By Gastronomistas

They say if you haven’t truly experienced the magic of Christmas until you’ve been to Nuremberg. All the streets decked out in festive lights and decorations while carols ring out to the delight of old and young alike, creating a magical atmosphere imbued with the very essence of Christmas Eve.

From 29 November through to 24 December, the whole city becomes one huge Christmas celebration and a “picturesque village of fabric and wood” appears as if by magic in the heart of the city’s old quarter; the Christkindlesmarkt, one of Europe’s oldest and most renowned street markets.

More than 180 stalls adorned with candles, decorations and winter plants tempt visitors with their toys, local crafts, nativity scenes, Christmas ornaments and, above all, delicious sweets and wholesome culinary delights. The air is filled with an enticing mixture of aromas, from spices and wine through to toffee, nuts and savoury treats. Absolutely EVERYTHING is a temptation for the senses. What are the best things to try while strolling around the Christkindlesmarkt?

MULLED WINE
What better to ward off the crisp cold of Nuremberg than a mug of mulled wine. This hearty drink made with cinnamon, cloves and fruit peel is served in ceramic mugs that visitors can take home with them as a souvenir from the Christkindlesmarkt. They even do a non-alcoholic mulled wine for the kids to try.

FEUERZANGENBOWLE
This famous punch is named after the sugar tongs used in its concoction. To make Feuerzangenbowle, dry red wine is slowly heated in a large punch bowl, along with rum, caramelised sugar, cloves, cinnamon, slices of lemon and orange juice.

BRATWURST
“It is one of the reasons why you never forget Nuremberg”, wrote the poet Jean-Paul (maybe while suffering writer’s block), in reference to the sausages par excellence originating from this Bavarian city: bratwurst. They are on sale all around the city at stalls equipped with giant barbecues, so you’re bound to gobble up more than one during your stay. They are served in a bread roll, garnished with sauerkraut or potato salad, or even as a three-in-one known as a “weggla”. To make sure you only get the real McCoy, it’s worth knowing that an authentic bratwurst from Nuremberg is between seven and nine centimetres long, no more and no less.

NUREMBERG LEBKUCHEN
No Christmas is complete without some famous lebkuchen: a biscuit made from nuts, honey and spices covered in chocolate or icing. The recipe has been a closely-guarded secret in Nuremberg for over 600 years and has even been given a protected designation of origin. It’s easy to spot the market stalls selling lebkuchen as nearly all of them look like the witch’s candy cottage from Hansel and Gretel.

And there are many other food stalls selling a wide range of mouth-watering treats, such as candied fruit, all kinds of sweets, caramelised almonds, chocolates, waffles and sauerkraut. But be warned! After indulging yourself in beautiful Nuremberg, you may need to go on a diet for a few days.

CHRISTKINDLESMARKT
From the Friday before the first Sunday of Advent through to 24 December.

Where: in Nuremberg’s main market square (Hauptmarkt) and surrounding area.

Opening times:
Monday to Wednesday: 9am to 8pm.
Wednesday to Saturday: 9am to 9pm.
Sunday: 10.30am to 8pm.

By Gastronomistas

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At some spot between Ingolstadt and Nuremberg, the Bavarian accent becomes gentler, the wind blows a little further down and wine competes with beer as the local beverage. This is Franconia (Franken) and, as locals never fail to point out, the Franconians – who live in the wooded hills and on the banks of the river Main – are very different from their outgoing southern cousins.

The wine producers in the north-east of the region make sublime white wine, sold in a characteristic tear-shaped bottle known as the bocksbeutel. For open-air enthusiasts, the Altmühltal Nature Reserve is an ideal area for hiking, cycling and canoeing. However, it is Franconia’s incredible towns – Nuremberg, Bamberg and Coburg – that attract most visitors. But, let’s concentrate on that marvellous elixir that has captivated human beings since the dawn of time.

Wine – the Soul of the Region

The wine of Franconia is not merely a beverage, but a celebration of the senses. It is welded into the DNA of the whole region. Its presence is felt everywhere. To see how influential it is in the landscape, suffice to go walking or cycling on the banks of the river Main, or to visit Würzburg Residenz Palace. Its presence is also tasted in the culinary creations of local chefs and in the taverns. Moreover, in Franconia, wine is extolled at festivals and trade fairs –Heckenwirtschaften– dedicated solely to wine.

The region’s mild climate is propitious for the production of this delicious beverage. It is continental, with very cold winters and mild summers, meaning the grapes mature very slowly. The soils are highly varied, being formed of coloured sandstone, granite, limestone and some slate, so that each soil type yields a different kind of wine. The coloured sandstone yields red wine, while the granite and limestone are ideal for white wines. Grape-growing has been an important and constant activity here for over 1,200 years. It is a joy to explore the wines of Franconia and all their nuances.

This wine-producing region lies east of Frankfurt and some 65 kilometres from the Rhine. The vineyards are planted on the south-facing slopes along the river Main and encircle the city of Würzburg, so this is the only vinicultural region in the state of Bavaria. Franconia is divided into three districts – Mainviereck, Maindreieck and Steigerwald – formed by the shapes adopted by the Main’s meanders. It is worth a trip along the river to get an idea of how varied the area’s vineyards really are. The main types of grape are the Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner and Bacchus.

Wine Cellars and Taverns

Wine cellars have proliferated lately. True, the consumption of white wine has increased markedly in recent years. They put it down to the economic crisis – white wines are usually cheaper than red – and to global warming – wine served cold is more appetising. The great advantage held by Franconia’s wines is undoubtedly the exceptional grape varieties grown there. And, the exuberant architecture of the wine cellars provides added value for the senses. Here is a list of the wine cellars and taverns specialising in the area’s leading wines.

DIVINO Nordheim
Langgasse 33 · 97334 Nordheim a. Main. Website

Fränkische Flaschenpost
Kirchplatz 2 · 97236 Randersacker
Tel. +49(0)931/30489627

Vinothek im Kuk
Rathausplatz 6 · 97337 Dettelbach. Website

Vinothek Iphofen
Kirchplatz 7 · 97346 Iphofen. Website

Vinothek Sommerach
Kirchplatz 3 · 97332 Sommerach a. Main. Website

Weinforum Franken
Hauptstraße 37 · 97246 Eibelstadt. Website

Winzer Sommerach- Der Winzerkeller
Zum Katzenkopf 1 · 97334 Sommerach a. Main. Website

Have you got that? Then come and discover the wines of Franconia. Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Alexander Von Halem, Goegeo, VisualBeo, FrankenTourismus/Fraenkisches Weinland Tourismus/Hub

Krakow is the most touristic and historic city in Poland. In fact, the historic centre was declared UNESCO World Heritage Site because even the city was destroyed by the German army during the World War II, since the reconstruction of the historic quarter -known as Stare Miaso – started in 1950, trying to reconstruct it as close as possible to what it was originally.

The hearth of the city is Rynek Glówny, one of the biggest squares in Europe, always cheerful because of the street musicians and the tourists. By night, the gas lamps still light this place, projecting shadows on the walls of the buildings surrounding the square, from 14th and 15th century, giving this location an atmosphere both gloomy and romantic.

Nowadays, Krakow is a great destination for tourists but still remains all its past in order to have a promising future.

The old Jewish ghetto

It was not located in the current Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, but a bit further, in the Podgórze district. From the original, only parts of the wall remain, some of the streets and a memorial square to the heroes of the ghetto (Plac Bohaterów Getta) with big metal chairs that represent their stolen belongings when they arrived to the ghetto.

Krakow’s ghetto was founded in 1941 and as the Nazi genocide intensified, it began to be overpopulated and people died of hunger or diseases or, even worst, they were killed in the streets.

Aguila pharmacy

Nevertheless, stores were allowed to remain operative. Tadeusz Pankiewicz, the owner of the pharmacy Aquila (Apteka pod Orlem), had a significant role for the Jewish. The pharmacy was a valuable meeting point to smuggle with food, medicines and other valuable objects.

Because of that, Tadeusz Pankiewicz received a honourable mention from the state of Israel. In 2004, Roman Polanski and Steven Spielberg managed the restoration of the pharmacy, which is now part of the city History Museum, showing the murder of Jewish in the ghetto and what an important role the pharmacy had. Polanski, who escaped from the ghetto when he was a child, dedicated his Oscar award for The Pianist to Pankiewicz.

Schindler factory

Another awarded movie made a factory near the ghetto very famous. The history of Oscar Schindler’s factory – which is now also a museum – appeared in the known movie by Steven Spielberg.

