Summer Soulstice Music Festival

The one-day music festival in Milwaukee's East Side showcases top regional music acts on its 3 music stages for free. Aside from music, it also has exhibits of local artists, non-profit organizations, a local favorite soup truck, lemonade vendors, cigarette stalls, and sponsor stalls. The festival occupied about 2 blocks of Farwell Street and a block of North Avenue so it's not a big festival (they call this a "neighborhood festival".

There were a lot of dogs in the festival (they came with their mom/pop, not alone). The feel was very laid back. If I didn't have the Greek Fest to catch, I would grab a seat on one of the benches they put on the street and enjoy the music while seeing people's dogs and surpress my urge to kidnap them.

This Urban Ecology Center tent caught my eye as they had several barrels being painted by kids and local artists. The barrels will be used for catching rainwater, which can be used later for watering the garden or other activities. It's one of the environmentally sustainable practices promoted by the non-profit organization. The rain barrels are up for auctions. I saw people bidding from $25-$100 for each barrel. The proceeds will go to Urban Ecology Center to fund their operations.

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Greeking out in the Greek Fest

After the Polish Fest, my second cultural festival this summer was the Greek Fest in State Fair Park in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee. The Greek Fest had one stage for cultural performances and the rest were food stalls. Compared to other big name festivals such as Polish Fest and Festa Italiana, the Greek Fest is a lot smaller. The Greek Fest doesn’t feel commercial as it is organized by the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church and all proceeds go to the same church. With a mindset of donating money for a good cause, I splurged on several kinds of Greek foods that I couldn’t find in typical Greek restaurants in Milwaukee.

Loukoumades. Almost every culture has their version of fried dough. Donuts, chinese doughnuts, chinese cruller/youtiao/cakwe, beignet, and the many cousins of theirs. Loukoumades, the Greek’s answer to all of the above, is deep fried dough balls (almost like donut holes) that are served with cinnamon sprinkles and soaked in honey syrup. According to old stories, loukoumades were served to ancient Greek Olympic champions. I certainly didn’t take this snack for granted, fully aware that I did not threw any javelin or raced Usain Bolt.

Dolmades. Dolma is quite common in Wisconsin. Some grocery stores and all Greek restaurants offer dolma, which is a mix of rice, vegetables, and sometimes meat, wrapped in grape leaves. The rolled/stuffed grape leaves are usually boiled for 2 hours, so instead of getting stuck in your teeth, the grape leaf wrappings fall apart easily as you bite into it. I found this step-by-step guide for making dolma if you're interested.

NagasakiSaganaki – Good Lord, Saganaki. It’s not related to atomic bombs but the experiece of eating it is not to be taken lightly. To put it shortly, saganaki is pan-fried cheese. Imagine you’re making omelette, but instead of pouring eggs into the frying pan, you would pour.. cheese. Many kinds of cheese. The saganaki was going for $7 at the festival. I thought it’s a bit on the pricey side, but my saganaki consisted of different, untypical cheese such as graviera, halloumi, kasseri, and feta. It’s definitely worth every penny. The flavor is excellent, especially when you take a bite of the browned edges. It’s very savory so it’s served with slices of bread to tone down the flavor. In the States, saganaki preparation is more flashy as they flambéed the pan-fried cheese, creating flames, accompanied with a shout of “Opa!”.

Ancient Greek dresses like chiton and himation (Greek drapes and cloaks) are not worn anymore as the traditional Greek clothing changed considerably during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods. The guy next to me in the first picture above donned a vraka while the girl wore a variation of desfina, a loose white clothing worn underneath a colorful apron decorated with gold threads and bright colors. Also spotted were guys wearing foustanellas (those are the guys with white skirts) with pointed shoes topped with pompoms (tsarouhia).

It rained a bit after I got my third dish, but there were plenty of covered dining seats so we didn’t get wet. Overall it was a pretty decent festival for those who appreciate good ethnic foods. Did I mention FREE admissions? The only time you have to pay is when you park ($5 per car) and buy foods. If the awesome food options did not suit your taste, you can go to a small amusement park located in the same complex and ride a carousel.

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Chicago Botanic Garden

Chicago Botanic Garden is located in Glencoe, IL 25 miles away from downtown Chicago. I went there by car, but it is also reachable by Chicago Metra. The closest station is Braeside, a mile away from the garden. Admission to the garden is free (hooray!) but parking is $25 all day, so if you go with friends, carpooling is a good idea. Whoever managing this garden is pretty commited as the garden is open year round. The best time to visit would be during fall (pretty golden trees) and spring (tulips, everybody?). I visited the garden in early November. Winter had a late start this year so some trees still had some leaves and it wasn't freezing yet.

