Tranekær Slot (Castle) and the City

Meet this beautiful place in Tranekær (Denmark).

Tranekær Castle is settled in small island called Langeland. It was a beautiful day to spend it wondering around. Tranekær Castle is known from sources from 1200s as strongly fortified castle on a steep hill with a moat and drawbridge. So he stands proudly above the embankment and town of Tranekær. Castle has been remodelled many times and today it has two wings and an octagonal stair tower with a tall spire. 

It is remarkable piece of  architecture with a breath taking views. I felt like I was stuck in the movie with all those m'ladies and counts lol :) This is the one of those "must see" things from the list. 
This Castle has a  rich history. There were lot of fights over it; because of its perfect place and also it was the main part of a chain of defence against attack from the south. Can you believe it that the walls are 3 meter thick; which is incredible when you imagine it; Right! 
Also, It has a formidable view from all sides.

I took this photo when we were going to the entrance of the Tranekær Castle. Yes, you can go inside and walk around. It will cost you 50kr (6€). It's not expensive and you will enjoy in breath taking beauty. 

Here you can find a souvenir shop. There are lot of interesting things to see/buy (also not expensive). So, you can treat yourself with something from "that period" like jewelry, glasses and other souvenirs :)

I almost forgot to tell you about the restaurant which is under the Castle. You can enjoy your meal near the Castle; Slowly breath in and breath out all that beauty that surrounds you.

Beautiful surroundings where ever you go... from whichever side you go... it simply overwhelms you!

Also there is a story about the city of Tranekær which is built round the Castle. It's full of old houses (I mean very very old houses). I didn't know where to look. Every house is older than the next one lol. It was impressive. The story is about the Count Frederik Ahlefeldt- Laurvig (1762-1832). 

The Count Frederik had a wonderful idea! He started to build! He built his own theatre, hired actors and musicians, personally vaccinated 1,000 children against smallpox, restored churches in Langeland, hired some of the Denmark's first foresters, as well as a midwife and doctor and many foreign craftsman. 

He had an idea to turn a little village into a castle town like those housing the royal courts of Germany. 

Sadly, he had so many irons in the fire that he ended up under the financial administration twice. But he did manage to create a unique society in Tranekær. 

Well, that was all from me :) I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post :) This was incredible experience for me! Maybe some of you will find your own way to Tranekær :) and this is what you will see and more...

p.s (All photos you see are taken by me and they're all about Castle and its surroundings.)

I wish you a great weekend!

Ammi xoxo

Start your day fresh

It is very important to have a breakfast. It starts your metabolism and keeps you going through the day. Lot of people say why tuna salad for breakfast instead of big sandwich. This is why; BECAUSE  in big burger/sandwich you don't have anything worthy for your body, of course except if its a healthy sandwich with all of nutrients your body needs. 

Here in tuna salad you have everything that your body craves for just to work properly and it doesn't make you fat, doesn't have empty calories and it does make your tummy full. You have vitamins and minerals that are essential for your body. Calories from salad you will burnout  till lunch time. 

Be aware what are you eating. It's not just being fit. It's being healthy!!! 

Excuses not excepted!!! Ok you get hungry after it; me too so what. I'm not going to starve myself but I'll give my body new fuel. After breakfast like this I'll have fruity meal in an hour and in two/three hours I'll have lunch. So no, I don't feel hungry because I eat regularly every 2-3h just I'm making a choice what I should eat and what I don't want to put in my body.

For this salad you'll need arugula, one tomato, slice of cheese ( I took Taverna Domyati cheese) and tuna in water. I put a little salt and olive oil on it to spice it a bit. You can add pepper or what you want.

Take care of your body how it deserves!

Enjoy,
Ammi

Banana Nut Crumb Cake

This is incredible recipe to treat yourself from time to time :)

BANANA NUT CRUMB CAKE

You'll need this for base:                                

3 bananas                                                          
1 tea cup of oil                                                    
1 tea cup of sugar                                              
2 eggs                                                                
2 spoons of cream
1 tea spoon of vanilla sugar
2 tea cups of flour
2 tea spoons of cinnamon
1/4 tea spoon of salt
3/4 tea spoon of soda (bicarbonate)

 Crumb :

1 tea cup of flour
3/4 tea cup of sugar
1 cup of ground walnuts
150g of butter

Ingredients mix slowly one by one and base pour into the tin (30x20). Crumb you make in a way that you mix ingredients with your hand to make small crumbs. After that you pour it over the base and press it easily into base. 

