BonVivant

Goya Chanpuru is one of the most typical Okinawan dishes. Amami is a blend of Okinawan, Kyushu and "mainland Japanese" cultures so this dish ("goya chanpuru"/stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, tofu and ham) is also typical on Amami islands. Amami-style does not contain tofu, however. The rest of breakfast spread (sour plum, fried fish paste, goya chanpuru, crunchy savoury seaweed, pickles and delicious ginger marmalade). Must ask the cook how he makes the ginger marmalade so I can recreate it at home. Pretty sure it has the local brown sugar/sugarcane syrup in it. This is the dining room. A table is literally a thick, whole piece of wood from a big tree. The views from where we eat Went to a neighbouring island on another day trip. Notice how quiet the village and streets are round these parts. This is one of the reasons we come all the way to "the other Japan"! Danger in paradise is never far away. These signs are everywhere, each indicates the elevation in that area. There's no one outside or on the street in this village. Someone was visiting an shop owner round the corner just parked her car in the middle of the road. We went to the shop to buy beer and the driver was chatting with the shop owner out front. Big Indian coral trees, over 60 of them on this path. They are more than 300 years old. That's older than the USA. So tropical here the plants love it. Dripping flowers everywhere, even the wild weeds are pretty. Empty village street again. Fire service on Kakeroma island. This is the size of a mini van. The refuse vehicle is just a little bigger, which is less than half the size of one at home. Time seems to stand still here. Ferry schedule and price list are hand-written Another beach we had to ourselves Beer on the deck again during golden hour. Amami-style somen Squid with "nari miso". Nari is sago palm, the symbol of Amami. The seeds are used to make "miso", flour etc. This miso is sweet and savoury with a coarse texture. I quite like it. Will buy some to take home as it's only available on these islands. (Some interesting info about sago palm and the role they play in the history of Amami here) Amami has its own black pork. The guesthouse owner made tonkatsu today with it. He churns out good meals day after day. He puts me to shame. A former high school teacher who became a guesthouse owner at 39 (15 years ago). He said his food was rubbish in the beginning, so he asked a cook at his regular pub to teach him. He also started learning from cooking programmes and cookery books. Now he's a confident and very good cook, it's also part of his success running the guesthouse business. Japanese guests marvel at his home-cooked meals every time, and we have the same reaction. I changed my plan twice to be able to secure a vacancy at this guesthouse! (There are only 3 rooms) Across the street from our guesthouse in rural Amami. The green building is a shop that sells fruits, vegetables, preserves etc grown by locals in the area. There are prices on items and you just put money in a piggy bank tin. No one "works" there. The app translates the characters: "fresh and safe. Direct sale!!" (2 exclamation marks) Also nearby is a private dragon fruit farm. Japanese love to grow own fruits and vegetables in their own gardens. A crab stopped in his tracks when he saw us. Immediately the ants tried to attack him. I poked him gently so he could make his escape from the ants. It really feels like being on a (sub)tropical island. We are glad to be here. No pollution/exhaust, no sirens, more nature and less people. Water activities are popular (SUP, kayaking, snorkelling, diving etc). We swim and snorkel. People fish for themselves, just enough to eat and no more. The aubergine was soft and mild. Goes well with soy sauce and bonito flakes. With chopsticks. Not a knife or fork in sight. I eat crisps with chopsticks. I asked the cook for you. He uses soya oil. Fish are firm-fleshed and flavourful. They are all new to us and we enjoy the taste. The owner can speak a few English words, and the rest using a translation app. New tourists arrive almost every day, mostly from Tokyo. They happily act as translators for us. Same situation on previous trip to Okinawa. We also use a translate app. We are the first non Japanese tourists he's had, and staying a week at his place. Southern islands are not on most non Japanese tourists' itinerary. Another reason we have come here.