The garden is very big (almost 400 acres) and separated to 25 display gardens that are surrounded by natural area. There is a free iPhone app that you can use to navigate and look up all the displays in the garden. My favorite by far is the Japanese garden (and islands!). The beauty of Chicago's Japanese garden is on par with the Japanese garden in San Francisco. While the San Fransisco's garden is smaller with lots of pretty details, the Chicago garden's open landscape is more breathtaking, making you forget that you're in Midwest America.

Other recommended spot is the greenhouses, which had tropical, arid, and sub-tropical plants. They also have several banana trees!! When I grew up in Indonesia, banana trees were everywhere, including the neighbor’s lot across the street. Indonesians use banana leaves as food wrapping and doily so I always joke that I’d cut some leaves and bring them home.

A conference center by the Esplanade houses bonsai collections that were not available during cold weather and several rooms for shows, lectures, and meetings. If the sun hits the right angle, you can see rainbows over the lake! We didn’t find any of pot of gold, and the leprechauns prefer to stay hidden that day. But the rainbow and double rainbows were oh so pretty!

I’m planning to come back in Spring or Summer to see the flowers!

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Basilique du Sacre Coeur de Montmartre

On a cloudy/rainy day in Paris, a group of friends and I decided to not wait for a better weather and went to the Sacré Cœur (Sacred Heart) Basilica in Montmarte area. From the closest metro station, it's a short walk uphill through small alley with lots of souvenir shops that gave me a bit of Chinatown feeling (because of it was so crowded), then quite a lot of steps to the top of the hill where the basilica sits. Montmarte literally means the Mount of the Martyrs, and this area has been a place of worship since the Druids of ancient Gauls were still around.

Built in the 19th century, this basilica is not as old as one would think. Unlike other churches in Paris which adopted Gothic architecture style, Sacré Cœur basilica is an interpretation of Romano-Byzantine architecture that incorporates nationalistic elements such as the two bronze status depicting  Saint Joan de Arc and Saint Louis IX on top of its portico. The garden and fountain on the front side of the complex is supposedly used for meditation, although the atmosphere is so touristy that it's hard to imagine anybody meditating here (our friend Bob might have been trying it when we interrupted and rushed him to move on).

It's free to enter the basilica, and for an extra three and six euros, people can get access to the Crypt and the Dome. Even without climbing all the way up to the dome, a big part of Paris is visible from the church's courtyard.

Like other basilicas I've visited, the interior was glorious. The apse features a large "Christ in Glory" image that was actually a mosaic, one of the largest in the world (I didn't know this until later!). Surrounding Jesus were various figures including Saints who were believed to protect France: Saint Michael and Saint Joan of Arc.

I skipped the Dome but entered the Crypt, which contained several tombs and chapels. Below is what the Chapelle de la Pieta looked like.

Sacre Coeur is a unique and beautiful basilica. Considering it's free, this place should be on your top ten list when visiting Paris!

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Polka Dancing in the Polish Fest

Milwaukeeans love their summer festivals, and the Polish Fest is one of the many cultural festivals held in the city this season. Milwaukee itself is one of the largest Polish settlements in the US, behind New York City and Chicago. The Polish Fest is held annually at the Summerfest Grounds, usually for three days in a row.

My Polish Fest experience was enhanced by the presence of a Polish companion, a lovely friend that I met in Paris. We took advantage of the 50 cents tickets that were good for admissions before 5pm. The normal ticket price was $15 at the door and $10 in advance, so we got a very good deal!

It was a beautiful day. The sky was clear and Lake Michigan was very blue.

As usual, I tried as many Polish signature dishes as possible. I really loved all of them and the meat pierogi was the best pierogi I've ever had.

• Pierogi - Polish dumplings with savory fillings (shredded meat, potato and onion, or cheese) or sweet fillings (fresh fruit or jam). They are a bit similar to Chinese dumplings. The half-moon stuffed dough is usually boiled, then grilled or baked. Pierogi was originally peasants' food, but gained popularity with people from all social classes.
• Kielbasa - Polish sausage. Like German sausages, it is big, reddish in color, and very flavorful.
• Golabki - Stuffed cabbage roll with minced meat, onion, and rice/barley filling. The rolls are usually served with creamy tomato sauce almost similar to marinara sauce. 
• Plaki ziemniaczane (potato pancake) - Like pan-fried hash brown potatoes shaped into patties.
• Zupa ziemniaczana (potato soup) - Polish potato soup with very thinly sliced celery stalks and carrots. It's a lot thinner than the American potato soup.
• Kapusta kiszona - Basically sauerkraut (fermented shredded cabbage)

I didn't get to try some foods mostly because I didn't want to look like a pig.

