Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! Let's make 2013 the best year ever ;-)

Here is some photo inspiration to kick off the year of 2013

All photos found on weheartit

Get into the Christmas Spirit

If you have not yet gotten into the Christmas or holiday spirit, we can suggest for you to try the Hot Wine (or maybe better known as Mulled wine or Glogg) to help you get the right "feeling".

Photo courtesy of Cherokee Billie

They usually serve hot wine at most restaurants and cafe's in the city center of Podgorica, and it is well worth taking your loved one('s) out for a cosy warm treat. 

Photo courtesy of Lorie W- The Kitchenarian

It is time to get into the Christmas or holiday spirit! We hope you enjoy the seasonal holiday with your loved ones. See you for New Year's!

DIY Jar Lantern & Gold/Silver Pomegranates

Yes, you can have a DIY Christmas in Podgorica!  We have been in a holiday"crafty" mood ever since the weather in Montenegro turned chilly.  A few weeks ago when we were searching for material for our advent calendar we also picked some extra supplies for some for home made Christmas decorations. These DIY crafts are extremely easy and quick to make. 

1.  Lantern:

YOU NEED

    glass jar    pliable wire     spray paint

We found the glass jars and pliable wire at and Spray paint at Kips. 

Spray paint the empty jars white  (you can, of course, experiment with different colours). 

Cut 2 pieces of wire the circumference of your jar.  

Twist them together and secure around the top of jar.  

Cut 2 more pieces for the handle (you decide on length).

Twist these pieces together and tie to the wire you first attached around the jar.  Our wire is quite thick but looks great with thinner wire as well.  

How easy and cute are these?

 

2. Painted Pomegranates:

YOU NEED

pomegranates  &  gold and silver spray paint

Pomegranates can be found at local grocery stores

Christmas Shopping

After days of rain, the sun finally popped out showing a fresh dusting of snow on the mountains.  It was a perfect day to get out and do a little Christmas shopping.  We decided to head down to the Porto Montenegro on the coast near Tivat in search of some unique gifts. Here are some of the cute shops we hit while out and about: 

noe & zoe

Noe & Zoe is a beautiful and whimsical store with unique prints and simple shapes. We found the perfect gifts for our kids in this shop. Our favorite purchases are the prince/princess crown, pink tutu with layers of stars underneath, and a soft pillow in the shape of a whale.

Supermarket

Supermarket is the perfect shop for all things unique. We loved this store in Belgrade and were so excited when it came to Montenegro. The shop is a bit smaller though still filled with special items.  It is really hard not to buy when in this store.  

Advent Calendar

What's Christmas without an advent calendar?  We have not been able to find a calendar in Podgorica so we decided to make one ourselves.  The problem being - there is not a single one-stop-shop to find craft materials...or at least we have not been able to locate one.  It took a long time to find supplies but here is our version of an advent calendar made in Podgorica and what you will need to make:

YOU NEED

string

clothes pegs

washi tape

paper

stamps

glue

Our journey in search of materials lead us to KIPS (clothes pegs), Kalija (string), Supermarket (washi tape), Pan Expert Bakery (brown paper bags; the bakery was very kind to support our DIY project), from Canada: stamps (ok, sorry we had to cheat a little bit....:-)).

Have you made your calendar yet? If not, remember to have fun, be creative and enjoy the season! Do you have other traditions for this holiday season?  We would love to hear.

Christmas Tree

We are very excited, because We Found Christmas Trees for sale in Podgorica! After looking around and almost giving up, we finally found a place that sells you the real christmas tree (if you want the plastic trees in different colours they can easily be found...).

We found the real deal in a gardening-centre called Kalija, located 7km from Podgorica on the way to the airport on the left hand side after passing KIPS (the big yellow building). They also had a cute little selection of small stuff that can come quite handy for some crafts projects. Good to know, right?