Heat the oven on 200'C. When you put the cake into the oven reduce the heat to 180'C and bake it round 60min. Every oven is different so I suggest that you check is it baked.

When the cake is baked, leave it to cool a bit and sprinkle it with powdered sugar. 

Enjoy!

Ammi xoxo

Perfect skin tone/sunbathing/skin cancer/truth and myth !

It's summer and most of us are trying to get perfect skin tone by sunbathing. I wondered for a moment what title I can give to this blog post but there's no perfect that suits. Every summer you see lot of campaigns about how is dangerous sunbathing. They always present some of those expensive creams and oils. In almost every corner they are serving us a stories about skin cancer...Common! 

It's time to make a difference between few lines there.

First thing, I would say the most important thing for us and our bones is SUN!!! You can't activate the vitamin D without sun. 

Let me explain how it works (I'll try to make it simple); You all know that banana is full of vitamin D among the other healthy ingredients and banana is not good just for children. It's actually even more necessary for us how we get older and older. When you eat banana or drink supplements of vitamin D; it goes to your stomach and intestines. There is vitamin D absorbed but in his inactivate state. Through blood it goes to liver and kidneys but it's still inactive. And here we come to the most important thing SUN! Vitamin D can only be activated through skin with SUN (read it again)!!! That means that you have to be on the sun exposed skin to actually activate this vitamin. The pharmacies can't sell the sunlight so promotion of vitamin D doesn't make sense to them. That is also a reason why people know so little about vitamin D. vitamin 

And why is this important?

It's important because without D your organism can't absorb calcium from the digestive tract. Calcium is important for your bones, muscles, teeth, immune system, allergies and lot of other things.

Do you have any idea how important SUN is for us now?

All those beauty agencies never mentioned how important sun is because it would reduce their product sale. Of course this doesn't mean that you should lie in the sun 24/7. It still means that you should avoid the strongest UVA/UVB rays (If you don't know when its that; Its usually noon; between 12h to 15h) because it will literally burn your skin. We need SUN and that is not discussable! For perfect skin tone you don't need to burn out your skin. You can always do that in normal range.

Don't do it too fast. The ideal is 15-20min two times per day. Exposing to the sun is the most powerful therapy that even modern medicine can't reach.

Skin cancer; Truth and Myths!

I wanted to write few things about this because it's linked to sun exposure. Lot of promoting material says that you will get it if you are too exposed to the sun.  The Big Lie!!! Also every nevus (birthmark) is not a cancer!!!

Note to yourself; The first and the most important thing in our life are genes! In them we have written our whole life (LITERALLY); There's everything about us from the basic things like color of our eyes or liking one food over the other to the bigger things like diseases. We all have those; how I can call it; those gene mistakes which are mostly repaired and they're not active. But sometimes they can activate and there comes the cancer (its the same for all benign or malignant). I don't want that this become your obsession. This is complexity of our organism. I just wanted to show you that we can't blame SUN for everything! Of course as I said it doesn't mean we can burn our skin and not to take care of it. 

There are lot of stories about melanoma. It's the most popular skin cancer even there are lot of different kinds. The only difference is in cells. I don't want to bother you about it. I want you to know few things about the nevus (lat. naevus pigmentosus); 

There are lot of kinds of birthmarks/nevus and different types of coloration. 

Every nevus is NOT a cancer!!!

Note that!

You can find a lot of different articles about it but I write from what I know; what I have learnt in med school. The first thing from pathology class was that sentence which made me lot of thinking. We all have more and more of them every day. That is normal thing because the skin is getting older as we are. That is nothing that we need to be worry about. Probably most of you have read about self-checking?! 