Amami, island of the morning calm. I don't even eat breakfast at home, here I eat fried fish and sausage at 7am. Fried fish is part of a traditional Japanese breakfast. On Okinawan islands I usually got spam ("not for me" is the nicest I can say) so sausage is a nice change, though I would rather leave it out all together. Owner-cook said the mackerel came from the waters round Kagoshima. Took the ferry to neighbouring island Kakeroma and spent the afternoon at a beach there. A giant cement emperor slit shell greets tourists Someone said to me "Why take so long to get to Amami? You could go to other places in Asia. Cheaper, too." Thanks for going there, and leaving me this all to myself. The photo above is a nightmare scenario for us. The best beach is an empty one. One minute it was burning hot like standing under a magnifying glass in the sun, then the next minute the rain came down in buckets. Took shelter in a tiny shrine up a hill where we ate our lunch. The guesthouse owner made us rice balls filled with leftover seaweed/salted fish etc. Looking down at the village as we ate our simple but delicious rice balls. Went back down to the beach after the rain. Many crabs scrammed as we approached, and they were so fast. This one held its breath waiting to see what I would do next. Had a "sundowner" (or 3) on my deck during golden hour Views from our room The room here. Have stayed in traditional tamami room like this a bunch of times. Sit/eat/sleep on the floor hurts my back a lot as I'm not used to it. Ladder to the small loft. (We've moved it sideway leaning against the wall.) Dinner as the sun was reaching the horizon. It gets very dark very fast after that. Sashimi One of the common fish in these waters. I was told it's OK to eat the head, bones and all. 3 tiny fish (cooked in a different way but I forgot to ask how) Salted fish on soft tofu Strips of pig's ear in a sour brine Braised daikon and pork belly I put the dishes closer together for the photo then put them back when done. In Japan they are particular about the position of each dish on the table. I brought these from home for the owner. He was very surprised and happy. Okinawan cookery book I bought in Okinawa on a previous trip. In top right corner is some chocolate candies given to me by someone but I eat no chocolate under 99 or 100% cacao content. Also brought with me Okinawan fermented tofu but forgot to get it out of the bag for this photo. Gave it to him later, which he said he also liked to eat it. Many mainland Japanese hate this fermented tofu and can't eat it at all. I bought the pumpkins recently. Took 3 small ones in my rucksack all the way here. @Kerala, it's my third visit to Japan. Thanks. @KennethT, these snacking ones are small, size of small whelks. Pierce the protruding meat using a toothpick and pull it out. It comes out of the shell in one fluid whirl, usually. Texture is a lot like octopus, tastes sweetish and briny.

