THE EDEN PROJECT

                      An Amazing Exhibit

        I had read about the Eden project in the paper a few months before a trip to England. We arrived just at opening time. Some waited for the little cars to take them down into the crater, but I walked it.

It took two and a half years to build the Eden Project, which did not open until Easter 2001. It created so much interest that 500,000 people visited during the six month period of May-November to view the construction and progress of the project. The mission of the Eden Project is, “To promote the understanding and practice the responsible management of the vital relationship between plants, people, and resources leading towards a sustainable future for all.”

            The popularity of the $150 million (US) Eden Project far exceeded expectations, and 300,000 people visited in the first ten weeks after opening! The project had large umbrellas in many locations. I grabbed an umbrella as it looked very threatening, and at the very least it would make a nice walking stick. I had no more than entered the first biome when it started to rain, and it continued to rain very hard all day.   

            Space age technology meets the lost world of a giant abandoned 50-meter (163’) crater china-clay quarry. The size of 35 football fields Eden houses two gigantic geodetic domes housing thousands of plants. These biomes are the largest in the world, covering over two acres, and are made by joining 800 huge steel hexagons. Each hexagon is 25-feet across. If tears or holes appear in the solar paneled roofs they can be repaired with a special tape. This remarkable engineering feat uses no internal supports.

            One dome contains a humid tropical rain forest, complete with waterfalls and ponds. The plantings were grouped in nine different areas designed as Madam Wealth, Dr. Health, Mother Nature, Lady Beautiful, World’s Feast etc. Plants were clearly marked, and periodically there was a small about 18 X 18” canvas bulletin board with drawings and interesting facts. In the 17^th century a cargo of cloves was a king’s ransom, pepper could pay the rent, and a packet of nutmeg could buy a mansion! The temperature in this biome was 98 degrees with humidity of probably 90%. The crowds here prevented anything but a leisurely amble.  Droplets of water were beginning to accumulate on me as I neared the end and the exit!

            The other biome was a bit cooler, but still demanded the peeling off of outer garments. This biome was also divided with winding paths, up, down, and around. Someone had a very creative mind and a good since of humor as whimsical decorations were found in various nooks and crannies.

            I managed to stay dry as I walked back up the hill to the coach. It is a very steep incline in and out of the project as you walk to the bottom of the quarry. Little Disney-like trains run back and forth, but we walked it faster than the line waiting for it, and the umbrellas were nice and big.

            The complex is an educational facility, museum and display area. There also are three indoor cafeterias and an outside café.  Benches surround an outside pool. One could easily spend all day here. The parking lot sections were labeled with fruit names (banana, apple, etc) as well as with numbers, the theory being that it is easier to remember a name than a number.

            The tremendous popularity of this project, I think, says something about our concern for the future. The project was a gigantic undertaking that is proving to have been worthwhile.  Now a decade later I’d like to revisit the site. It is an amazing place.

CHOCOLATE

                       Who Can Resist Chocolate?

Europe was introduced to cocoa beans in the late 16th century when Spanish explorers brought them back from what is now Mexico,  but they did not reach Belgium for another 100 years. The people of Bruges are connoisseurs of fine chocolate and buy their chocolates fresh daily, like other people buy pastries. Tempting chocolate-filled display windows are seen all over town. The average Belgian consumes over 15 pounds of chocolate annually!

Chocolate like fashion, wine and finance has become a complex cultural phenomenon. There is basic chocolate for the masses, artisanal chocolate for purists and avant-garde creations for connoisseurs.

Ever since the Brussels chocolatier, Jean Neuhaus, invented the praline 100 years ago, the city and country have been at the forefront of the chocolate business. Belgium is home to two of the biggest chocolate companies in the world-- Godiva and Leonidas, as well as hundreds of boutique chocolate-makers and haute chocolatiers. The melting point is just below that of the human body so the chocolate melts in the mouth!

One study showed that melting chocolate in your mouth produced increased brain activity and heart rate that was more intense than passionate kissing! It also lasted four times longer after the activity ended. What good rationale for eating chocolate—savoring it that is!

