I love the food here!

Tues. Nov 30

This time my team consist of Laszlo who is hungarian and Udo who is german. We also had a part timer Alex who is from austria. Dinner with the group has been so interesting, I love hearing stories about their countries.

The food has been really good in Parnu. We went back to the russian restaurant on Tues and I had the Borscht soup this time. It's more like a stew of beets, potatos, carrots, onions and cabbage and beef. It's served with a dollop of sour cream, so good. On wednesday Alex took us to an austrian restaurant so ofcourse I ordered the schnitzel. Alex refused to order it because he was offended by the fact that it was topped with herring and capers.

On thursday Mart took us to the yacht club for dinner. They all decided to do a vodka shot and ordered one for me even though I didn't want one! It tasted pretty smooth but I gave it to the guys to finish, no sense in asking for trouble! They told me stories of how the russians do business with vodka. You must drink with them or they would be offended. It's typical to have vodka in a meeting. You cannot get right to business because it will not work this way. It's almost like you are there to drink with them and if we get some business done in the process then that's fine. Udo ordered the salted herring which is a typical dish here. It's served with sour cream and is quite good. It was fresh like sashimi. The best was when I tried baked ice cream for the first time. It's not like the fried ice cream at home. Alex makes it at home and told us how to make it. I can't imagine it working but I will try it when I get home. Supposedly you whip up egg white with a little bit of sugar and salt. This mixture is pour on ice cream in a dish and put in the oven at high heat from the top of the oven. It only takes a few minutes to brown the egg white and not long enough to melt the ice cream. It was so yummy! The mix of salty and sweet was so interesting.

Estonians eat more fresh fruit and vegetables in the summer but in winter they stick to more pickled stuff. Our lunches always consist of some kind of pickled cabbage or relish and potatos along with our meats. I'm greatful that they brought lunches in for us. It's too cold to bother venturing out! Each day the weather gets a little better. Monday was the worse when it was -4. It snow on and off and the street is hard packed with snow.