Renate + Alexander portrayed by Annette

A lunch “surprise”! Let’s be honest: France is one of the countries, where you have to be cautious with innocently looking forward to your meal in happy anticipation. But exactly that was what we did, when we where driving out of Marseille after  a wonderful week in this exciting city. Alexander and I where invited for lunch to Château Revelette, the winery of Peter Fischer. The man is producing very good wines in the hinterland of Aix-en-Provence. I had done a report on him earlier and when he heared, that we were in the region, he was eager to have us with a group of friends for a “speciality” – as he put it. » Read the rest of this entry «

Eine Schatzkiste ist herrlich. Da findet man Dinge, von denen man gar nicht weiß, dass man sie hat… Ich zum Beispiel habe an einem Regentag ein kleines Büchlein entdeckt. Sofort habe ich mich erinnert, woher es kommt. Malakka! Neujahr 1995 haben Alexander und ich meine Freundin Conni in Singapur besucht und von dort aus einen Ausflug in die malaysische Küstenstadt gemacht. Ich weiß noch genau, wie wir mit dem Überlandbus gefahren sind. Wie wir zu unserer eigenen Überraschung einen alten venezianischen Spiegel gekauft haben, den wir die ganze Heimreise nach Hamburg in eine Pappe verschnürt unter dem Arm getragen haben. Wie wir dieses Respekt einflößenden Reptil – ein Leguan? – am Flussufer sitzen sahen. Und wie wir vor diesem Tempel standen. » Read the rest of this entry «

What a restaurant!
I was visiting the Capital of the Middle Kingdom for a report on the local cuisine in times of the upcoming Olympics. So that was in October 2007. That evening we went out of the center of Beijing in a taxi. It was already 8 o’clock, very late for dinner in China. Even in the Capital 6 o’clock is when everybody is sitting at a table, chopsticks in hand. My only excuse: I was traveling with a photographer! We left the highway, turned into several streets and eventually rolled down a very dark dust road. The driver was all but enthusiastic. Specially after we had passed a military post the car was getting slower and slower. He grumbled: “Don’t have a clue where this place could be.” Two hands were stretching out towards him holding a cell phone. My second hand showed the card with the phone number of the place. We were in the majority and absolutely determined not to get out of the car in this end-of-the-world scenery. » Read the rest of this entry «

What a spooky hotel:
I was on a trip with two wine writer colleagues in Portugal and that evening we arrived for a late tasting and to stay overnight on top of a hill in pitch black night. The surroundings of that age old castle-like building had an eery atmosphere. So we went inside quite hastily and were greeted by a relatively young factotum with odd manners. He guided us to the reception and said: “My colleague will check you in.” He vanished behind a partition made of dark wood and a frosted glass panel and immediately came out again to greet us officially. We had to show our passports and with a stiff smile were handed the room keys. Walking to our rooms on worn carpets alongside huge tile pictures showing the history of portugal in blue and white, in turns with dark tropical wood, oriental patterns we were discussing if there were twins or if this guy had a split personality. We weren’t sure …
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恭

禧

發

財

Die mobile 8samkeit 
Das Leben ist kein Wunschkonzert. Wissen wir alle. Schon gar nicht im freitäglich voll gestopften ICE von Frankfurt nach Hamburg. Da überkommt einen schon mal dieses unbändige Bedürfnis nach Ruhe und Meditation. Das Buch ausgelesen, draußen rast die Welt grau in grau vorbei, der Sitznachbar grunzt freudig über seinem Brutalo-Comic auf dem ipad. Wer will da nicht weg, ganz weit weg. Aber bei sich selbst bleiben geht auch.

My best snake story to celebrate the snakes year 2013.

It was on Kangaroo Island – Australias third biggest island, situated in the Indian Ocean not too far from Adelaide. Why did I swing by there? To be honest I don’t know. That trip to Australia was a very strange journey alltogether. Being a food and wine editor, I was invited to take part in the Adelaide Food Festival. But funnily enough I was flown in just for the last two days which turned out to be just the last one day since my flight was delayed for 14 hours.
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Das Hamburger Weihnachtsschwein ist ein Saisonplätzchen und hat wie jeder Keks von Format eine Geschichte.

Freundliche Rudeltiere

Sein Ursprung liegt in der Provence. Vor gefühlt zu vielen Jahren waren wir dort, sind über Land gefahren, haben fröhlich die überbewertete Küche und den Wein genossen. Haben Marseille lieben gelernt und … lange Rede kurzer Sinn: In einem wunderhübschen Laden an einer malerisch geschwungenen Landstraße haben wir Konfitüre in formschönen Dosen eingekauft – eigenwillige Sorten wie Feige-Lavendel und Aprikose mit Rosenwasser. Genau, in heimischen Gefilden habe ich mich dann gefragt, was macht man damit? Die Antwort kam mir im November: Plätzchen. Es war mir eingefallen, dass meine Mutter von ihrer Großmutter (der Fabrikanten-Gattin) erzählte, dass sie mit Himbeergelee feinstes Gebäck fertigte. Ein Traditions-Rezept mit Haferflocken und Gewürzen schien mir folglich die richtige Basis für eine Testreihe. Es war der Start meiner kleinen weihnachtlichen Erfolgsgeschichte! » Read the rest of this entry «

The unforgettable meal

Well, there was one quite challenging breakfast in a village in Nepal: fried potatoes with spaghetti accompanied by a glass of warm, sweetened milk at 7.30 am. But that wasn’t it. The unforgettable meal I am thinking of was presented in elegant atmosphere in France. The Bordeaux region to be precise. My husband Alexander and I where travelling to learn more about this center of the wine world. Yes, we learned… One thing in particular: There was no set menu to order without foie gras. La Grande Nation has her wonderful vegetables in market stalls – only! Never on restaurant plates! » Read the rest of this entry «

This time: Quite a flight. Well, the Nepali know how to handle an aircraft in difficult conditions – more often than not. I have been on several flights alongside the impressing peaks of the Himalaya. Buddha Air did a perfect job. I guess, it’s in the name, everybody on board was in a state of considerate relaxation. To start with: It is so cute how they proudly present their fleet on colourful boarding cards: Five propeller planes in blue and white. » Read the rest of this entry «