When King Leopold II colonized the African Congo (1885-1908), partly for the cocoa crops, the resulting genocide was a dark moment in the country’s history. In the late 1800s Belgian chocolate started earning its formidable reputation. It is hard to resist chocolate when viewing showcases full of caramel, marzipan, chocolate mousse, ganache and cream-filled pralines. Mary, a 92-year-old chocolatier is a favorite of the Belgian royal family. Mary makes small batches of chocolates to avoid storing, which causes loss of flavor. The by-product, cocoa butter, is used in Belgian chocolate as the makers refuse to supplement vegetable oils or shortening as is often done in other countries.

            Leaving one chocolate shop I turned to my friend saying, “Remember that museum in York, England when we lifted the answer boards to all those questions on chocolate?”

            “Oh, yes. Wasn’t that fun? Don’t I remember that we learned England was the largest consumer of chocolate in the world?”

            “Wasn’t that a surprise!  I remember it was an enormous amount of money spent hourly on chocolate, yet it is no way as well touted as it is here.”

            Walking around Bruges I swear there is a chocolatier on every block! We watched several at work and visited several chocolate shops.

            Finally I decided I’d done my share of supporting the Bruges economy!

THE BURELL MUSEUM

           One  of Glasgow's Great Museums

The Burrell Museum in Glasgow, Scotland sits just six miles out of the city. I was looking forward to visiting the Burrell as I’d heard a lot about it.

En route our guide told us, “Sir William Burrell made millions as a merchant and shipping agent. After his retirement in 1928 he started buying art and artifacts. He was particularly interested in porcelains. He was the first person to bid at an auction by telephone.

“In the 1940s he summoned the city to send someone to go look at his collection. The 17-year-old who was sent was stunned by the quantity and quality of what he was shown. The next day someone more qualified was sent to peruse the collection. Burrell was willing to give the whole collection, of over 9000 pieces, to the city with the condition that it remain in the city, be placed in a country setting, where it would be out of the inner city pollution, and be free to the public.”

The many boxes were stored for years unopened. Then in 1967 a fellow by the name of MacDonald left his large wooded estate, Pollack, to the city. The farmland of the estate was sold saving 65 acres for the museum. And of course after the clean air act of 1967 pollution has ceased to be a problem. A large glass building dominates the museum which the Queen opened in 1984 saying, “No city ever received a greater gift from one of her children.”

         Only the Frick collection in New York exceeds the Burrell collection in size. Burrell owned the Hutton castle and died in 1958 so he did not see his collection displayed. It is so large that only 20% of it is shown at any one time. Parts of the mixed collection including art, porcelain, tapestries, and wood dates back centuries. One could visit numerous times and still not see all of the spectacular collection. We spent so much time enjoying  the museum that we cut our lunch time very short, and  I had to add ice to my lentil soup to cool it enough to gulp it down

            The forest seen through the back glass wall is a wonderful backdrop for this museum. What a wonderful collection! The huge hanging tapestries were unbelievable and from the second story we had an excellent view of them. It probably took some one a whole lifetime to make just one.

Driving out of the museum grounds, our driver stopped the van so the guide could explain the rather strange but familiar animal grazing nearby.  The Highland cow, which is referred to as the Heeland coo, looks like a cow, has short horns, and a long shaggy amber brown coat. We were to see many of them later in our travels.

RUSSIAN TEA

An Important  but Tedious Process

            I was familiar on how the English brew their tea, but it was nothing like the time consuming and involved brewing of Russian tea, to say nothing of the equipment needed. However, the Russians are as taken with their tea as are the English. In fact tea could be the national drink of Russia. A good tea warms the mind, body, and soul.

            Universal rules for making real tea dictate forgetting about tea bags and never cooking the tea leaves. Large tea plantations are located in an area of the Caucasus range on the shore of the Black Sea in Georgia, but the origin of tea is of little importance. Expensive tea can be mixed with cheap tea and actually is encouraged.