The exhibition at this factory, titled “Nazi occupation (1939-1945)” includes an exhibition, reconstructions, images, objects from that period and sounds that make the visit a vivid experience, experiencing what Polish experienced during the Nazi occupation.

Krakow Jewish neighbourhood

The Jewish neighbourhood Kazimierz, formed by one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe before the World War II, is nowadays a charming and bohemian neighbourhood, with cheerful streets, odd stores and craft workshops, also with a great variety of restaurants serving Hebrew cuisine.

Here you can visit the Old Synagogue (the oldest in Poland), the Remuh Synagogue, next to the Jewish cemetery, or the spectacular Catholic churches of Saint Catherine or the c he Crypt at Skałka. As a curiosity, you should know that this is the place where Spielberg filmed his movie Schindler's List.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

About 60 kilometres away of Krakow there is the sadly famous concentration camps Auschwitz I – first to be built - and Auschwitz II (or Birkenau), built after as an extermination camp.

You can get here easily by train or bus, leaving from the central station for trains and buses at Kraków Główny, it takes about one hour and a half to get there.

The shameful significance of this place is because it is the largest concentration camp built during the Nazi regime and the largest extermination in history, over one million people where killed here. Nowadays, it remains as a memorial to prevent this atrocities to happen again and to not forget the atrocities that took place here.

Cracovia by FotoCavallo |  Auschwitz by Gigatel Cyf Ltd. | Fábrica de Schindler by Noa Cafri | Barrio judio de Cracovia by Jakub Hałun

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Highly influenced by the culture from the neighbouring countries, Hungarian gastronomy is mainly known for the intensity of the dishes and spicy flavours. From meat (chicken, pork, beef, goose), vegetables (potatoes, celery, beans, peas, cabbage) and paprika as main ingredients, we can find a wide variety of typical dishes you should know and some of the restaurants where you can try them.

TYPICAL DISHES

Gulash: Spiced soup with beef cattle tacos, potatoes and, sometimes, dumplings. This is, no doubt, one of the most famous dishes in the Hungarian gastronomy.

Dobostorta: Hungarian cake invented by local baker Jozsef C. Dobos, in 1884. It is made of five fluffy layers collated by chocolate cream with a caramel topping.

Újházi tyúkhúsleves: One of the most popular soups from traditional cuisine in Budapest. It is made of pasta, carrot, chicken and peas or mushrooms.

Mákos rétes: A typical cake, very typical and popular among estrudel (it can be made of cottage cheese, cherry, sour cherry or apple). This is the star cake at the bakeries in Budapest.

Pörkölt: Cooked meat with onion, chilli and tomato, sometimes it is considered a variant of gulash.

Dumplings: Balls of flour, potatoes and bread, filled with meat or fish and completed with the “cispetke”, a pastry made of flour and egg to accompany the soup and the meat.

Paprikas csirke: Main course made of fried chicken with onion sauce and paprika pepper with a little bit of tomato and bathed with a creamy herb sauce right before it’s served.

Borjúkotlett magyaróvári módra: Veal cutlet marinated with tomato sauce and herbs that is put in the oven among a layer of mushrooms and cheese.

Halaszle: Fish soup highly spiced up with Hungarian paprika, very spicy pepper.

RESTAURANTS

Menza: One of the most fashionable restaurants in Budapest. Decoration from the ‘70s, young public and a menu that mixes classic and vanguard food, at an affordable price.

RemizRemiz: This place is known for serving huge portions of Hungarian food. The place is frequented by both, locals and tourists, and has a big dinning room and a terrace outside, great if you want to have a long meal you're your family on a Sunday or to have a business lunch.

Kőleves: Located at the centre of the Jewish neighbourhood in Budapest, here you can find affordable prices anytime on the day. Monday to Friday there are two menus, one with meat and one for veggies. You should also try one of the desserts.

Vadarspark Étterem: a modern restaurant, with a terrace and a folk band entertaining the diners. Here you can also enjoy a typical Hungarian folk dance show while eating some of the most typical dishes in the city.

Gundel: Legendary restaurant in Budapest that is open since the 19th century, serving great food following traditional Hungarian recipes. The dress code is formal, men should wear a nice coat.

Image from Sarah Stierch

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