to the door and barely gave me any time. She suspected it could be me. We were together again!

On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 10:16 PM, Jeremy Watson  wrote:

Hey,

Just checking to see if you ended up getting a ride over to Missoula.  I will be heading that way Friday morning.  If you are still looking for a ride let me know. not worried about gas money or anything just wouldn't mind a little company and hey, it always is nice to help someone out.

Jeremy

Four days from Budapest to the U.S. Embassy in Madrid: Javier's Endlessly Long Version

Introduction

The following is the story of our crazy 4-day ride from Budapest to Madrid, for my U.S. green card interview at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid. In February 2012 I received notification my U.S. green card application had been approved. At that time, we were actually in Messina, on the Northeastern corner of Sicily. We were in the midst of our travels through Europe. Alia wanted very badly to be back in the U.S. and rejoin her family. However, I tried to make the point it did not seem a good idea to put an end to our trip, all of a sudden, just to run back to Madrid and get the green card. Indeed, we continued traveling through Europe for several more month, eventually reaching as far East as Cappadocia (in Central Turkey), to finally turn around and rush back to Spain in one last month, going through Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, etc. On Friday, July 20th 2012, we left Budapest with only four days left to cross Austria, the Alps, into Cinque Terre, continue to Monaco and Southeastern France, to finally reach Madrid for my interview at the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday, July 24th. Those four days were quite another adventure!

In Budapest, we were lucky to stay with a lovely Hungarian couple: Gabor and Helena. The following is a message I wrote them a few days after arriving to Madrid. It tells the story of our 4-day ride from their home to Madrid.


The Story


Hey Gabor and Helena!

Thank you very much for your help! We finally arrived safe and well to Madrid. We arrived yesterday morning ('yesterday morning' as of the beginning of this writing, now it would be more helpful to say we arrived Tuesday morning...). It was really exhausting, but, in the end, it was worth the effort because we were able to successfully sort everything out.

Last Friday, after leaving your house, we went to the police station you told us. The asked us to wait for an interpreter. However, after a while they explained it would take to long, so it was better if we just write everything up in a piece of paper.

We left Budapest as soon as we were done at the police station. It was around noon and we had until Tuesday morning to be in Madrid. We had planned a few stops on our way from Sopron to Madrid and, at least, didn't want to give up those that were furthest from Madrid. We made a couple of stops in Austria. They were really worth it, it was really beautiful in Hallstatt and Zell am See, but the weather was rather horrible. Those Alps are real fuckers. It doesn't matter if it is winter or summer: they are always pissed, they are always wet, rainy and thunder.

We also wanted to visit Cinque Terre and decided the best route was through South-Eastern Switzerland. It would save us from the high Italian gas and toll-road prices. I also thought it would give me the chance to buy some good Swiss chocolates, candies, sausages and cheese. However, stupid me, I happened to forget that Swiss people go to bed at six in the afternoon, so at 5pm on a Saturday everything is already close... We were only able to buy some chocolate at one of those little 24 hours shops.

In Switzerland it also became a nightmare to find some gas station where we could use my visa-electron card. Yeah, those Swiss guys are totally convinced they are freaking perfect, but they haven't yet figure out that in the 21st century, some visa cards use a chip instead of the magnetic stripe. Yes, the good, old stuff is always nice, but the chip is safer... We tried in each and all gas station since we entered to the Italian border without success, so finally we gave up and before leaving we chose to use our American stripe cards. Anything better than pumping Italian gas! Neither me or Alia had much balance in those cards, so we had to pump four different times. The woman at the gas station was running out of patience and eventually asked me how we could be traveling without any many in our cards. I explained her we did have a card with plenty of funds, but only in Switzerland they would not be able to figure out how to deal with it. I went on explaining we had been all over, we had been to Hungary, the entire ex-Yugoslavia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, etc. etc. all those countries the Swiss consider so poor and undeveloped, but we did not find any problem. Only in freaking perfect Switzerland, they had not been able to figure out in the 21st century some visa cards use a chip for increased security. Anyway, I am half Swiss, so I can bitch as much as I want about them...