Making Russian tea is a two step process. First one makes the zavarka, then waters it down by adding boiling water known as kipyatok. Water is first boiled in a samovar, a large tank whose literal translation would be ‘autobrewer’.  The samovar is not only an ordinary household item but a hallmark of the Russian way of life and hospitality. Tula, a city south of Moscow, has been the major samovar manufacturer since the 18^th century. Originally charcoal burning, it was not until the 1950s and 60s that an electric version came into being and popular use.

The teapot, called a chainik, should be warm before starting the process. Only a ceramic or glass chainik is acceptable for making tea. If hot water has been used to warm the pot it should be emptied before adding the tea leaves. Boiling water is poured over the tea leaves, the lid replaced on the pot, and the pot covered with a towel to keep it warm.

When all the leaves have sunk to the bottom, the zavarka is ready. It is very strong, and is dangerous to drink directly from the pot. The strong narcotic effect can cause a rapid heartbeat, hallucinations, and restlessness. Generally the zavarka is diluted 10:1 with boiling water in a cup or mug. A chestnut color is perfect. The cup or mug is nearly always placed on a saucer before pouring the zavarka or kipyatok. The softer the water, the better the tea.

Tea is brewed with black tea and served after a meal or at tea time; 5:00 PM  is a popular time of day for tea. Generally one teaspoon of tea per person plus one for the pot is used to brew the tea. Thinly sliced lemon slices, not wedges of lemon, are served with tea. Arguments on the pros and cons of adding anything to the tea can go on forever. However, it is common to add sugar, but never more than three teaspoons. Jam or honey is often added to tea instead of sugar. Milk and cream are not used in tea. If tea is served at tea time rather than after a meal it is accompanied by various sweets and like the English high tea sort of becomes a meal.

Making Russian tea is a time consuming process, but the Russians have an old proverb that says: if you rush, you make people laugh. Today tea is served in porcelain cups vs the old traditional glass  held in a decorative metal holder with a handle.

Our ship always had hot coffee and had become modern with a variety of tea bags and hot water available for those who preferred tea. That was just fine with us Americans.

ANCIENT SHARA BRAE

A Stunning Neolithic Village

Skara Brae is a 5000-year-old Neolithic village. I quote from the brochure: In the winter of 1850 a wild storm stripped the grass from the high dune known as Skara Brae in the Bay of Skaill on Mainland, Orkney. An immense midden or refuse heap was uncovered. So too were the ruins of ancient dwellings. What came to light in that storm proved to be the best preserved Neolithic village in northern Europe. And it remains that today.

The village of Skara Brae was inhabited before the Egyptian pyramids were built, and flourished many centuries before construction began on Stonehenge. It is some 5000 years old.

But it is not its age alone that makes it so remarkable and so important. It is the degree to which it has been preserved.

The structures of this semi-subterranean village survive in impressive condition. And so, amazingly, does the furniture in the village houses. Nowhere else in northern Europe are we able to see such rich evidence of how our remote ancestors actually lived.

The profound importance of this remarkable site was given official recognition in 1999 when it was inscribed upon the World Heritage list as part of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.

The storm’s uncovering revealed the outline of a series of stone buildings that intrigued the local laird, William Watt of Skaill who began the excavation of the site. Eight dwellings are linked by low alley-ways. The walls of the huts were still standing and the alley-ways were roofed with their original stone slabs. Each house shares the same design---a large square room with a central fireplace, a bed on either side and a shelved dresser on the wall opposite the doorway.

We were able to look down into the structures and see the furniture, all of stone. A docent was at a site that exposed an underground drainage system for us to see! It is estimated 500-600 people lived in this village. No weapons were found, so it is assumed they were a peaceful people, but it is a complete mystery as to why they disappeared.

I got goose bumps to realize where we were and how many years ago life was here. What a fantastic site, and I swear I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.

After viewing the site we continued on a fairly long walk to a 1620s farmhouse on the property. We toured the inside noting the beautiful 1624 wooden panel that came from St. Magnus Cathedral. Otherwise there was nothing of exceptional interest in the house.

This was a remarkable visit to this memorial site!