The plane was on time but we took off 25 minutes later than scheduled. Luckily we didn't miss our bus to our final destination. I was so dead tired and about to doze off then partner pointed at something big and black above a sea of clouds. Finally, we saw Mount Fuji! We did try on the very first trip to Japan but it was quite far away (in Hakone). Yep, that's Mt. Fujji poking its top through the puffy, cottony clouds. Almost there. Amami-Oshima island. Plane was about to make a turn. The runway is a man-made extension, like many islands, there's no real, totally flat surface that's naturally big enough for a commercial airport's runway. The flight was gentle and the landing was smooth (the 14 hour one to Tokyo was the same). I had a fright of my life flying from Guadalajara to La Paz (Baja Sur). I think the suicidal pilots busted the landing gear on touchdown, too. As soon as I exited the aircraft I was blown away by high heat. Thought Tokyo was hot (27C), on Amami it's boiling hot 31+. Immediately round the corner was a display of Amami island's shochu, one of its specialities. 2 more hours going through many very long tunnels in an old (70's?) bus to the other end of the island to reach my lodging. Bus got full very soon as it was time young students got out of school. Only saw students and elderly islanders use the bus. Everyone else uses own cars here. Staying at a "minshuku" (family-run small guesthouse with home-cooked meals) in rural Amami where public bus service is limited and no taxis. 15 minutes after our arrival dinner was served. OMG, rice 3 times a day. I don't eat rice at home but will make an exception for Japan. The owner cooks everything himself and presents it so beautifully, too! Tuna sashimi. Always begin with sashimi. Tuna is a speciality in this part of the island. There's a big tuna statue at the ferry port. Fried fish. Fatty fish just like salmon but flesh is completely white. This piece is the collar. Thought it was a type of melon, until I saw the inside, which was young aubergine. Tender and mellow Seaweed Soft tofu topped with crunchy, savoury seaweed. Strawberry conch. A common starter in the Amami archipelago. Fried fish paste next to the conch Miso soup with clams A piece of coral as chopstick rest and my first Amami shochu (made from sugarcanes, Amami-Oshima is the biggest producer, other Amami islands have their own versions, also made from sugarcanes.) More about this Amamian shochu. 3 days ago I was eating "Oktoberfest food" at home and now I'm eating home-cooked food on a tropical island far away. Where exactly is Amami archipelago? This is where the name of the thread comes from. In full it should be "The Other Japan - Strawberry conch, shochu and snorkeling". Japan's southernmost islands have their own cultures and languages. Their kingdom is now a part of Japan. If you listen to islanders when they speak with each other you'll notice it's not exactly Japanese. They speak own languages with each other, but of course Japanese is the administrative and commercial language. Map of languages spoken in the archipelagos. I always look forward to returning to this fascinating, complex, ENTHRALLING island nation. National Geographic Traveller magazine April 2023 issue. This is Japan's announcement of the official reopening of the country. Previous travel restrictions have been lifted. The unofficial number one on my list. One that never ceases to surprise and delight. Everywhere I go Everything I go Everyone I know There's no one like you In Tokyo.

London yesterday's morning, moments before touchdown. From here it's another 14 hour flight... Flying over Germany Good morning, Tokyo! Watching the sunrise from my comfortable seat (JAL/Japan Airlines). Long bridge that enters an underwater tunnel Konnichiwa, Tokyo! Have 4 hours to kill waiting for my connecting flight. I left home on the 27th and sill haven't reached my final destination. That'll be 7 hours from now, if I'm lucky. There's this thing at HND/Haneda airport that looks like a robo-mobility scooter. It goes round the terminal flashing its lights and making noises. Some children get on one for a ride. They all look so happy afterwards.

------------ #1 ------------ Plain Leberkäse with sharp mustard Liver dumpling in a creamy soup with chard A simple "Wurstsalat" ("sausage" salad) ------------ #2 ------------ Offal cold cuts with pickled silverskin onions Grated horseradish, pungent Styrian mountain cheese and a salad. ------------ #3 ------------ Roast chicken is one of Oktoberfest classics (at the fest you get half a bird). Red sauce is mojo picon from Lanzarote. Boiled or steamed bread dumplings in a creamy mushroom ragout is a typical Bavarian dish. This version is a not typical at all... mushrooms and sweetcorn cooked with a bit of cream, and the bread dumplings (previously cooked) are fried cuz I like a crispy crust sometimes. And now the beers, in my private "Wies'n" (="field")! 2 packs of Oktoberfest beer styles from different breweries. (Can you imagine yourself taking a pack of these home on the back of your bicycle? It's quite normal for us here to bring most things home on our bikes.) I enjoy checking out different beers each day FYI, this is the site of Oktoberfest the year it was cancelled. The world's biggest beer drinking event was cancelled due to Corona. Not once, but twice! Have been to the pumpkin farm 3 times now. 11 kilometres/6,8 miles from my house, first half of the way biking on country roads through a village, second half right through the woods, then exit to this country road to reach the farm (50m/55 yards) behind me). Second haul.

Thanks, @Duvel! Prost! Konstanz, 2014. No, I didn't do a bike tour.