On Sunday we went through Northern Italy to check out Cinque Terre. It took us more time we had expected and that night we were only able to make it to Monaco. It was Monday morning, we had twenty hours to be in Madrid and we were still in Monaco. It was time to freak out!!! We had planned a few other stops in France, but these we had to give up. We will have to catch up with that the next time. Unfortunately, France is the wrong country to cross if you are short of time. Either you spend a lot of money cruising through the toll roads, or you spend a lot of time, getting lost in the endless maze of little country roads. We had over 1300 kilometer to make in 20 hours, so there was no other choice than to take toll roads. If that was not bad enough, shortly after we left Monaco, we ran out of gas. I had to run with a couple of 2-liters bottles to the nearest gas station to buy some gas. Fortunately, I was able to catch a couple of rides on my way there and back. On the other hand, in Eastern Europe there had not been any problem filling those bottle with gasoline, but in Western Europe they are more stuck-up, and told me I had to buy a special container. The stupid container was 10 euros... They scanned the container and told me to go and fill it. However, as I was checking the pumps, trying to figure out what is what I needed, one of the guys working there started asking me questions. He wanted to know where was my car. Actually, he was very concerned I might try to run away without paying for the gas. He told me I first needed to pay and then fill. I explained I had been told the opposite. He then took my container and started filling it. When he finished, he handed it back to me to immediately direct me to go the the cashier. He was really concerned I was going to run away, so he made sure to keep watching me. I was getting a little bit annoyed. However, the cashier he instructed me to go, was not the same where they had scanned the container. So, I am getting an impression they ended up not charging me for the container...

We had finally solved our gas problem, but now we were one more hour behind schedule. It was 3pm, we had 17 hours left and 1200km to go... To me it was very clear we were not going to be able to do it in one shot, so I suggested we take a nap sometime in the evening and then continue throughout the night to arrive in Madrid in the morning. That was a good idea, but just before entering Spain, a Polish girl approached us asking for a ride to Barcelona. We have been so many times in that position, we could not say 'No'. I explained her we would need to stop to take a nap before Barcelona, but it was still OK for her. In the end, we just could not help it to drive her all the way to Barcelona. The problem for us is that now we were taking our nap at midnight. It became really difficult, very painful, to get up one hour and a half later.

I still had some work waiting for me in Madrid. Prior to my immigration interview, I had to get my Spanish passport renewed and request a police certificate showing any possible 'criminal record'. The Americans wanted to make sure I had not broken into any bank, before issuing my resident card...

I tried to keep Alia entertained for a while, as we both were recovering from the short nap. However, I asked her to tell me to let me know when she started to feel a little better, so that I could try to get a bit more sleep. Unfortunately, I was only able to sleep half hour more, since Alia had to wake me up to be able to use the credit card to pay for gas.

In the last hours, we kept looking for something to talk about, to help Alia to stay sharp and awake as she was driving towards Madrid. At seven in the morning we finally reached Madrid! Nine months later: home, sweet home!

The toughest part of the job was done. Now we only had to get the passport renewed and that stupid police records certificate, before we could go to the immigration interview. We took a quick shower and off we were for downtown!

My passport renewal appointment was at nine, so we thought we would first get that done to make sure we would not miss the appointment time. We had everything ready and did not expect any problem, but when I handed the picture to the officer, he complained the picture was too old! I explained the picture was just a few months old. Actually, we took the picture last year, one year ago, for my American visa application, but the picture was recent and I was not going to give them any ammunition... The fucker insisted the picture was very old, because I looked much older now than in the picture #% $&"&##$!!! I was very confused, because the picture was just one year old, I knew that for a fact and there was no reason to reject it. The motherfucker continued arguing I looked now very old and had much more white hair than in the picture. At that point, I was able to explain that I had not slept that night, so nobody could be surprised I did not present a shiny, young face that morning. In addition, I happened to have been in Turkey a few weeks ago and, while I was there, I had a hair-cut Turkish style. In other words, now I had really short hair. My usual hair style is much longer hair. In that case, the longer hairs rooting from the top of my cover and hide the short white hairs that otherwise can be seen on my temples, on both sides of my head. In any case, my looks are normally better represented by that picture than by the face I was presenting that morning, after not having had any sleep and having got an extraordinarily short hair cut a few weeks ago. The idiot was stuck and said he would not accept that picture and I would have to take a new one...

So we had to go withdraw some money to pay for some new pictures. But when we got the money, we realized we actually needed coins! After trying in a few places, we had to run to a bank to change some bill. I finally got my pictures, but now we were again to the end of the line.