Playgrounds

Playgrounds are one of the more popular activities for kids and although there aren’t many options for children in Montenegro… there are a few gems to be aware of. If your children are like ours, they have endless energy and love climbing, swinging, sliding, jumping, chasing and hanging – all of which we prefer they do not use the furniture in our homes for! Finding a playground in Montenegro can be challenging and finding a good playground is almost impossible. Many are old and broken. Even if they were functioning, we would question the safety.  Recently, we have seen a few new and better designed playgrounds popping up, mostly around new building complexes, which gives hope. Here are a few of our favourite:

Porto Montenegro (Tivat area): In late March a pirate ship shaped playground opened with lots of areas to climb, jump and slide.  This playground is the favourite amongst our kids. In addition to the beautiful new play area – it is in a beautiful setting with sea views and close shopping. After the kids have burned off their energy there are a few tasty restaurants for you to recharge at (and perhaps sip a well-deserved nice glass of wine). We will definitely be sharing of these restaurants in our blog posts to come.   

Sport Club in Donja Gorica: This is a brand new playground in what will be soon a true sport complex for all ages, located at the University of Donja Gorica. Parents can enjoy a cappuccino (and full menu) at the cafe while watching their little ones play and have fun. The grounds are secure though the equipment is for post toddlers only. 

Park Petrovica (Podgorica): 1-block north of the hospital is a nice enclosed park with 4 separate play stations for kids. The park is full on the weekends though some of the equipment is in need of some TLC (tender love care). 

Favourite Bakery- PanExpert

PanExpert is our favourite bakery in Podgorica. They have delicious croissants, and their bread and rolls are also very tasty. If you want to treat yourself, try the yummy doughnuts (or the danish pastry). The bigger doughnuts are filled with a smooth vanilla cream, and the smaller ones are too cute, so conclusion is: both a must-have! 

PanExpert is located in Bulevar Džordža Vašingtona. Two more locations have just opened, one in the city centre of Podgorica and one in Budva. Rumour has it PanExpert will share their delicious treats across Montenegro. Next time we go there we will capture a photo of the sweet and delicious doughnuts to show to you. So, what is your favourite bakery or treat of the day?

Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2013

Montenegro made the top 10 countries to visit in 2013.

Check out the number two travel destination, according to Lonely Planet! Can't wait to see the hop-on-hop-off buses cruising around Montenegro :)

Podgorica Marathon

Who knew that Podgorica has a Marathon?  Not only does Podgorica hold an annual marathon event but it has been doing so for almost 20 years.  If running 42 km isn't your thing - you can always choose the 21 km half marathon.  Both runs start in the city centre at the Republic Square and via different race routes both end in the outskirt municipality of Danilograd.   To choose to run here is for self gratification and determination since it only has limited participants and screaming fans throughout the circuit.  There was a fair amount of expats and foreigners participating and if you are here - why not - give it a go.  We did not run in the race but we made a pretty good cheering squad for our husband's who braved the run in monsoon weather this year.  Check out the link if you are interested.

Lovely Seasonal Fruits

When it comes to buying fruits and vegetables in Podgorica, you can easily run into trouble. If you have the perfect lunch or dinner planned in your head, it does not necessarily mean that you will be able to find all ingredients in the supermarket. First of all, you will have more luck going to the local markets for nicer fruits and vegetables. But second, it all depends on the S.E.A.S.O.N. So, season is the keyword. That means that when there is the season for watermelon, there is watermelon to be found everywhere. But you may not be able to find those other much needed fruits or vegetables (and please don't get us started on the herbs; another blog-post) for your fancy (or usually in my case: not so fancy) recipes.. 

But, on the other hand, if you learn to plan according to season, you will get the most DELICIOUS sun-ripened fruits and vegetables you have ever tasted. And best of all, they are as organic as they can possibly be, as they are most likely grown at your neighbors fruit/vegetable-patch. 

Right now we are very excited that the season for pomegranate and mandarins have started. Look at these lovely ready-to-eat fruits that we found on the market yesterday, yummy! They are great to use both in salads and to eat as a snack. 

We can also suggest Nigella Lawson's Pomegranate Ice Cream.  You can find the recipe here 

Do you have any recipes to share, using pomegranate or mandarins?

Inspiration

When we first arrived in Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro, the two of us found it a little depressing. Being city girls, we love  architecture, culture, shopping, restaurants,  and pulsing energy.   Compared to what we were use to Podgorica almost seemed like a village to us.  There was nothing unique, beautiful or quirky about it.  The architecture is bland, many building are in need of TLC, shopping is lacking and restaurants are all the same...in general there was not anything special. 