In one nevus you can check the color (is it changing); the size (is it getting bigger by the time); weather has it clear limits; does it have red edges and does it spread over the time; is that area itchy; does it bleeds; and did you ever hurt it? Those are things that also doctors look when you come to them. If you notice any of those changes you should go to check it. If its suspicious doctor will suggest you to remove it. 

Who ever said it to you that hurts IT DOESN'T!!! It's a lie because its done in local anesthesia and you won't feel a thing.  

I hope you will find the answer to your questions here. 

I tried to explain few things which are related to your beauty and health. My intention wasn't to scare  you off. It was to open your eyes and help you breath freely. 

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post!

for more questions write ammime77@gmail.com or just leave a comment  

Ammi

Small joys of life

I love photography so I wanted to share with you these few gorgeous photos.

My head is always in the clouds lol Looking for a perfect moment, seeking for a shadows, wondering around for architecture, nature and beautiful sky. People enjoy in different things. I got my own small things. I feel like I'm in the other world. My mind is free!

It's important to have your own time and place or you will burn out. Lot of people forget how to enjoy in small things because life is learning you to work for more and how time passes you become those big things but forgetting that small things are making you happy!

When did you last time enjoyed walking in nature or just sitting and reading a book in a nature? When did you do something for yourself? When did you take time just for yourself and enjoyed? 

Have you ever paid attention on architecture in your street/city or noticed that every night sky is different? When you answer it to yourself I'm sure you'll find something that makes you happy?!

At start try to notice few small things like the color of the sky and in time you will always look there searching for that peace. It will be like obsession! I know, believe me lol I started noticing few cloud changes but now everyday it doesn't matter is it day or night I always notice that beauty upon us. 

Walking near the sea I felt so free that I got the inspiration to write about that inner thing. It doesn't matter who you are and what you want from life always have one thing on your mind Be Happy! 

That is the only thing that's important in this life.

If you learn how to make small things into a big and those small things suddenly start to be joy of your life you'll always be happy no matter what! I believe that! 

So I'm enjoying in taking a pictures of almost everything lol :) I have shared few with you; I hope you will enjoy like I was while I was taking them :)

 I'm going to share few with my friends so I'm saying nighty night sweet people see ya next time :)

Enjoy!

Ammi :)

Give me more! Shoes!

What can I say; Like most of you I love shoes and bags. To be sincere I'm ADDICTED! 

It's time to admit in a group lol

"Hello my name is Amila and I'm addicted to shoes. Excuse me not any kind of shoes. I like the good one's" lol

I can't say I don't like a good piece of clothing but shoes OMG! I like my feet and I like to walk A LOT so I need to find perfect shoes every time...It's kind of MUST for me :)

These I've bought them few days ago. It was love at first sight :) They're not marked shoes or anything special. I've bought them in Bay Sko here in Danmark. They're super comfortable; heel is 5cm long. They are type of shoes that just fit perfectly on your feet. 

I love the nude color because I can match it with lot of outfits; So no trouble for me about the choosing lol One problem less ;) 

Also the thing I like about them is they're soft inside, so I don't need to worry about blisters or hurting my feet. 

Heel is not too big but yet its there and that size is very comfortable to be on your feet whole day.

Maybe some of you don't have trouble to walk in high heels (meaning 10-12cm) but I feel like I'm stuck in those and Robocop is out lol. 

That is "NO" for me and my feet lol. The top is 8cm!

Also as a doctor I think the high heels are not too good for the spine because it  changes your posture. For feet the best is small 2-5cm heel it keeps your spine in a beautiful straight line. OK, I won't bother you with that. Maybe in some other post but not this one. If you like me to write about it or you have any suggestions please let me know. I do really want to know what do you think about this new blog and what do you want me to change or to write about?

Here is my contact mail : ammime77@gmail.com or Twitter acc @AmilaAmmi its The Purple Diary 

OK, going to next shoes. These are the special ones! I've bought those on the Internet from the bridal shop. Just perfect for the day and comfortable as glove :)

This is 8cm heel and perfect for white dress and wedding lol. Tho, I wore them after mine on a cousins wedding. 

