How to eat caviar

Murmansk has one of the worlds richest food sources at the door step. The arctic waters are cold and sometimes hostile, but full of fish, shrimps and crabs. And then there is the salomon and the sea trout, commuting between the sea and the great rivers of the Kola Peninsula.

No wonder; the food in Murmansk is excellent, if you choose from the sea-food side of the menu. A good Russian beer makes the meal complete, for instance Sibirskaya Korona or Baltika No 8.

When I was in Murmansk last week, my Russian colleague gave me a big jar of Russian caviar

"Gift for you; local caviar."

Great. I appreciated this very much. A big jar of fresh Russian caviar; coarse orange fish eggs, each one is the size of a decent pearl.

But now I have this challenge; I have to eat all the caviar before it gets contaminated. I've tried a few varieties, all of them tasting very good:

o Bread with butter and a thick layer of caviar, and a touch of mayonnaise (for breakfast).
o Boiled egg with caviar (for lunch).
o Gratinated salomon with potatoes and caviar topping (for dinner).

What else? Does anyone out there have some good recipes involving caviar?

(That's my jar of caviar, and my breakfast, shot with the cell phone camera; bread with butter, caviar and mayonnaise.)

Four hours in a five-star bed

My mission in Murmansk is completed. Goodbye to the light summer nights and the midnight sun, at least for now (I might be back next week).

Today was a good day, and everything was as we hoped. We worked till 6 o'clock, and then went to a German bier stube to eat and celebrate.

Good food, good beer, and there was vodka of course. This is Russia. I only had a very very small amount, just tasting, to be polite. I'm here to work, not to get drunk.

Before we left Murmansk,my Russian colleague gave me a big box of local caviar, salomon caviar from the Kola Peninsula. I really appreciate that.

We took a late plane back to Moscow, and arrived half an hour past midnight. The driver was waiting for me, to take me to the hotel. We got stuck in traffic jam, car accident, road work, more road work, another accident.

Moscow never sleeps. This city is crazy!

I came to the hotel at 3 am. It's a great five-star Marriot hotel. It's a pity that I won't get the time to enjoy it. I have to get up at 7 to make it to our next appointment.

Time to go to bed. Then I get four hours in my five-star bed >:)

(A German bier stube in Russia. The sign on the wall says "guten morgen" in Cyrillic letters. It's German for good morning.)