Local, Near and Far: Our journey of exploring the world.

Category: Food (Page 2 of 9)

Why You Should Visit Kosovo: Prishtina

Guest Blogger and my good friend John Seale bring us a four part series on his recent journeys, beginning with a brief layover in Vienna and continuing today in Prishtina, Kosovo. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations in Kosovo and Albania.

Europe is a small continent where numerous ethnic groups are smashed together in close proximity. The Balkans are the same way, but on an even smaller scale. The sheer number of countries that Yugoslavia broke into (7) tells you how diverse the region is. My wife and I had the opportunity to visit Kosovo and Albania in 2015, as my sister has lived there for a number of years. Kosovo is ethnically and linguistically Albanian, but for several years it was yoked with Serbia, with whom they share almost nothing except mutual dislike. Since their independence, Kosovo is now a nearly unknown destination for tourists.

Prishtina, Kosovo - The Newborn Statue, a Make-Your-Own-Art Kind of Thing

The Newborn Statue, a Make-Your-Own-Art Kind of Thing

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Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar

The Gristmill - Inside the Old Cotton Gin 1

Inside the Old Cotton Gin

One of the best destinations in our great state of Texas is a small town outside of New Braunfels named Gruene.  In the old world (Germany), it would be pronounced differently, but in Texas it is pronounced green, like the color.  This delightful little town must be experienced.  But the great news is that no matter what floats your boat, lifts your skirt, or shines your shoes, you can always find a fun activity in Gruene.  Antique shopping, arts and crafts, old fashioned candy stores, wine tasting, tubing down the Guadalupe River, sleeping the morning away at a bed and breakfast, catching a concert, or boot scootin’ the night away, Gruene has you covered.  But you can’t do all these activities without some energy and grub from the iconic Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar, located under the water tower in the heart of Gruene, next to the iconic Gruene Hall.

The Gristmill - Baby Back Ribs with Gristmill Fries & Baked Potato Salad

Baby Back Ribs with Gristmill Fries & Baked Potato Salad

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Layover: Vienna in an Afternoon

Today, I proudly introduce our first Guest Blogger and my good friend, John Seale. John is one of my frequent travel partners, from across Texas to the other side of the world (2 trips to Kenya). From Texas to Beyond is excited to bring you his unique perspectives on travel, along with some fascinating locations. In this four part series, John takes us to Vienna, Austria, after which he leaves the conventional European vacation behind with destinations in Kosovo and Albania.

My wife Katie and I planned nearly the perfect itinerary for a three-destination trip. The weak Euro was making European travel cheap, and the threat of terrorism was making Kenyan travel cheap, so we were combining a visit to my sister with a visit to a former ministry I volunteered with for years. Most of our long-hauls were overnights so we could sleep, and we even had a long layover in Chicago, where my wife has family.

The only problem was a long layover in Vienna, Austria. Unfortunately long, really – over 9 hours. I’ve done my fair share of long layovers in airports, and nobody likes them. Naturally, therefore, I started looking to see if it was enough time to have a valuable visit to this beautiful, historic city. Turns out, it was plenty of time, and I’m here now to share how we did it and how you can make it work on your long layover too. Continue reading

Pecan Lodge – Deep Ellum

Pecan Lodge 7I am so excited to share my first barbecue post with y’all.  The tasting was a collaborative effort from all of the writers at From Texas To Beyond.  We had a little outing over to Deep Ellum Dallas and knew we needed to try Pecan Lodge.  We had heard a lot of good things and we were not disappointed.

Coming from Central Texas, my standards for barbeque is quite high.  I love the traditional German meat market style where the pits are visible to all and the walls are stained in smoke.   Many places you have to go through two lines to get your meal: one line for meat and one line for everything else.  I even grew up eating my cousin’s homemade deer and pork sausage which will always be my favorite.  When I moved up to North Texas, we found some good BBQ joints, but Pecan Lodge has come the closest to Central Texas BBQ!  I would go quite often if it wasn’t an hour away from my home.  Maybe that is a good thing. Continue reading

Deep Ellum Fun: Our Day Trip Overview

From Texas to Beyond was about to publish our 100th article, and the four of us were looking for an excuse to celebrate a bit. Well, what better way to celebrate than a trip! Since we didn’t have an all-inclusive trip to an international resort in the budget this year, we decided on a day trip to Deep Ellum.

"Welcome

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