I wore romantic soft rose lace dress with white ribbon round the waist. So cute. Love them because my feet never hurt. I was be able to dance whole night :)

I found them while I was looking for a dress for my mom and BOOM they were there and not too expensive. Again....In love...Gosh how many times I will be in love in this life lol :D

I heard one good thing: "You are young as long as you fall in love" !

Even tho, I'm 28 and freshly married, Love will always keep me going.

If there was more LOVE in this world everything would be different! 

Either way... Keep Loving, Be Happy and Take Care!!!

Yours,

Ammi

Please write if you have any suggestions!

ammime77@gmail.com 

Book Recommendation

My book recommendation for this month is Me before you by Jojo Moyes. The incredible, touching, heartbreaking, romantic love story! I was so impressed that I had to read it twice in a row. 

This book left me breathless! 

Here you can read about the book :

"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn’t know is she’s about to lose her job or that knowing what’s coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he’s going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn’t know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they’re going to change the other for all time."

Enjoy reading

Ammi

Mostar (part 2)

Just a second...where was I...hmm..right...I told you about few historic facts from this city. What else is there to see?! Let me show you this!

You can enter into the towers of the Old Bridge where you can find also a few shops and bars. The originally in towers were kept prisoners. When the bridge was renovated there were found lot of interesting things like tools, dishes and weapons. Some of the stuff you can see in the small museum. There are also exponats from this war; films how was demolished bridge and how was he re-born :)

There are lot of old buildings. I love architecture and old things so I was fascinated more with these old ruins then with new buildings.

The Ottomans were here for 500 years so its evident that there must be a deep seal. 

The Queen Katarina; woman of the last Bosnian King Stjepan Tomas.

She was born in Blagaj near Mostar. Her father was Stjepan Vucic Kosaca. She's beatified in Rome where she died.

The oldest single arch stone bridge in Mostar Kriva cuprija (Sloping Bridge) was built in 1558 by the Ottoman architect Cejvan Kethoda. It was said that this was the test before the major construction the Old Bridge.
This also you may find in the Old Town.

Turkish bath for women in Old Town.

Monument of Sejh-Jujo.
Real name Mustafa Ejubovic (1651-1707).
He was one of the most importanat and famous writers/travelers in that period.

If you're up to a shopping I think the best place is Mepas Mall. You have everything you need in one place. There are restaurants, cafeterias, cinema, bowling, pool, shops. Enjoy!

Morning coffee...sunny day... what do you need more? ;))

I have so many photos to show you but I had to choose few or I'll make a gallery instead of the blog post. Also there are few more places to see like Biscevic house (from the Ottoman period), house of the Aleksa Santic (poet), old orthodox church, Franciskan Monastery, Blagaj Tekija (near Mostar) also Pocitelj. You have to visit when there are traditional jumps from The Old Bridge. That is incredible experience!

What can I say more except Enjoy on your trip :)

for more questions you can write me
ammime77@gmail.com


Enjoy reading my post
Ammi xoxo

Meeting Mostar ( Bosnia and Herzegovina )

For those who have never been to Mostar. Here you can read about the city, also few tips what to see and where to eat. I'm sure you will enjoy in this travel post like you were there :)

Well, Mostar is city settled on the river Neretva (also called as "Green River"). City is in southern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I know most of you know this country by the war, Srebrenica massacre etc. but this country has a lot to offer. I won't write about sad stories there and ruined souls I want to show you the other side. Beautiful Mostar!

So, I was saying; Its beautiful city with rich history.

Mostar was named after the bridge keepers called "Mostari". Mostar is famous for the most beautiful bridge in the world, The Old Bridge (UNESCO World Heritage) as you can see it in a photo. The Old Bridge is built by Ottomans in 16th century.

You can come closer to the bridge even cross over it. You don't need to pay anything. That part of the city is called Old Town so there you can find small museum (it costs 2-3€ to visit it), lot of restaurants where you can enjoy your meal near the bridge, also there are lot of shops where you can buy souvenirs and other items like vine and cheese :)

Mostar has the most sunny days in whole Europe so it doesn't matter when you come; you will find what you're looking for.

The climate here is more likely as Croatian Dalmatia (sea influenced), which can be oppressively  hot in the summer. The coldest month is January where temperature can be round 1-5'C and the warmest month is July with temperature over the 35-40'C. 

