(This article first appeared online on 10th January 2024 on Live Mint and in print on 11th January in Mint newspaper India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/bulgarian-cheese-yogurt-cuisine-111704874667279.html)
Showing posts with label EUROPE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EUROPE. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
Poland's Christmas Markets and Festive Food and Drink
(This article first appeared online on 6th December 2023 on Live Mint, India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/christmas-winter-food-drink-poland-111701796198786.html)
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
What's On The Menu at Oktoberfest?
(This article first appeared online on 20th September 2023 in Mint Lounge, India and in print on page 14 on 21 September https://lifestyle.livemint.com/food/discover/munich-germany-oktoberfest-food-111695162327406.html)
Sunday, February 19, 2023
All You Need Is Liverpool Love
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Chinês Clandestinos--Lisbon's hidden Chinese restaurants
Saturday, December 3, 2022
Wroclaw, Poland's Gnomes
(This article first appeared in print on page 10 and online on 3rd December 2022 in Mint Lounge, India https://lifestyle.livemint.com/news/big-story/the-humour-and-satire-in-wroclaw-s-army-of-gnomes-111670292796229.html)
Thursday, November 11, 2021
Restaurant Review: Ammata
Friday, September 10, 2021
Recca Restaurant Review
Sunday, August 15, 2021
Notes from Kihnu
(This column first appeared in the 15th August 2021 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 7 https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/notes-from-kihnu/article35891338.ece)
Friday, September 18, 2020
Hotel Review: Badrutt’s Palace Hotel In St. Moritz, Switzerland
This article was first published online on 18th September 2020 in Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, UK https://www.luxurylifestylemag.co.uk/travel/hotel-review-badrutts-palace-hotel-in-st-moritz-switzerland/)
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Liechtenstein, where!?
A day spent traipsing around Vaduz, the tiny capital of one of the least visited countries in the world—the Alpine microstate of Liechtenstein—is full of interesting little curiosities and serendipitous discoveries
By Raul Dias
You are not alone if you are one of those people for whom the Principality of Liechtenstein seems like a made-up country in soppy, made-for-TV Hallmark movies with twee names like Aldovia, Belgravia, Genovia, etc. The kind where wide-eyed American girls fall in love with playboy princes of obscure European micro kingdoms. Places where everybody speaks perfect English in clipped British accents that would put the Queen of England’s to shame. And yes, while Liechtenstein does have its very own prince in the form of Hans-Adam II, the septuagenarian grandfather is far from a playboy and speaks in heavy Alemannic German-accented English.
But despite being one of the least visited countries in the world, the Alpine microstate does have more than a few curiosities that draw in the odd traveller every now and then. Not only is it Europe’s fourth smallest country (and the world’s sixth), but sandwiched between Switzerland and Austria, Liechtenstein is also one of the world’s only two double landlocked countries, with the other being Uzbekistan. Oh, and the country’s only billionaire is worth half the country’s GDP!
My tryst with Liechtenstein, however, was not born out of curiosity. More, necessity. Finding myself twiddling thumbs at the sterile, boring Zurich airport thanks to a 12-hour delay in a flight that was supposed to get me to sunny Lisbon, I paid heed to the advice of the kind lady manning the airport’s information kiosk. Looking at my Swiss rail pass, she suggested I hop into nearby Liechtenstein to kill time. For free.
My rather expensive eight-day rail pass, she let me know, would not just get me into Vaduz, the tiny capital of Liechtenstein, but once there, I could even use the services of the local buses thanks to its validity there too. And so, with my big suitcase already checked in, all I had to do was strap on my day pack and get ready to tick another country, however obscure, off my list.
Size Matters
With Sargans being the last railhead on the Swiss side, I soon hopped onto a Vaduz-bound bus that deposited me at the south end of Stadtle. This pedestrian-only ‘Golden Mile’ of Vaduz starts right in front of the grand National Museum building. But the very first structure that caught my attention and fancy was the rather modern and contemporary looking blond wood-clad Parliament Building that lies at the heart of the Peter-Kaiser-Platz square, just a stone’s throw from the Government Building. Perfectly tiny and in-keeping with the Lilliputian dimensions of Vaduz, the Parliament Building turned out to be a surprise for me when I found out from the Liechtenstein Centre for tourism that it was only in 2008 that this building, designed by the Munich-based architect Hansjörg Göritz, was inaugurated.