It's time for Oktoberfest, but on a much smaller scale than Duvel's. Don't want to eat only "Oktoberfest food" every day for the next 2 weeks so there will be my normal food in between, too. Fried sliced bread dumpling with eggs. One of the ways Bavarians use up leftover dumplings. Peeling off the casing Raw red cabbage with cream. Sweet mustard for someone else and coarsely grated horseradish in cream for myself as I can't abide sweet mustard (I know it's "traditional"). Much better lighting when I ate this lunch, it was a warm and sunny day. Fried Leberkäse Matjes, masago (capelin roe) and apple mixed with quark. Liver dumpling in broth Potato salad. I cooked the potatoes together with a bunch of lovage stalks and then steeped them in a vegetable broth that's been boiled with lovage stalks in it so yeah, it's very lovage/Maggi intense in flavour. (Again, not very "traditional" kind of potato salad.) My last chunk of heavy Lithuanian black bread. (There's a small loaf of another type of Lithuanian black bread still in the freezer then it's really finished.) Oktoberfest in my private Biergarten. First box of Oktoberfest beer. And my first "haul" of the new pumpkin (and squash) season! In a row on the ground. (There are more pumpkins and squashes in the yard behind me). FYI, how to properly enjoy Weisswurst (the illustrations are easy enough to understand):

Summer decides to come back, who am I to say no?! It's very hot, though, but I'm not going to whinge. (Several meals in this post.) Matjes with pickled beetroot and quark. Lithuanian black bread and the rest of the spread. Smoked mackerel, boiled small waxy potatoes and salad (buffalo mozz). Cold beetroot pasta Broke the burrata when I tipped it over. Some snacks. Peanut flips from Polish supermarket. "Mexican style" here means a bit spicy. Oktoberfest is coming... (next weekend)

Always notice how people shop in certain places, in this case it's one of my regular Turkish grocers. Many Turkish shoppers picked out the best ones, and I followed. Turns out these figs are sweet, even though they are a bit pale inside. I said to the owner's daughter that one day I would go to Bursa in September just to eat figs. She went "oh wow, really? You know about Bursa figs?!". (FYI, Bursa, about 1 and 1/2 hours from Istanbul, is a big black fig producer. The town produces figs for about 75% of Turkey, and also exports to quite a few countries.) And this is Bursa black figs I buy by the tray (?) every week when in season. Bursian government announced last week the fig season officially started and exports would begin the following day. They are probably in the lorries on the way here! --------- #2 Scrambled eggs, North Sea shrimp (Crangon crangon) and Roma tomatoes. Shrimp shell broth, pumpernickel and butter lettuce. ------- #3 "Cold water prawns". Probably Pandalus borealis. Razor clams. Pumpernickel (German) and horseradish from Styria, Austria. Made a spread with grated horseradish and crème fraîche. The reddish version has beetroot added to it.

Also, soaking reduces oligosaccharides (so that it's easier to digest). You can also do a "hot soak".

It's good to have your own maggi plant (AKA lovage). Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and add to anything. Such an intense herb/plant. - - - I call this thing Vietnamese "Leberkäse". Steamed pork paste with tendons (I didn't make it myself, the product is imported from France and is readily available in Asian supermarkets where I live). I usually use a crusty bread but these days I also like these airy and pillowy Polish steamed buns. And speaking of Maggi... I have here 3 to compare. French version is a bit salty. The other 2 taste almost similar. Both good. Hmm, next time I shall bring back a Mexican version. Look at it on the shelf every time. - - - (Beetroot-) cured salmon belly Potatoes with quark and gherkins On the right is Matjes Also, pumpernickel and quark with chopped dill and blow-my-head off grated horseradish.