I have to add that it's amazing experience to sit under the bridge at night and just enjoy in a fresh air near the Neretva.... With a guitar and few friends its a beautiful feeling that you'll never forget.

People are kind and you'll make friends fast. 

And again I'm moving from the theme. Let me tell you something about history of this city.

                                                  Human settlements on the river Neretva have existed since prehistory, as

 witnessed by discoveries of fortified ancients and cemeteries.

Evidence of Roman Empire occupation was found beneath the present town.

As far as medieval Mostar goes, although the Christian basilicas of late antiquity remained in use; few historical sources were preserved and not much is known from this period.

The name Mostar was first time mentioned in document from 1474.

Mostar was the important trade route between Adriatic and central Bosnian region. 

In 1468 Mostar came under the Ottoman rule and then urbanization started. The town was fortified from 1520 til 1566 and the first wooden bridge was rebuilt with stone under the orders of Suleiman The Magnificent, Ottoman ruler.

Later this bridge becomes symbol of the city and its the most important structure from the Ottoman period or at least its the most recognizable piece in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Old Bridge is built by Mimar Hayruddin; a student and the apprentice of the best Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.

The famous traveler Evliya Celebi in 17th century wrote :"The bridge is like a rainbow arch soaring up to the skies, extending from one cliff to the other. ...I, a poor and miserable slave of Allah, have passed through 16 countries, but I have never seen such a high bridge. It is thrown from rock to rock as high as the sky." 

You can find here a lot of interesting pieces like you see this one on the photo. The interesting thing there is that every piece has own story.
Older people knows them better so they are telling it to their grandsons and stories were transferred from generations to the next.
I heard lot of interesting and funny  stories believe me! :)

The famous mosque"Karadzobeg" from Ottoman period dating from 16-17th century. Also you can enter there to see the architecture inside  for 1€. 

Also there are few shops with oriental things (like scarves, jewelry) and souvenirs.

One recommendation if you're coming in the summer. Always bring the bottle of water because the heat is almost unbearable. 

Another one is that you'll see lot of gypsies on the street asking for money, just ignore them. Don't give anything they can be rude. But if you ignore that its really beautiful city to visit.  

One more photo that i wanted to share :)

Still there are lot of ruins from this was. But city has own playful soul. Even the new wounds can't erase all the history which is written there.

When I started to write this blog post I thought I could write whole experience in one post but I think I need to  admitt I was wrong.

I'll continue to introduce you incredible Mostar in the next post. There is so much more to say/show. Architecture here is incredible, food is delicious. I'll present it in a next post. Things you "must" try there. 

I have to say that all the photos are mine and I write my experience there. This is the city where I feel good and have lot of beautiful memories. I hope I can share my thoughts, emotions, experiences with you.

Enjoy reading it :)

 Till next time

Ammi

Food heaven

Citronella :)

These are one of my favourite cookies . They're super tasty with the coffee or just with a glass of milk. I really love them. 

The first time I've tried these it was like river of flavours in my mouth... the lemon .... cinnamon ... vanilla ... sweetnes ... It's just perfect combination to sweeten up your day.

You can make your own combination of flavours but here you can read the recipe for these little pieces :)

                                                      RECIPE


350g flour 
200g powdered sugar
1 lemon (juice and grated lemon crust )
120g butter
2 tea spoons of baking powder
2 eggs
( you can add the cinnamon and vanilla if you like or almonds, walnuts..that is up on you)

You need little a powdered sugar to sprinkle the cookies.

What to do?

When you make the mass you should put it in a fridge for an hour 

just to rest a bit. 

Heat the oven to 180'C.

Split the mass into two pieces and  make two sticks long about  

20-30cm.

Cut piece by piece and use your imagination. You can make the form you like. I played by making the small balls and some of them I press with the fork just because of the print, or just make a small ball and cut the edge and you'll make this flowerish look like i have made in the picture one.

They go into the oven 180'C 10-20 minutes.

Sprinkle with the sugar after they cool down a bit. Also you can use vanilla powdered sugar... I'll leave it to your imagination.

Enjoy!

Ammi