Speaking of size, Liechtenstein is so small that not only can the entire country be walked in six hours’ time from north to south (under two hours, east to west), but here the ‘milestones’ don’t show you the distance in miles or kilometers, but in the time that it would take you to walk from one place to another. In fact, right up to June 2020, Airbnb made it possible to rent the entire country of Liechtenstein for around $70,000 a night. I kid you not!
Of mains and sides
As it was almost lunch time, I sauntered into the rather Mediterranean-looking Torkel restaurant. It is situated in the princely vineyard called Herawingert, which has been in the possession of the Liechtenstein Royal Family since 1712. The medieval building, which originally served as a winemaking facility for the princely grapes, was converted into a restaurant in the 1960s and its interior is dominated by Europe’s largest wooden wine press.
My vegetarian main of a pasta-like cheese dish served with apple sauce, called käsknöpfle mit apfelmus came to my table with a side of some more trivia. All thanks to my Austrian server who told me that like himself, most of Liechtenstein’s work force comes in daily from neighbouring Austria and Switzerland.
But that is not the only Swiss invasion to happen in a military force-bereft Liechtenstein, I soon learn. Apparently, Switzerland has managed to accidentally ‘invade’ Liechtenstein three times over the last three decades. And on two occasions, Liechtenstein want not even aware of what had happened!
I paired my lunch with a crisp Chardonnay made from grapes grown at the rose pink painted Hofkellerei winery located on the same property as the restaurant and owned by Liechtenstein’s Prince Hans-Adam II. I was also told that the enterprising prince is the owner of the Texas-based GMO firm RiceTech that’s responsible for producing hybrid rice varieties like Texmati, which was in the news a few years ago for being the copycat patented version of our very own Indian Basmati.
Castle in the sky
But there is more to the Liechtenstein-India connection. Just like our Independence Day, Liechtenstein celebrates its National Day every year on the 15th of August. It is on this day that the Prince throws open the grand and almost fairytale-esque Vaduz Castle to all his citizens and guests whom he invites for a beer and pretzel garden party. Constructed as a fortress as early as the 12th century, before living quarters were added in 1287, it was only in 1939 that the then Prince moved in with his family and adopted Vaduz Castle as his official residence.
Perched 120 meters high up on a misty hill and overlooking the entire city, the castle is quite a feat to get to. Trudging up the winding, hilly pathway, may have been a challenge, but the vista from the halfway Kanzeli viewpoint of both the city below and the castle above was enough to keep me at it.
Although one is not allowed to enter the castle, the chatty groundskeeper I encountered did let me walk about its perimeter, sending me on my way with one last nugget of quirky Liechtensteiner trivia. Flashing me a bright, white smile he lets me know that his beloved Liechtenstein is the world’s number one manufacturer of false teeth. I will let you chew on that one…
TRAVEL LOG
Getting There
As there is no airport in Vaduz (or in all of Liechtenstein for that matter!) one needs to fly in to Zurich, Switzerland and then take a one hour-long train ride from Zurich to the Swiss border town of Sargans and then a 40-minute bus ride from Sargans to Vaduz. There are direct flights from India to Zurich on Swiss Airlines. All of Vaduz is best enjoyed on foot, although there is a very efficient bus service in the city. Indian passport holders need a Schengen visa to enter Switzerland, and thus, by default, Liechtenstein.
Stay
Tough your best bet is to stay in Zurich and take a day trip to Vaduz, there are a few, if a tad pricey, Swiss-style auberges and hotels to spend the night at if you so choose to stay in Vaduz. The butter-yellow painted Hotel Vaduzerhof offers a value-for-money stay (Rs 13,900 for two with breakfast, vaduzerhof.net) a mere 100 meters from Vaduz’s compact city center. Equally popular is Landhaus am Giessen (Rs 14,612 for two with breakfast, giessen.li), a cosy two-star hotel with room balconies overflowing with potted plants and flowers.
Tip
* Liechtenstein is a great place to go hiking. One of the most popular hikes is the 12km “Fürstin Gina Weg” (Princess Gina Trail) from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of the Alps of Liechtenstein and Austria beyond.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 12th September 2020 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/the-european-microstate-of-liechtenstein-is-the-sixth-smallest-country-of-the-world/article32576662.ece)
Sunday, August 30, 2020
Notes from Bulgaria
By Raul Dias
In early June this year, as demonstrations over the
killing of George Floyd gained momentum in the US capital of Washington DC, it
was reported that secret service agents spirited President Donald Trump away to
a White House bunker. Though denials of this were issued forthwith, it is said
that Trump spent nearly an hour ensconced in the heavily fortified subterranean
structure. All this, as protesters rallied outside the executive mansion,
resorting to everything from lobbing stones at the world’s most famous
residence to destroying police barricades.