• Czarnina - The name is so beautiful but in reality it's a soup dish made of duck blood and chicken broth. My Polish friend hated it so I was discouraged to buy it (and I would avoid eating blood as much as possible). Some people says that it has a sweet and sour taste.
• Zupa ogorkowa (dill pickle soup/sour cucumber soup) - I knew dill pickles. I knew soups. I couldn't imagine dill pickles in a soup.
• Zupa grzybowa (mushroom soup).

I wasn't busy eating all the time. I stopped by at the sculpture exhibits and learned about several Polish folktales such as the Smok Wavelski (a mean dragon who was slain by a shoemaker, who ended up marrying the King's daughter and ruling the region that became Krakow) and Syrena, the Warsaw's mermaid (a love triangle story between a mermaid, a very handsome human, and a thunder god). It was very important to note that Syrena was the only known mermaid with a butt.

There were multiple stages showing Polish bands playing Polish songs and Polish songs translated in English. There were also fashion show with traditional costumes and traditional dances. Like Indonesia, my motherland, each regions have different costumes and dances. Generally, the traditional men's costumes involve white shirts and embroidered pants. Women would wear full skirts with bright colors, sometimes white leggings underneath the skirts, flower wreath on the head (for unmarried women), or white scarf/kerchief similar to hijab to cover their heads (for married women).

Like other American festivals, festival-goers danced freely to the music played by the bands. They danced on the dance floor in front of the stage, between tables and chairs, on top of the tables and chairs, just everywhere they wanted to. A random guy was asking every ladies to dance with him (he somehow managed to convince every ladies and changed dance partners every 5 minutes). American people like to let it loose. You won't see this in Indonesia (Indonesian people are very self-conscious).

Speaking of Indonesia, Polish white-and-red flag is the inverse of the Indonesian flag. The Polish crest is also somewhat similar to Indonesia's crest, the Garuda. I almost wanted to buy a t-shirt or jersey because it's hard to find cool Indonesian outfits.


Keep visiting my blogs to read about other summer festivals in Milwaukee!

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Time-travelling to the future in Rotterdam

Long time ago, early settlers came to the lower end of the Rotte River. In the 1100s, early developments were destroyed by large floods so in 13th century protective dams were built on the Rotte, hence the name "Rotterdam".

Maybe it's because the city's rich history, or because of something I read in my middle school history books, but I didn't expect Rotterdam to be an ultra-modern cosmopolitan. You can put some flying cars in the city and they wouldn't look out of place.

Welcome to Planet Rotterdam Central Space Station

A lot of the older buildings and windmills are preserved in the city's historic places (I didn't see them because I've seen enough old stuffs in the rest of Europe), but the rest of Rotterdam is like a Museum of Architecture that gives you a good sample selection of what the 20th century architecture has got to offer.

One of the city's main icon is the Erasmusbrug (Erasmus Bridge). This assymetrical cable bridge connects the northern and southern parts of the city and is nicknamed "The Swan". I took the metro and get off on Wilhelminaplein station to get close to the white swan. I didn't have enough time to walk around to find its best photogenic angle so it looked like a broken clothespin in my picture.

I probably didn't spend enough time in Rotterdam to explore all the neighborhoods, but from first impressions, this is my favorite city in Europe so far and I probably would be ok with giving up driving because the city, the tram, the metro, and the people are that freaking awesome. I mean, look at this tunnel entrance to the rocket launch portalmetro lines. They had warp technology too, but they turned down the speed a few hundred notches so people had more time to enjoy the space voyage. Since it's very futuristic, unlike Paris metro system, Rotterdam metro system had air conditioning, too.

My jaw kept dropping at every block as I walked briskly through the space scrapers while doing mental math, making sure that my time-limited "jump" ticket (a kind of hop on-hop off system) can take me back to the Central Space Station before I run out of time. I got a bullet train to Paris to catch. I was bummed that I didn't find this gem until the last days of my trip, but I promise myself that I will come back and stay longer.

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