By the time I got my new passport we barely had an hour left! We run to Plaza del Sol, the very center of Madrid, to get the police records certificate. We thought we would not need much time to sort it out, but I was told at the entrance I first need to go to the bank to deposit the required payment... Unfortunately, it seems to me I was not the only one who had been caught by surprise, and consequently the line at the bank was freaking long! For some weird reason, it seemed that summer morning all the people who were otherwise normally supposed to be vacationing, lying down on some warm Mediterranean beach, had instead agreed to come back to the big city to solve some bureaucratic stuff. The previous time we had to ask for that certificate, May of last year, there was nobody. Yet this time the crowd that had gathered was overwhelming. Time kept passing and our ticket number was still not called. Finally, at 12:30, I received my paper! Unfortunately, we were already late for my interview and Americans are not well known for their patience...

I jumped out of the car, in front of the American Embassy, at 12:55. I rushed to the gate and explained to the security guard I had an appointment. She answered with the question I was fearing the most: "At what time is your appointment?". "Well... 12:30...". "At 12:30???!!", she asked with stern disapproval, fully aware as she was the current time was much later than that. I just manage to nod... "Well, where is the confirmation letter with the appointment time?". I gave her the confirmation letter we had, knowing it was for an earlier date, We had had to change the first appointment date we received and never got a confirmation letter with the new appointment date. "But the date here is the 29th and today it's the 24th!". Again stern disapproval in her face. "Yes, that is what I was saying, we had to change the date and never received a confirmation letter with the new date". "I cannot let you in if you do not have a confirmation letter". "Why don't you please ask inside and they will confirm to you I have indeed an appointment today?". "I cannot let you in if you do not have a confirmation letter". As I was getting stuck there, so close from the finish line, at the very last step of our two-years-long immigrant visa application process, I could not help to find some hope to my hopeless begging thinking that woman would have to deal with Alia's reaction when she hears that, after all what we had gone through, we were going to miss our final interview appointment because we did not have an appointment confirmation letter and this woman would not bother to ask to the Embassy's officials. All of a sudden, this security guard had to go back inside to solve some other issue, so she told me to wait there. After a while, some other guard came to me asking for my passport. Well, it seemed like something was moving after all... Finally the first guard came out to tell me to come in!!

In fact, they were waiting for me at the embassy. As I came inside a bit confused, still a bit nervous, not knowing where to go, some woman inside knocked on the glass, asking me to come to her window. She told me I was supposed to bring another filled-out copy of the visa application form. I did not have it, since nobody had advised us of such requirement. She told me not to worry; she will give me a new form And I would be able to fill it out there. It was going to take me forever to answer and explain all the questions in that 5-pages long form. Alia and I were very frustrated trying to understand why the hell they needed us to answer and explain those question again

After half hour the consul was finally ready to start the interview, but we were not... We were still struggling filling out the stupid endless form. As we explained we were not yet done with it, they told us we actually did not need to worry to answer and explain all those questions again, because they happened to also have the original form, fully completed, that we already provided when we submitted our application last year. We shrunk our shoulders in disbelief and proceeded to the interview.

As Alia would say, the consul was a rather nervous guy. He kept going through the same papers again and again. He kept asking the same questions again and again. He asked me to confirm the last time I had been in the U.S. was in 2006, but it was very clearly stated in the application paperwork I stayed in the U.S. until 2010. It became clear to him that all the work had already been done: everything had already been reviewed, everything had already been checked and everything had already been approved. There was not really any question left for him to ask. Everything was ready and waiting for him to give the final thumbs-up. So, he conceeded and started explaining I would receive my passport with the permanent resident card in about seven days. As we already knew it would actually be a temporary 'premanent residence card'. After 18 months, we would have to confirm we are still married, in order to ask for the permanent 'permanent resident card'. Then the consul asked us for the third time when did we actually get married. We answered a bit nervous fearing he had found something wrong: "June 2010". Given that at the present time, it had already been two years since we married, I already qualified for the permanent 'permanent resident card'!! So, he proceeded to change that in the documentation and we will not have to worry to go through any more immigration trouble 18 months from now!


So, that's the story! We finally reached the end of our trip. We are finally back in Madrid. We finally solved the US permanent residence nightmare and we are finally 'sort of' ready to go back to Montana, so that Alia can finally complete here forestry degree. I am sorry I stretched the story so much, going through all the details that the message became so long. I guess I got to excited! I guess most people usually say they like long messages...


I just wanted to say we had a wonderful time with you and we really would like you to realize we had loved to spend more time there. However we were a bit stressed, knowing we really did not have much time left to make it to Madrid on time.