But Trump is not alone. From tech billionaires and celebrities to other world
leaders and corporate czars, all have one thing in common—plush underground
bunkers equipped with all the mod cons. Safe havens to seek refuge in, in case
of nuclear warfare, civil unrest and…yes, raging pandemics too!
If there is one place in the world that gives a whole other meaning to the term
‘bunker lifestyle’, with its abundance of repurposed bunkers, then that would
have to be the Balkan country of Bulgaria.
Basement ‘bar’gains
Both the country’s capital of Sofia and Plovdiv, its economic hub have plenty of subterranean
marvels to sink your cultural teeth into. From the former’s recently unearthed
Roman city of Serdika to the latter’s resurrected grand Roman stadium, a relic from
the time when Plovdiv was known as Philippopolis. However, it was the country’s
communist era bunkers and erstwhile bomb shelters that fascinated me the
most on my trip to Bulgaria last summer.
In Sofia, I found myself getting down on my knees to buy everything from
chewing gum to local sweet treats like the fig jam-smeared mekitsi fried
dough from the rather strange looking pavement-level ‘klek’ shops. With
their name borrowed from the Bulgarian word for kneel (klek), these
squat shops have an interesting history. During the cold war, the Soviets
repurposed basements of apartments throughout Sofia to serve as bomb shelters,
with designated separate spaces for each family to seek refuge in.
After the fall of communism in Bulgaria in 1989, residents of the apartments
converted these basement shelters into an assortment of commercial spaces like
shoe repair shops and haberdasheries to bakeries and mini convenience stores.
Shops that could serve just one kneeling customer at a time though small sliding
windows, with the shopkeeper’s head at the level of the customer’s feet.
Rendering them perfect for current social distancing requirements amidst the
pandemic.
However, there are only a handful of these klek shops left in Sofia
today. In a sort of third wave of conversion, new life is being infused into
the shops with several being transformed into diminutive art galleries,
basement cafés and even a few two-person only speakeasy-style cocktail bars.
Going with the flow!
I soon learn that Bulgaria’s subterranean wonders are not just
limited to remnants of the country’s Roman and communist eras. And once again,
Sofia is a notable example of this. With over 30 mineral hot springs that can be found
within the city and its surroundings, hydrogeology is something that is
taken very seriously here. In fact, the city’s ancient coat of arms even has a figure
depicting the Greek god Apollo bathing at one such mineral spring.
Speaking of bathing, the Regional History Museum behind the grand Banya Bashi
Mosque in the heart of downtown Sofia was once the old Turkish public mineral
bath house, functional till 1986. Adjacent to the museum, at a red and
white-bricked water fountain, is where one can find several people partaking in
the city’s mineral-rich water bounty by filling up huge bottles and jerrycans
with the free, slightly salty-tasting warm water that flows from rows of ornate
brass taps that don’t even freeze in Sofia’s sub-zero winters.
‘What lies beneath’ truly takes on a whole other meaning in Bulgaria, it seems.
(This column first appeared in the 30th August 2020 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 7 https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/notes-from-bulgaria/article32462731.ece)
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Bulgaria’s ‘inside story’
From ancient Roman ruins to eerie catacombs, Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia and Plovdiv—its second largest city—are brimming with subterranean wonders. Places where what lies beneath is equally fascinating as that above.
By Raul Dias
The uniformed lady seated in front of me seems genuinely happy to see me. Her easy, generous smile far from the perfunctory, bordering-on-fake ones proffered by most immigration officers I’ve encountered thus far. She tells me that mine is the first Indian passport she’s about to stamp into Bulgaria in all her four years working at the Sofia International Airport.
“Don’t waste your money visiting any of Sofia’s museums!” she advises me almost conspiratorially, without offering any further explanation to bolster up her suggestion. “Also, don’t take a taxi into town. Your hotel is right next to Serdica, so take the direct train to the Serdika II metro station,” she adds, after casting a glance at my immigration disembarkation form and pointing me in the direction of the startlingly modern and spotlessly clean Sofia Airport metro station.
The city beneath the city
Almost as soon as I alight from the train a half hour later, I get the gravitas of the immigration officer’s seemingly innocuous (if a bit odd!) twin suggestions. Buried deep within the depths of downtown Sofia, the Serdika II metro station is truly one of the best places to start peeling back the Bulgarian capital’s onion-like layers.
