Island hopping II: Jelsa (on Hvar island)

After two days in Bol, we got on the catamaran again and went to Jelsa on the next island, Hvar.

Things started off great with a super friendly guesthouse where we were offered beer and wine on arrival. We then walked through the old town (cleverly avoiding the touristy places near the harbor).

 and had an amazing fish stew with polenta (brodet) for dinner.

Next day, we hiked through lovely fields full of grape vines and lavender, and then climbed a mountain from which you could see both island coasts.

That evening, we went back to the same restaurant where the other dishes we tried were great but not as amazing as the prior night's fish stew so only one picture was taken...

For our second hike on the island, we followed the coast for miles and miles.

I had hoped to cross a hill to take a different route back, but unfortunately not all paths in our online map actually exist IRL.

So we walked back to Jelsa the way we came and ended our last day on the island with aperol spritz in the harbor followed by an amazing dinner of lamb peka.

So delicious!!!

Onwards and Upwards

The next day we awoke to a perfect blue sky, and hiked on to the Franz-Senn-Hütte.

It was a long, and a bit monotonous walk, but enjoyable none the less.

A herd of sheep made for a perfect photo op.



Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is Stubaital.

Non Beijing Foodz

Here are some foodz we ate before taking the night train back to Beijing. First of all, this wonderful lamb. Sadly enough, we were scammed and had to pay as if this were a full portion. Any fool can see that this is only a half portion, just like we ordered.



Our lunch before taking the train consisted of this sweet (and a little sour, but mostly sweet) pork...



... some special vegetables, that A really liked (it tasted like licking the trunk of a tree to me)...

... and some sizzling tofu, that the waiters were hesitant to take the cover of.

Snow

And sheep.



It was rather cold.

Boiled Lamb

A bus trip of a few hours brought us to Langmusi, an interesting little village with a mix of Hui, nomadic people, Tibetan people and also some Han Chinese. Many of the little restaurants were owned by Hui, who are muslim. The main specialty: boiled lamb, pictured above. We had it twice, it is really good.



Here is A in our favorite Hui restaurant.



And this is a view of the village from the mountain.

Pasta and Eggplant

On two separate days, that is. Yesterday the evergreen pasta with fennel and arugula, thanks to Ellen for the recipe, and the day before...



... karnıyarık, the taste of which I really love, but the looks of which gives me a split belly --- it is so hard to make a decent picture of this eggplant.

Moussaka

I don't mean to brag... or what the hell, I'll brag: best moussaka ever!

Kiremitte Kebab

After finding "Bockshornklee" in town, I made this week's Turkish dish: kiremitte kebab. Don't worry, no dishes were harmed in the making.

Karnıyarık and Zeytinyağlı Pırasa

The photo really does not do the karnıyarık justice: the flavors of this deep fried eggplant, stuffed with minced lamb, pine nuts and herbs and spices was incredibly good! An absolute instant favorite!



We served the eggplant with zeytinyağlı pırasa: leeks cooked olive oil and lemon juice, with lots of garlic of course. Wow!

Afghan Foodz

Being in a larger city means the choice of a wide variety cuisines. We opted for Afghan food for dinner. We had three kinds of appetizers, one of them pictured above, and then shared three different entrees:



one dish with pumpkin, which was extraordinarily good, one with eggplant which was just good...



... and one with lamb, cinnamon, raisins and carrots which was outstanding.



A big city certainly has its advantages.

Barbecuepalooza

We cannot get enough of barbecuing: this time we ate neck of lamb and some sort of (French) sausage. As a (humongous) side dish, we used Ellen's recipe to make a couscous salad.

Finally, environmentally conscious as we are, we used the residual heat of the barbecue to grill the chicken for the next day(s).

Hamburger in Berlin

This rather fancy restaurant does not only serve fancy appetizers:



... but also a simple and great hamburger: