Country hopping at the Expo

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We had been avoiding the Expo for the past two months. Our first visit left a bitter taste in our mouths and reports from the Expo haven't been very good. Recently they've dropped the enterance fees because of low attendance. I read somewhere that they had hoped to get 100,000 people a day to visit this small town at the end of the mainland but reports are that they've been actually getting around 20,000 to 30,000 a day. The city is obviously trying to make it's money back by slashing the prices and this mixed with a strong desire to eat something that wasn't Korean food is what led us to going last Friday.



Since Friday was also the last day of school before the summer break my school was allowed to go to the expo for the day. I ended up with a ticket as well and was fortunate enough to be able to do my own thing all day. No watching kids, no meeting back at the school at a certain time. Jen and I had planned on eating dinner at the expo anyway so this meant that I'd get the whole day and the night to explore.



As soon as I made my way through the gate is started to pour. It was an ugly day. Thick fog rolled through the mountains making visibility very low. The sky was dark and the rain was big ol' fat rain like the drops in Forrest Gump. I raced to a shop and bought a cheap plastic poncho for the day. As it turned out I was near the country pavillions which is all I really wanted to see. Each pavillion showcases that countries relationship with the ocean and also gives you some information on the day life in said country. Or sometimes it has nothing to do with the ocean and is just a form of entertainment.



For whatever reason the Europeans seem to excell at this years expo. Of all the pavillions I visited, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Lithuania and Kazakhstan were the best. The United States' pavillion was actually pretty good as well. I have to admit that I had pretty low expectations for the U.S. because I'd heard that they had decided to offer up a Dunkin Donuts as their restaurant to showcase American food. They didn't, there is a Dunkin Donuts across from where the U.S. pavillion is but it's not inside as the pavillions restaurant. The U.S. actually didn't have a restaurant and that was kind of disappointing. I thought it'd be a good chance to showcase American BBQ or some southern food but maybe I was just craving some chicken fried steak or homemade mac and cheese.

I'll admit, the restaurants were the big draw for wanting to go again. I like Korean food enough, just not when I eat it everyday. I need variety. I need something that isn't cooked with kimchi just for a change. We'd heard good things about the German restaurant so we'd decided to save it for dinner. Jen ended up getting out of school early so we made our way to the Belgian pavillion, yes they had waffles, and no we didn't get them, for lunch. Since it's an Expo and these foods are rare to our shores we'd already decided that it was okay to spend a little money on the day and treat ourselves.



For lunch we had a slow cooked Belgian stew called carbonnade along with fries served with mayo in true Belgian fashion and a couple of Belgian white beers. It was expensive but it was delicious and once we tasted it the thought of the cost went out the window. The pork was tender and the entire thing was cooked in a dark Belgian Ale. It'd be the perfect thing for winter, maybe not July but nonetheless it was pretty good, as were the fries and the nice cold beer.

After that we wondered around a bit more, visited more countries. Congo, Kenya, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Italy, Argentina, Peru, and many others were hit one after the other. By the afternoon we found ourselves watching a performance outside of the Lithuaian pavillion. The only thing I'd known about Lithuania at the time is that it's the home of Arvydas Sabonis. Probably the best passing center of all time and one of the best passers of any basketball player ever. Youtube him, I did the other afternoon when I was done teaching. Anyway, apparently Lithuania is also known for it's amber. I'm not sure what amber has to do with the ocean, my guess is nothing, but they had a complete collection of amber that you could look at. Some had insects, one even a lizards tail trapped inside. I wanted to ask if the amber with the mosquitoes trapped would allow them to clone dinosaurs like in Jurassic Park or if they kept the dino cloning amber locked in a warehouse or safe somewhere. I didn't bring it up though incase they were touchy about their national secrets. Just don't be surprised if you see an army of Lithuanian cloned dinosaurs in the near future. I did try and warn you.

After we checked out the amber we found that the Lithuanians had set up a bar in the back of their pavillion next to the gift shop. The beers were moderately priced and came in .500ml glass which I think is near a pint or maybe a bit larger. I'm not really sure. Anyway, it was really, really good. Next they were serving shots of mead for $3 and we had a couple of those. I'd tried mead before and didn't really like it, I found it overpoweringly sweet and tough to drink but this Lithuanian stuff was nice. Not too sweet and went down really easy. If you're in the mood for mead go Lithuanian.

We wondered around a bit more and visited more pavillions. They weather was still terrible and was inbetween raining fits when we met up with Jim and Leanne, a couple that was going to join us for dinner. First we took them back to the Lithuanian bar for a couple of drinks. More beer and mead were had. Cheese was also purchased and I now know much more about Lithuania than I did going in. It's now on my list of places to see but I'm sure we'll head to the expo again for another round at their pavillion.



For dinner we went with our original plan of heading to the German pavillion. I don't feel that Germany gets the respect they deserve in the food game. Italian food is amazing, France is good, Thailand, Mexico, Greece, and lots of others get recognized but the German onslaught of meat, cheese, pickled something or other, spaetzle and potatoes is great. Especially if you've had nothing like it for probably two years easy. Through in a dark Dunkelweizen and it was easily one of the best meals I've had here for the past year and a half. I really can't wait to go back. I have this nostalgic sweet spot for Germany and German culture in my heart. I would love to go back and see what's changed, hopefully not much, in the past six years. Jen and I have talked about doing a German road trip on one of our vacations and I think if I keep loading her up with hefeweizen and German food we'll be doing it sooner rather than later. Just wait til she finds out about cheese fondue.

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