I also wanted to say you and Helena were of great help. It was really good we had the chance to enjoy a couple of wonderful, relaxed evenings with you, before all that mad journey. At least we went off with all batteries charged: physically, but also spiritually. We were not able to get much sleep on our journey to Madrid, but at least in Budapest we got the best rest we would need to be prepared for all the effort we were going to make. The same is true about the food. We barely had any food left on our last day from France to Spain. Except for the 'gazpacho' we made at your house the morning we left. We were also lucky we started our adventure with our stomachs full of the best food we have had in a very long time. I hope you and Helena will be able to find some time to write down the recipes of those stuffed peppers and the chicken pasta. I know Helena uses secret magic powder to achieve that amazing taste, but, hopefully, she will be able to come up with something similar we may use instead, that may be easier for us to find. I can tell you Alia keeps talking in her dreams about that chicken pasta and we both like to cook, so we would really like to learn how to make those dishes. Maybe one day we can cook them for some CouchSurfing guests! You can be sure we will not forget to explain them we got those recipes from Hungary...

But, even more than the sleep or the food, I wanted to tell you we had a very good time talking to both of you. Thank you very much for the wonderful time in Budapest!

Javier and Alia

If Four Days to Cross Europe was Bad, What Was This?

We left Monaco mid-day and began our rush back to Madrid.  We only had until 9am the next morning to go 1,200km.  The previous days had already left us exhausted.  First rushing from Budapest through the alps.  Then going down to Cinque Terre for a quick visit.  Finally over to Monaco.  All in just a few days, and we only slept in the car.

It was clear to us that we needed to take a less desirable route through France - with toll roads.  We detest toll roads, but considering the other option in Southern France is to drive tiny country roads, we didn't have much option.  We had too little time.   

We made pretty good time, but we knew it was going to be a long road.  On the Spanish border we picked up a hitchhiker from the Baltic Republics.  She was going to Barcelona, and since we had to go down that way to catch another road towards Madrid we decided to take her along.  We lost a little time doing this, because we had to go further into Barcelona than we would have liked so that we could get her to a metro station.  We got lucky that we found one pretty far out from the center, but it still would have been faster if we had not taken her.  These are the small prices you pay for meeting nice people and spreading generosity.

By the time we were an hour or so out of Barcelona, I was getting very tired.  We decided to take a small nap, but the 3/4 of an hour we allotted ourselves was nothing.  The next few hours were torture, and really pretty idiotic.  I was beyond exhausted when we arrived at Madrid during the morning commute.  With just a couple hours to spare, we made it back for Javier's final visa interview. 

We could finally go back to the U.S.

Monaco

Since we were rushing back to Spain we did not spend much time in Monaco.  But, let's face it, what would we have done there?  Spend our money in the casino?  The country is just one city, so there is not much need to spend a week if you travel like we do. 

The city itself is quite nice.  Beautiful and by the sea.  It is clear that it is a rich country.  This is what happens when the country is a tax haven.  We spent all our time walking - as we always do.  We walked to the famous Formula-1 route, with its tight curves.  We walked in the old city, which is elevated.  You can see the rest of the city very well from there.  It was a really beautiful mid-summer day we spent in Monaco.

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre is a section of breathtaking Mediterranean coast and precious villages in the north-western coast of Italy.  We were unable to spend as much time there as the region deserved, but we did spend a day hopping from town to town.  The beaches there are wonderful, and the villages are darling.  This is one place I would most definitely go back to visit again.

Zell Am See - Back into the Alps

The route we took from Budapest was not the most intuitive.  We decided that if were were going to have to rush back to Spain, we might as well take a route where we could see something new.  The first part of that route was Zell Am See in Austria.  This tiny village is like a pretty hidden treasure.  You come through the mountains on a tight road up to a lake.  The village hangs to the narrow banks along the lake.  Potted flowers line the window sills of all the houses.  For a place so grey and foggy as this high mountain village, there is a lot of color.

Recipe: Túró Rudi

In Hungary, as in many former bloc states and Russia, are delicious little chocolate covered treats filled with cottage cheese.  We first ate these treats - called Túró Rudi by the Hungarians - when we were given some by our hosts in Budapest.  I immediately fell in love with them, and when we left Hungary I bought as many as I thought would keep during our drive back to Spain.  They did not last long, but not because they went bad.

Arriving back in the U.S. several weeks later, I dreamt of these delicious morsels.  In larger U.S. cities, it may be possible to find these treats.  Surely any store that sells eastern European food may have them.  In Missoula there is little chance of such a find.

I set out to make these sweets on my own.  I figured they could not be complicated to make, and they are not.