One of the first things I notice about the huge, cavernous station is the acute lack of any form of commercial advertisement with nary a billboard or standee in sight. In their place are glass cabinets. The kind one would find in museums. Filled with everything from Neolithic pots and Roman urns, to even a few decapitated and chipped capitals that probably sat atop grand Doric columns once.
It is much later in the day, after checking into my hotel and getting down to some considerable research, do I realise the sway Sofia held in the ancient Roman world when it was known as Ulpia Serdica (also spelled as Serdika). Not only was it a much-coveted city after the Roman’s conquered it from the Greeks in the year 29BC, but is it said that Constantine the Great sought to transform it into the ‘Rome of the Balkans’.
Evidence of the erstwhile grandeur of Serdica is apparent not just inside the train station, but also outside its turnstiles. Quite like the underpinnings of the 14th century Bastille fortress that peek out of the Bastille Métro in Paris, the remnants of the ancient Roman city were uncovered in the 1970s with the discovery of the Western Gate of Serdica and are on display to the public, under a huge, reinforced plexiglass dome.
The next day, as I take a free walking tour around Sofia, I am told that the restoration of the Serdica ruins started in 2011 and is still very much a work in progress, as I can see. In total, the complex covers an area of approximately 9,000 square metres, and once had as many as eight streets—including the grand Decumanus Maximus main road of the Roman city. Today, all that’s remaining of downtown Serdica that have been unearthed thus far, are the ruins of an early Christian basilica, a few mineral springs and early examples of a water and sewage system—all said to date back from the 1st to the 6th century AD.
Crypts, bones and catacombs
Giving the city its modern day, official name, I find myself at the rather somber-looking St. Sofia Church that sits in the shadow of the colossal Neo-Byzantine Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city’s historic center. The latter with its gilded central dome topped with a golden crucifix is so elaborate that I could even see it from the window of my plane’s seat a day earlier, as we prepared to land into Sofia.
Built in the 6th century during the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, St. Sofia rests not just on the foundations of four older Christian temples from the 4th century, but also on something that ties it in with ancient Serdica. With its location being a little outside the fortified gates of Serdica, it was the site of the of the city’s great necropolis.
Descending into its labyrinthine innards way below street level, I am greeted with sensations that threaten to awaken my latent claustrophobia. The catacombs here are an elaborate maze dotted with rough hewn niches laden with bones, several intricately carved masonry tombs and crypts—some still ensconcing stone sarcophagi. A series of vivid, well-preserved mosaics murals and frescos lit by dim, blue bulbs lend the catacombs an eerier cachet.
Where Plovdiv meets Philippopolis
As Bulgaria’s second largest city, its economic hub and the current European Capital of Culture for 2019, Plovdiv in the south of the country is next on my subterranean quest list. Ever the thrifty traveller, I once again join in a free walking tour almost immediately after getting into Plovdiv’s compact city center, post a two-and-a-half-hour bus journey from Sofia’s Central Bus Station.
My guide Igor lets me know that the city was earlier named Philippopolis, after Philip II of Macedon—the father of Alexander the Great—conquered it in the 4th century BC from the Thracians. But it was the Romans that left the most indelible mark on it when Philippopolis was incorporated into the Roman Empire by Emperor Claudius in 46BC.
And it was the grand Roman stadium that was at the very center of it all, being one of the rare stadia to be built inside the walls of a fortified city. Constructed at the beginning of the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the stadium could accommodate 30,000 spectators all at once, cheering on everything from chariot races to talent contests for criers and buglers.
Today, all that remains of the stadium is the excavated northern curved part that lies under the modern day Dzhumaya Square, surrounded by lively cafes and bars. It is believed that the larger portion of the stadium, including its quintet of arched gates still lies beneath the buildings along the main street, parts of which can even be seen in the basement of the local H&M!
Paying homage to a city that was built on the crest of seven syenite hills, I end my day trip to Plovdiv with an Aperol Spritz sundowner at the hillside Roman Theatre. Built by Emperor Domitian in the 1st century AD, for millennia it lay buried under the backyard of a local resident. Painstakingly restored in the 1970s, the theatre—with its soaring Ionic marble colonnade and triangular pediments—still stays true to its original purpose to this very day as a popular venue for staging plays and concerts, I’m told.
Unfortunately for me today, I’ll just have to make do with the sun’s disappearing act, as it gradually dissolves into the craggy horizon…
(A shorter, differently edited version of this article appeared in the 21st September 2019 issue of the Mint Lounge newspaper, India on page 16 https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/what-lies-beneath-sofia-1568978786033.html)
By Raul Dias
The uniformed lady seated in front of me seems genuinely happy to see me. Her easy, generous smile far from the perfunctory, bordering-on-fake ones proffered by most immigration officers I’ve encountered thus far. She tells me that mine is the first Indian passport she’s about to stamp into Bulgaria in all her four years working at the Sofia International Airport.
