Smithwicks

First time I travelled to Ireland, in 1997, at least at first I didn't acquire a taste for Guinness. As I was one of those people who drank exclusively lagers before, it had a taste I've had to get accustomed to. For a first time stout drinker the pint tastes really bitter, and (even stranger) flat. And every lager drinker would tell you flat is bad. :-) But anyway- on that trip I got a chance to browse through lager and ale beers you can get in Ireland. There were many foreign brands brewed under licence- like Carlsberg, or (American) Budweiser. Ireland has only one major lager brand- Harp brewed by Guinness. It was so/so, but the true discovery of that trip was wonderfull world of Irish ales. The beer I got REALLY fond of was Smithwicks, which is brewed in Kilkenny. It has a great taste, and I'd recommend it to anyone travelling to Ireland (who wants to taste something else but Guinness).
Now the bad thing is, it isn't exported to Slovenia. As aren't many other things, but what we get is an Irish ale called Kilkenny. Which isn't that bad actually- it is a bit smoother, and has creamier head- like Guinness.
Anyway- if you go to Ireland- try it, you won't be sorry. Even if you acquire a taste for Guinness at some stage. As I did. :-)

Just the update...

Update: video from competition

We had a national tamburica competition this saturday (link in Slovene). The good news is we were quite good. :-) Based on percentage of points each band / orchestra received from 3 judges you could get gold / silver / bronze / nothing. I'm glad to say we were one of only three bands / orchestras which got gold. Based on points we were third, but considering the two forerunners were actually orchestras that makes us the best tamburica band of the competition. What's even better we received special price for a band that made biggest progress, which came together with brand new shiny instrument. ;-) So, what can I say- SWEET! :-)
Pictures and videos to follow...
Bellow are two photos from competition 2 years ago (first) and last year (second).

Sometimes it's all blur

Or sometimes the easy way out is the right way out I heard being said. Not that stupid if you consider everything... But you just wonder anyway.
Enjoy the spring people...

Spring has sprung

As in most of Europe this Easter was blessed with sunshine and warm weather. And just to show us the winter (as short as it was) is over, nature blessed us with new green and flowers. It seems like whole universe is waking up- there's birds everywhere, air is full of fragrances of spring flowers.
The Green George has finally come; he didn't reach the mountain tops quite yet, but he's getting there. And just as a piece of evidence- here's a picture from a birch patch on the edge of the forest back home. Hope this spring energy's carried over on each one of you. I know it affects me. :)

Some of my blog bookmarks

It's really incredible how this blog thing spreads. Even one year ago, there was only couple of real bloggers, and these days it seems like everybody's sharing her/his thoughts.
There's couple of blogs I regulary check. Here's a short list of my favourite:

-Moj plac by Jernej Mihelič. It's in Slovene in includes even section in Vinica dialect. Good place to remember your roots. And to remember what you did (didn't do) last night. (one of these days someone will be filming Jernej - just for revenge) ;-)
-Glory of Carniola by Michael Manske. He's a journalist for Radio Slovenia international and born New Yorker (I think). It's great to see how people who weren't born here see life in Slovenia. His blog contains some legendary categories, including eternal Slovakia/Slovenia mixup and Great Yugoslav album covers. And here and than there's such jewels, like 35 facts about Slovenes (well- of Slovene ancestry and living in USA/Canada). Great entry.
-Ireland Logue by Seán . He's also an American who moved to Athlone, Ireland in 2002 (I think). Here you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about ever-changing face of modern Ireland. From travel tips to such jewels that really make me wanna move there at least for a while. ;-) What's also special about this blog is how productive the author is. There might be more than 3 blog entries per day!