I do not make them with just cottage cheese.  I usually make them mixed with cream cheese, or with cream cheese alone.  When made with only cream cheese, they are much creamier and do not freeze as hard.  The ingredients are simple and it takes little effort to prepare them, but you should put aside ample time to make them.  It is not advisable to make them the day you want to serve them.  It is better to set aside one evening for them to cool in the freezer.

Ingredients:

• Cottage Cheese (300g/10.5oz) : The fattier and creamier the better.  Skim, watery cottage cheese will form crystals when frozen, and the Túró Rudi will not be as creamy.
• Cream Cheese (300g/10.5oz)
• Sugar (100g/1/2 cup)
• Flour (130g/3tbs)
• Flavoring (vanilla/almond/orange/etc.)
• Chocolate (300g/10.5oz) : Whatever kind you prefer - dark, semi-sweet, milk.

Apart from the ingredients, you will need a few things:

• Wax or Parchment Paper
• Toothpicks

Drain the cottage cheese of its liquid.  You want it to be as dry as possible.  Squeezing it in a cheese cloth with help.  Mix together the cottage cheese and cream cheese.  You can do the mixing in a bowl by hand, or with an electric mixer.  I like the smooth result that comes from using an electric mixer when one is available.

You can mix all the ingredients together in one bowl and separate the portions when you want to add the flavors.  Or you can mix the ingredients in separate bowls from the beginning.

Add sugar and flour to the cheese mixture.

 

Separate the different portions to add the different flavors (if not already separated).  Add the flavoring to the cheese mixtures.  I made two types on this occasion: orange and almond.  I usually use extracts.  For the almond I was able to use extract, but could not find any orange extract this time.  Instead I used a bit of orange juice and orange zest.  If you do use fresh juice, you should add a bit more flour so that the mixture is not too wet and tough to form.  But I would suggest using extracts when they are available, because the final product comes out more flavorful.

Mix the ingredients thoroughly, so they are smooth.

Now that the mixtures are complete, you can form them into little rolls.

Take a spoonful of cheese mixture and drop it into a bowl of flour.  Roll the mass in the flour, making sure to cover all surfaces.  Place in your hand the floured mass and gently form into a roll. 

Place the formed roll onto a plate lined with wax or parchment paper.

Place toothpicks in the ends of each formed roll, and place them in the freezer for at least several hours.  You need them to be frozen all the way through before dipping them in chocolate.

 

When the cheese rolls are frozen, you can prepare the chocolate for dipping.  On a double boiler, place the chocolate and melt it slowly. 

Stir until the chocolate is smooth.

Remove the frozen cheese rolls from the freezer only at the last moment, when the chocolate is ready.  Holding the toothpick, dip the roll and spin it in the melted chocolate.  To coat completely, you can take spoonfuls of chocolate and drip it over the uncovered spots.  Let the excess drip off, or take the back of the spoon and smear off the excess.  Because the rolls are cold, the chocolate will cool and adhere to the surface immediately.  The coating can become too thick if you do not wipe some off.

Place the Túró Rudi back in the freezer.  Once completely cooled, you can peel them from the paper and put them into freezer safe bags or containers.  You can eat them frozen, because the creamy filling never gets completely hard.  I leave the toothpicks in to make them easier to handle when eating them.

Budapest and the Danube

Hungary is a flat agricultural country for the most part, with the population of the entire country being only one million more than that of New York City.  We drove north across Hungary from the Serbian border in the south.  It was many hours of flat and not particularly interesting country.  We had an interesting encounter with a semi-truck.  One of its tires blew out when we were driving right next to it.  The noise was astounding.

Over the previous months we had occasional encountered Hungarians and asked them where we should go in Hungary.  Usually people have a lot to say about there home country, but in the case of Hungary people just told us to go to Budapest.  They never had much else to suggest.

Budapest is in reality two different cities on opposite sides of the river respectively named Buda and Pest.  They were combined into one city over two hundred years ago.  The city is extravagant and beautiful.  Considering its long history of being the center of major kingdoms and empires, it is not surprising the richness of its architecture. 

We stayed outside of the city in a small village with a married couple.  This is where I learned to properly pronounce my mother's family name - Nagy.  We were feeling the pressure to get back to Spain, so were were only able to visit the city for a couple days.  Fortunately the city is really not that big, and it is easy to walk through most of it in a single day.

The Danube is a major river in Europe originating in the German Black Forest and passing through four national capitals.  After visiting the city we took a drive up the Danube towards the Slovakian border, visiting some small castles and villages along the way.  Outside of the city the scenery becomes rural very quickly, and the banks of the Danube are lush and beautiful.