Glossy Cherries

It´s this time of the year again, when the summer heat has faded, morning dew is caught in a spider´s web glittering in the rising sun. Evenings are getting chillier and with it returns the craving for comforting and warming food. The harvest is at its richest now with plums, apples, pears and also cabbages, pumpkins, root vegetables all abounding. In Switzerland it is the time for onion fairs. Onion dishes are cheap to make and can also be made in large quantities so they are popular at wine and harvest festivals. 

Take a tour of Saxony´s capital and the splendour of its rebuilt historic centre with the Frauenkirche overlooking the river Elbe, the baroque Palaces and beautiful countryside around. It´s the birthplace of the European hymn `An die Freude` written here by Schiller in 1785. It has seen much destruction in WWII and has been dormant for much of its time during the DDR. Now renovated in it´s baroque beauty, Dresden is a pleasure to visit any time of the year.

The Couòr de Nissa (heart of Nice) lies around around the old harbour and on the neighbouring hill where the Greeks founded the city in 633 BC. This video not only explores the old town with its maze of pastel-hued building, cobble-stoned streets as well as its seaside Promenade leading to the 19th century part of the town with its Art Deco villas and world class art museums but focuses.on the traditional food sold at its wonderful daily market. Traditional snacks like Socca and Pan Bagnat are part of the ancient cuisine of this part of the Mediterranean coast. Made from humble ingredients these foods can be easily made at home or prepared for a picknick.

Pérouges is a medieval village close to Lyon which was probably founded by Gallic people returning from Perugia in Italy (hence its name) becoming French only in 1601. It was a village of craftsmen, mainly flax farmers and linen weavers gaining its communal freedom in 1236. A fortified hilltop town it stood strong against the troops of Lyon and boomed until the 19th century when it sadly became almost deserted. Saved from destruction by concerned citizens and Lyon´s mayor the village was restored and revival started in 1911.

There’s a local fable on the French Riviera that when Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden, Eve took a lemon with her and buried in the spot that would become Menton. Menton lemons are sweeter and less acidic than other varieties. In 1934 the first Menton Lemon Festival, a vibrant carnival celebrating Menton’s rich lemon-growing heritage, was held. Each year, the town is transformed with enormous citrus sculptures, parades, and nightly illuminations. Over 140 tons of lemons and other citrus fruit are used to decorate numerous floats and displays. In the markets you can buy small lemon trees and a large varieties of lemons for scrumptious lemon recipes such as Pasta al Limone - a dish that gives a nod to the culinary heritage of neighbouring Italy just a few kilometres away. You can watch Nell`s cooking video here

The apple - the world´s most ancient cultivated fruit - is steeped in folklore, myth and symbolism. In folklore apples foretell of death, life and love, in fairytales they reveal beauty and good health and in religion they signify temptation and the dangers of magic and ancient wisdom. Think of all the sayings and customs such as apple bobbing or praising the health benefits of apples and you can understand the universal appeal of this fruit cultivated almost 8000 years ago in Eurasia. Sadly, nowadays old varieties, especially of cooking apples, are under threat and Nell`s Travel Kitchen supports projects to catalogue and preserve old varieties of apples. You will find plenty of projects all over the world, look out for one near you.

Picturesque Bamberg may only a small small town in Frankonia (Germany), but it looms large on the UNESCO World Heritage stage. An imperial seat in the Middle Ages, Bamberg was an important political centre as can still be seeen in the former palace and the sizable cathedral, which also houses the city`s famous artifact - the Bamberger Reiter. The cathedral´s position amongst seven hills gave rise to the name of Frankonia´s Rome. Surrounding it are the beautiful historic old town and the tanner and fishermen´s quarters along the river Regnitz now more poetically known as little Venice. The star of the show is the medieval Rathaus which spans the river and features beautifully painted facades.

Advent is the time of baked apples, mulled wine, hearty game stews and afternoons spent with a book. For me as well as for many Danes and Nordic folk is it as time for some Braendende Kaerlighed - some burning love. A warming, nurishing potatoe mash straight from the heart. It may be a humble dish of potatoes, bacon and onions but with the addition of cream & butter and lots of love it becomes a meal fit for king. Together with some pickled vegetables such as beetroot or pearl onions this dish epitomises why the Danes are the happiest people on earth.

Is it time for plums yet? Find out at https://youtu.be/aYAaO1Z0NkY

Going to the Baltic states is always magical. The Hanseatic red brick buildings of old, the astounding Art Nouveau Architecture that abounds in the town and also the calm and relaxing walks along the Baltic coast. It´s like a long summer holiday. Food is just as amazing with fruit and mushrooms everywhere. The bishop of Bremen who founded this city definitely knew what he was doing. After you have checked out the beach and went shopping in the large market halls of the Central Market, why not try this dish - memories of a summer evening. https://youtu.be/K2oajC5pEFY

On the second of July 1900 something extraordinary took place in the lakeside town of Friedrichshafen in Southern Germany. The 128-metre long airship called LZ1 rose from its moorings. Dreamed up by by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German general and inventor, the Zeppelin was an odd looking thing. Like the bumble-bee it looked incapable of flight but these blue-gas powered airships became a huge success story in its day. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by The Deutsche Luftschiffahrts AG, the world´s first revenue airline. By mid-1914 it had carried over 10,000 paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. The German military also made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers or scouts during WWI. Count Zeppelin died in 1917 just before the Golden Era of his aircraft. Then on 4 March 1936 the LZ129 Hindenburg (named after a former President of Germany) made its first flight. The Hindenburg was the largest airship ever built and by this time Zeppelin was used as a propaganda tool by the rising Nazi party. It had been designed to use non-flammable helium, but as the only supplies of the rare gas were controlled by the United States, which refused export it, decision was made to fill the Hindenburg with flammable hydrogen instead. The rest, as they say, is history. On landing at Lakehurst on My 6th 1937 in the US after a successful transatlantic flight, the tail of the ship caught fire, and the Hindenburg burst into flames within seconds, killing 35 of the 97 people on board and one member of the ground crew.

The ancient port of Marseille, founded by the Phoenicians, has fascinated and appalled in equal measure. Rich in history - both culinary and maritime - it has also been known as the gateway to France from Northern Africa for centuries, bringing with it social pressures and notoriety as a city rich in criminals and social unrest. As France´s second largest city these issues are par of the course but they are just one side of the coin. The amazing beauty of the old town, the fortresses along the harbour, the stunning coast and the isolation of the islands make for a wonderful visit. Admiring the sprawl of the city from the vantage point of the Notre-Dame de la Garde Basilica at sunset must be one of the most beautiful view on the Mediterranean.