(Several meals) The rain lasted 2,5 weeks! Hello again, sun! Santorinian lentils/"fava" (Lathyrus clymenum) with spicy mince. Totally inauthentic "dakos" (toast with tomatoes and feta, plus summer savoury from the garden). Photo of the "fava" taken on the day before leaving Santorini to return to Crete. (Down to 2 fava and 2 tomato paste now.) - - - First 10. Got another 10 yesterday. Simply boiled til done. I snack on a cob any time, also when biking to/from somewhere. Another type of Lithuanian black bread And of course, my favourite, new Matjes. Avocado-beetroot spread is for the black bread. It spreads just like butter. - - - 1/3 of a kilo of razor clams. Steamed and dressed with a chopped Greek salad, and lemon juice. And a beer _ _ _ A common species of whelks round these parts

The last time I saw the sun or felt its warmth on my skin was on July 18. The day after this photo was taken the rain started and it's been raining buckets every single day since. Summer savoury from the garden. Mushrooms (half chanterelle, half king trumpet). More cream was added to the lentils before eating. ----#2------ Gooseberries, quark, Iranian red pistachios (also in coarsely ground form on left), Cretan honey, chocolate and matcha tea. ----#3--------- Smokey aubergine pulp and "tzatziki" (quark, chopped capers and garlic, lemon juice, cucumber). Turkish tandoor bread (bigger than a dinner plate) Fish without chips. Hake fillets from the market fishmonger (the same one I always get oysters from every weekend). Dreaming of Greece. Mediterranean-style food makes me forget this endless rain for a while. Sometimes I shuck 1 or 2 but usually don't touch them until after the photos are done. Once opened they release lots of liquid and it just keeps dripping on the table the whole time. Yesterday. Box of 25, bladderwrack to keep it moist.

Yeah, seems anyone can use the swing. The water is cold. I don't know why they don't saw off the extra wood. Not just 1 stool but all of them are like that.

Last lunch in Vilnius was at this legendary Soviet-era canteen (far from the centre but we enjoyed the walk and photo ops). Had a hard time finding it but we did, eventually, with help from a pensioner in his flat on the first floor. He saw us in the little mirror and poked his head out the window asking what we were trying to find. We looked up the Lithuanian word for "canteen" and told him. He pointed enthusiastically in the direction we had just come from (but we couldn't find the canteen there, obviously). He kept pointing at the other direction said "go back that way, it's right there" so vehemently that we had to try again to find it. We had been inside this building twice, also round the back twice. But it's where the canteen is located. Looks like a school or government building (complete with 70's/80's font). Round the back. Only now we had realised this was the way to the canteen because... "valgykla" means canteen (*slap forehead*). Also saw this twice. A long, dark corridor. The door was closed both times. There was already a small queue. As we moved closer to the counter I asked someone in the queue what the dishes were on a printed sheet (they serve different typical Lithuanian dishes every day). The boss at the counter called someone from the kitchen to help me with the ordering. We were lucky a table for 2 had just become available. The place is small and plain, (office) workers and students, also people who live nearby come for lunch (the only time the canteen is open) so you eat and leave when you are done, bring your plates and cutlery to the little hatch door on the way out. Nobody cleans the table (I used napkins) and remember someone is waiting for your table so get going as soon as you are done eating. Beetroot soup, one is cold and one is hot. Zeppelins (potato dumplings filled with minced pork). Cabbage rolls A kind of fried dough. Not too sweet, nice and airy. I ordered the meal by pointing randomly at the menu. Everything tasted better than all other places I ate the whole week. And it was ridiculously cheap! Kind staff, also. A good local experience. The place was packed as soon as we sat down at our table. When we left the queue was half way down the corridor. They serve the same food like back in the Soviet days and the quality remains the same, plus the prices are still affordable that's why it's packed every day. The rest of the last day we did more walking and beer drinking. When I was making this photo an employee approached me and gave me a card with name of the teahouse "can you tag us?". I took the card and said sure. (I am not on "socials", not a part of any of this platform.) Furniture abstract. It's not a B&W photo. We went to a favourite pub several times, this swing was on the same street. Popular with the local teenagers. Many more beers at this nice local pub The regulars let us try this insane-proof spirit. Even they could barely drink it. We each had a tiny sip. Later, here at home... Artisanal black bread. Hand-made loaves, weighing about 3 kilos each. And smaller loaves from a different shop. I portioned the big loaves and put them in the freezer. Have gone through half the bread so far. I bought the same charcuterie at different market stalls, this is some of it. The Speck here looks very lean. They are not usually this lean. Smoked pig's ears (in strips for easy snacking) and more Speck on the left. Air-dried sausages Beef jerky (plus more beef jerky in vac pack underneath) Pork jerky All the charcuterie is good and of high quality. Unfortunately, the Latvian smoked sprats didn't pass Lithuanian customs clearance. They confiscated all the tins. We paid for extra cabin bags to bring all this home. Next time 1 bag would go in the hold. No other way to bring honey and tinned fish back. We were still eating Lithuanian tomatoes and fruits for a couple of weeks later. The capital left a good impression on us. Next time we would like to visit smaller towns and the coast for more amazing black bread, beer and whatever else I'm sure we'd enjoy. Thanks for your patience. This was my impression of the Lithuanian capital and I hope to return and visit other places in the country some day, for the black bread and beer alone is already enough.