Fast forward several months: Fitness, Fotography and Food

We were determined to find a way to make life in Podgorica exciting, beautiful and lovely.

Fitness - We were introduced to a former Montenegrin judo champion who became our personal trainer and motivated us to take advantage of our time and get into shape.  We have been working and sweating it out with him for over a year and have now become inspired to run a half marathon in March. Not only is he an excellent trainer but also a good friend:-).  He has shared stories and experiences of Montenegro and has given us an appreciation of things we could have easily missed. 

Fotography - We both love and have a passion for photography and decided this was great opportunity to learn more.  We met a young local photographer with a great eye who agreed to teach us the basics of photography. A few other expats joined our group and together we took lessons for 12 weeks.  It turned out to be one of the best experiences we could of ever had. Our Monday classes created new friendships and allowed us to see parts of the country through a new perspective.

Food - Since "take out" meals consists mostly of pizza and pljeskavica (Montenegrin hamburger) we were forced to learn to cook.  Inspiration came from local friends sharing family recipes of their favourite Balkan foods. It was entertaining and fun learning to make princess kroffna, honey cakes and soup. One of our lessons was how to make "stuffed peppers" which provided inspiration for the name of our blog.    

Although Podgorica is not our dream expat destination inspiration has come out of it. This is why we want to share with you that excitement and beauty can be found in the most unexpected places. We hope you will enjoy the journey together with us.

Lovcen Mausoleum - A Fantastic View

Want to experience fantastic views, combined with some Montenegrin history and great nature? Make sure to visit the second highest peak of Lovcen. There you will find a Mausoleum in honor to poet, ruler and bishop Petar ll Petrovic Njegosh, at a stunning altitude of 1657 meters. It is said to be the highest Mausoleum raised in Europe. 

The Mausoleum is of course not without controversy. Njegosh´s wish was to be buried in a small chapel which he had built, but unfortunately, the chapel got destroyed during WW1. Njegosh´s remains were transferred to the Cetinje Monastery. Instead of renovating the chapel, communist powers of Montenegro built the Mausoleum, which to many people opposed Njegosh's last will. 

The design of the Mausoleum is of Ivan Mestrovic, who was a Croatian and Yugoslav sculptor and architect. After "google-ing" this man, we found out he was apparently the first living person to have a one-man show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York City.

However, the best part of this visit is definitely the breathtaking view. It is said that you can see 80percent of Montengro from the viewpoint, and if you are lucky on a clear day, and have a very good sight, you may even be able to see Italy. Enjoy!

Duklja/ Doclea

Four kilometers north of Podgorica lies Duklja/Doclea or also referred to as "Old Town Montenegro" by the locals. It is located on a flat plateau between the rivers Moraca and Zeta. This ancient city was once the most important urban center of Roman rule in Montenegro. Today, it is the country's most important archeological site. If you can handle the crickets and thought of snakes crawling through the grass then this historical site is worth a visit. The ruins are in poor condition, and it is said that many of the stones used to create this ancient town have been taken to create fences and houses around the surrounding area. With a little imagination you can get the feeling for a city that was once present many years ago. 

Ziya

With influences from Turkey, Austria and other Balkan countries Montenegro has a rich tradition of food. Great care is taken when creating each dish and the locals do not seem to have much need for new or different cuisine. Therefore the options for international food has been slow to develop in Montenegro. 

For those of us who desire some alternative options now and then – we can recommend a new restaurant in the middle of Podgorica. Ziya, a boutique hotel appeared in the spring of 2012. It’s restaurant serves up a North African and Middle Eastern fusion, which is quite tasty and dishes are great for sharing. We can recommend their baba ganoush, falafels and pistachio crusted beef tenderloin. Actually, everything we have tried this far is a welcome treat for this region. 

We suggest you sit in in their quiet patio for a meal or just a drink to relax! There is an inside dining room, which is nicely decorated though doubles as the breakfast buffet for morning meals. It would be nice if they could hide the buffet tables during the evening. In visiting Zija every chance we get we have always had friendly and excellent service. 

Be sure to say hi to chef Muammar.