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How on Earth I never watched The Sound of Music prior to visiting Salzburg I cannot explain, but a fact is a fact. The American classic escaped me — save for memes of Julie Andrews dancing in the meadow with…
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If you are not Bavarian and haven’t done Oktoberfest since childhood on an annual basis, I suggest you take some time to plan your first visit to the largest beer festival in the world that attracts over seven million people…
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Technically, I moved to Germany three days before Oktoberfest, but that would make for an unnecessarily long and overall less cool title. Still, pretty good timing, especially considering that Oktoberfest has never been on my bucket list. First of all,…
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You’d think when choosing good mayonnaise one has to pay attention to ingredient list, consistency, and color, but for all I care good mayo has to have only one important characteristic and that is — be packed in a blue…
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Being an expat in Sri Lanka, I often get questions from locals about my background and how I like the country. I love to reply with “And you?” “Where are you from? “From Russia, and you?” “Do you like it…
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Galle Fort is Sri Lanka’s sweetheart. I don’t know a person who wouldn’t like it. European vibe, narrow streets, cobblestone roads, a multitude of boutiques, art-galleries, and souvenir shops — what’s not to like! Above all, I love Galle Fort because…
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Instead of starting this article by explaining to you what Sri Lankan food is, let me tell you what Sri Lankan food is definitely not. First of all, it is not Indian food and not “almost like Indian food”, which…
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The alternative name of this article was “The time I dined alone at the most talked about restaurant of Saint Petersburg”, but I decided that me struggling to keep my face straight while having a fancy fine-dining experience is not…
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On the day after my 30th birthday I sat in front of my computer for two hours, staring at the blank page, forcing myself to write something, anything about turning thirty. For some reason, I was sure that once I turn…
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When I was 22 I packed my bag with extremely unfitting clothes like a figure-hugging pink dress and high-heeled shoes — come to think of it, I didn’t pack those, I was wearing them on a ten-hour flight from Moscow to…
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