(Very nice) NEIPA and an OK local lager at a random restaurant that has taps. Went back to a favourite "Spunka" (a type of local pub that serves only local brews). Friendly staff and regulars, not to mention English-speaking. This one would be my local pub if I lived here. Tiny place. Pretty much the same regulars we saw on each visit, they came at different times. And almost every single stool is like this... On the way to the Spunka/pub... beer shop? And on the way back from the pub... It's a beer bar that didn't make my list. Many next time. Yes, please. No, thanks. After all, why not. Egotistical *holes exist everywhere. This one still tried to drive through with all the pedestrians in the middle of crossing at the same time.

This is the new/modern commercial centre they are developing. Not going at an insane speed like I saw in the Albanian capital (which is trying their best to erase the whole town and turning it into something ugly modern). Below the footbridge where I took the photo above. The younger generations don't know what it's like to endure hardship under communism. Now they like to play and and spend money. 2 streets away is the neighbourhood where I made a bunch of photos of traditional wooden houses. This very road used to be a dirt road until 2 years ago. Found another Soviet-era manhole cover. Hard to find them and no older than 1987. Old frying pan. Spunka is a typical local pub serving local beers. There are a few locations in the capital. Throngs of (packaged) tourists in the centre and touristy sites it's nice to find an empty lane. The bus station is far from the centre, we walked all the way there to pick up black bread sent by the bakery in another town. Came across this (wine) restaurant on the way to the bus station... menu is on the old door. (And the name of the place) Another old door, much older and a lot more beautiful, also massive. Typical entrance and doorway Swing under a bridge

Went back to a market we had wanted to visit the day before, it was closed then. This very local market is nowhere near the touristy centre, located in a neighbourhood full of traditional houses with natural wood exterior. Seemed we were the only 2 tourists there. I didn't make many photos as it was crowded. Fish and meat halls are in another section, charcuterie and a couple of cheese stalls share the same hall. There are 2 wonderful herb stalls immediately after the entrance. Herbs that are hung upside down are drinking or something else. Looks like fresh yeast I have at home. Turns out it's halva. (The yeast at home comes in a brick like these, also same colour.) Lithuanian grown strawberries. Good prices, too. We pay twice as much at home. Doesn't matter that the stalls sell, some of them also have honey. Lithuanians love honey. Too bad I couldn't take any with me. Next time I need to put a rucksack in the hold for honey and tinned sprats. Not many varieties of tomatoes in the shops and markets (Lithuanian cuisine is not tomato-heavy). But I still enjoy checking them out. This type is big and heavy. We have something similar at home called meaty/fleshy tomato. Looks and tastes better here, though. These have more taste than the rest of the bunch. Some stalls have several types of cherries, but none has the huge, deep dark, fleshy, juicy ones. Wish we had this at home. Love beetroots, the tops slightly more. Open air area of the market is where potatoes and plants are sold. A hot chilli pepper. As far as fresh goes, I prefer scotch bonnet. So many types of potatoes sold at a typical local market. Lithuania puts us, a potato eating country, to shame in terms of availability. I don't speak the language but no problem communicating with the younger generations. They speak English quite well. With older people I used a translation app. The Baltic countries are popular with Scandinavian tourists, also Germans and Poles. Hah! Poles are quick to point out the dishes or food in Lithuania that's actually Polish. Haven't made it too Latvia (yet) but Estonians say Lithuanian food is "not good". But hey, I like Estonian food also.

Strammer Matjes/Max ("ShtrAMmer MAKs") from the sea. One of the eggs I got has the perfect shape of Kinder Surprise eggs. Where I got the egg above, from a (hobby) chicken keeper, in the countryside 1,5 hours biking from my house. A normal house with a big garden full of chickens, directly left of this country lane. ---------#2--------- Fried eggs with tomatoes and Feta Chocolate paste/bergamot mamerlade/peanut butter are made by yours truly. Black bread and yoghurt with honey. ---------#3------------ Greek-style salad every day. From scorching hot to full blown autumn. Grilling on the Weber outside was cancelled. SV lamb leg meat, briefly browned in a pan. Enjoying my herbs from the garden.

Traditional pastry from a town somewhere else in Lithuania but is popular all over the nation, sold at kiosks in various locations. It's OK. Give me Bolivian salteña any day. I got 1 with lamb and 1 with mushrooms. Light meal and beer later From Latvia Salmon roe And more beer at a nice local pub earlier

Wanted to browse this market but it was closed on this day of the week. I noticed many (beautiful) old houses in the area of the market so I decided to look round. Picked a side street across from the market and started from there. Sheds and letterbox station Letterbox station All the old/traditional houses have natural wood exterior. Some are well maintained, many are not. Some are "abandoned". I think so. Doors and windows are boarded up. I approached a young man walking towards me here, asking about the old wooden houses in the area. As I have suspected and the young man confirmed it, nobody takes care of the property after the owners pass away. One day they government will give everyone in this neighbourhood an offer they can't refuse. They'll buy the land and turn it into a new modern commercial district. The young man said only a couple of years ago this very street was just a dirt road. Today it's professionally sealed and has a raised bike lane. Eerily beautiful. Here you can see a brand new glass-covered building right next to a wooden house. And in front of the glass building in photo above is a dirt road, as mentioned by the young man I spoke with. Whole logs on the sides of the house Huge house number with street name. The same all the way to Georgia Republic. I guess it's Soviet style. Next to a Soviet-era flat building is a simple swing set. The seats are very thin now. Only 2 streets away is the all-new development. They have these wooden pod-like things on the grass, like a private space in the open to chill. If we have this at home they would vandalise it if they can't steal it! A public bench. This is a common thing as I kept seeing it all day: an old door with code lock. Even the door knob is made of wood (same door in photo above) There are many designs, I took photos of a couple nice ones only. One of the analogue clocks on the street

The wind changed direction so now we have good-for-nothing high temperatures (35C!/stupid hot in Fahrenheit). Time for no-cook meals, or at least keep the cooking minimal. Fried bread from Moroccan bakery (brown one is whole wheat). Honey and sugar cane molasses brought back from Madeira Young cheese and runny cheese in 2 small bowls on right Would not even consider moving to a place where I don't have access to cheese. - - - Another no-cook meal. Peeling the prawns took the longest. Avocado-feta and pickled jalapeño Fishmonger sources oysters from a different farm. There are many along our coast. So I finally tried this. Not "extra hot" at all! Just a little spicy and only mildly cheesy. Never again. The wine was much better

Did lots of walking today. Beetroot soup fest was going on in the capital and there was this huge thing nowhere near the touristy centre that I saw by chance. Had to make this photo in colour, obviously. Kept running into wedding photo shoots every day. They are exactly like people on "socials", striking a super fake pose in the blink of an eye and then seamlessly flipping back to their normal selves. This most popular shopping street in the centre is closed to automobiles at weekends. Restaurants and cafes on both sides of the street take advantage of it. It got crowed soon after I made the photo, which was earlier in the day. Across the street from my lodging... sun shines on an old iron gate, droopy branches as a frame. There are many nice parks and green spaces everywhere. Unlike at home, the government can't wait to turn every last patch of greenery into houses and flat buildings! The capital still has trolley buses in service. They use both old and newer trolley buses for different routes. An enduring icon of Lithuania, seen through the high columns. And between the trees I'm always on the look out for urban geometry and minimalism. Central market, the one I visited first soon after my arrival. It's touristy but still one shouldn't skip it. A mini flea market a couple of streets from the central market I've taken many photos of door handles everywhere I visit but the following 2 are quite different. ----------- Lunch at a restaurant-pub (pub that also serves freshly cooked food). We beat the peak lunch time by about 5 minutes. Many employees in the area came here on their lunch break. We were the only tourists, we had the time to eat slowly and drink many beers. The pub has a dozen beer taps and is on many beer enthusiasts' itinerary but because it's a bit far to walk from the centre they don't usually come round till later. We ordered soup and warm meals of the day. The nice employee translated the menu to me. Every day of the week they have a different set of meals, the menu also changes every week and with the seasons. Potato pancakes Chicken with mushrooms in cream. Roasted potatoes underneath. Beers on tap were also good. They have 4 cask taps, but unfortunately, only in use when the beer is in good condition. Btw, the massive facial hair trend in the craft beer scene has not reached Lithuania. How refreshing. In certain countries it's so prevalent, exactly the same look or style in every beer bar. And unlike in some countries, the bald gene in Lithuania is rare, at least in the young. I counted 3 (old men), never once in a beer bar. Supermarkets stock good quality craft beer. Much better than the same boring stuff we have at home. My first sweet IPA. Couldn't drink it. Non sweet IPAs I had were all fine. This is my "monochrome" camera (see beer photo in restaurant above). These days I only use it for B&W photos. Fujifilm cameras are highly configurable to achieve the looks of film stocks or any style you want by adjusting colours/contrast/clarity/highlight/shadow/white balance shift etc. I take all B&W photos using in camera B&W settings. In digital camera world it's considered a "dinosaur". I have had it for 10 years. The old bird (my camera that is!) still turns heads! I got asked many times if it's an analogue camera. The sausage casing is from the large intestine, and the stench comes from the colon. I know people in some cultures enjoy eating and smelling it.

Photo taken in Guerrero Negro, BCS (through a restaurant's window where I was eating).

The "virgins" are here again. Cold beetroot soup with mashed eggs Smoked pig's ear I brought back from Vilnius. Tyrolean Speck on right, and smoked salmon above. One of us scoffs at smoked pig's ear and Matjes. Fantastic black bread brought back from Vilnius. Next time I'll post photos of black bread and charcuterie brought back from Vilnius. Very chewy, substantial bread that requires time and effort to enjoy. Tastes sweet and sour, contains caraway seeds (thankfully they are not overpowering). Beautiful, good crust. This handmade traditional bread is a work of art. Did you know... black/rye bread is what Lithuanians abroad miss the most? New-catch Matjes (and strawberries), are a sure sign of summer here. I think I have exceeded my weekly quota of oily fish... Ate 3 yesterday, and 3 today. ---------------- Another meal: Summer savoury (as in a plant) I got 2 small pots from a garden centre last year. They are doing very well. Broad beans and smoked Speck cooked in cream, together with 5 big twigs of summery savoury. It's most commonly added to green beans and such. This is a typical home-style dish in northern Germany. The name is simply the ingredients "broad beans and Speck". Didn't season at all, the Speck provided all the smokey salty flavour. Lithuanians are competent at making Speck (I brought back several chunks from various market stalls in Vilnius). (Extra photos. It's quite dark now so I had to increase brightness quite a bit.) - Hey, what's that in my Annabelle hydrangea? - Are you my mummy? - Mummy! Hungry! - They have just left the nest this morning and have been staggering round my garden since, making lots of noises the whole time.