“Don’t waste your money visiting any of Sofia’s museums!” she advises me almost conspiratorially, without offering any further explanation to bolster up her suggestion. “Also, don’t take a taxi into town. Your hotel is right next to Serdica, so take the direct train to the Serdika II metro station,” she adds, after casting a glance at my immigration disembarkation form and pointing me in the direction of the startlingly modern and spotlessly clean Sofia Airport metro station.
The city beneath the city
Almost as soon as I alight from the train a half hour later, I get the gravitas of the immigration officer’s seemingly innocuous (if a bit odd!) twin suggestions. Buried deep within the depths of downtown Sofia, the Serdika II metro station is truly one of the best places to start peeling back the Bulgarian capital’s onion-like layers.
One of the first things I notice about the huge, cavernous station is the acute lack of any form of commercial advertisement with nary a billboard or standee in sight. In their place are glass cabinets. The kind one would find in museums. Filled with everything from Neolithic pots and Roman urns, to even a few decapitated and chipped capitals that probably sat atop grand Doric columns once.
It is much later in the day, after checking into my hotel and getting down to some considerable research, do I realise the sway Sofia held in the ancient Roman world when it was known as Ulpia Serdica (also spelled as Serdika). Not only was it a much-coveted city after the Roman’s conquered it from the Greeks in the year 29BC, but is it said that Constantine the Great sought to transform it into the ‘Rome of the Balkans’.
Evidence of the erstwhile grandeur of Serdica is apparent not just inside the train station, but also outside its turnstiles. Quite like the underpinnings of the 14th century Bastille fortress that peek out of the Bastille Métro in Paris, the remnants of the ancient Roman city were uncovered in the 1970s with the discovery of the Western Gate of Serdica and are on display to the public, under a huge, reinforced plexiglass dome.
The next day, as I take a free walking tour around Sofia, I am told that the restoration of the Serdica ruins started in 2011 and is still very much a work in progress, as I can see. In total, the complex covers an area of approximately 9,000 square metres, and once had as many as eight streets—including the grand Decumanus Maximus main road of the Roman city. Today, all that’s remaining of downtown Serdica that have been unearthed thus far, are the ruins of an early Christian basilica, a few mineral springs and early examples of a water and sewage system—all said to date back from the 1st to the 6th century AD.
Crypts, bones and catacombs
Giving the city its modern day, official name, I find myself at the rather somber-looking St. Sofia Church that sits in the shadow of the colossal Neo-Byzantine Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the city’s historic center. The latter with its gilded central dome topped with a golden crucifix is so elaborate that I could even see it from the window of my plane’s seat a day earlier, as we prepared to land into Sofia.
Built in the 6th century during the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, St. Sofia rests not just on the foundations of four older Christian temples from the 4th century, but also on something that ties it in with ancient Serdica. With its location being a little outside the fortified gates of Serdica, it was the site of the of the city’s great necropolis.
Descending into its labyrinthine innards way below street level, I am greeted with sensations that threaten to awaken my latent claustrophobia. The catacombs here are an elaborate maze dotted with rough hewn niches laden with bones, several intricately carved masonry tombs and crypts—some still ensconcing stone sarcophagi. A series of vivid, well-preserved mosaics murals and frescos lit by dim, blue bulbs lend the catacombs an eerier cachet.
Where Plovdiv meets Philippopolis
As Bulgaria’s second largest city, its economic hub and the current European Capital of Culture for 2019, Plovdiv in the south of the country is next on my subterranean quest list. Ever the thrifty traveller, I once again join in a free walking tour almost immediately after getting into Plovdiv’s compact city center, post a two-and-a-half-hour bus journey from Sofia’s Central Bus Station.
My guide Igor lets me know that the city was earlier named Philippopolis, after Philip II of Macedon—the father of Alexander the Great—conquered it in the 4th century BC from the Thracians. But it was the Romans that left the most indelible mark on it when Philippopolis was incorporated into the Roman Empire by Emperor Claudius in 46BC.
And it was the grand Roman stadium that was at the very center of it all, being one of the rare stadia to be built inside the walls of a fortified city. Constructed at the beginning of the 2nd century AD during the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the stadium could accommodate 30,000 spectators all at once, cheering on everything from chariot races to talent contests for criers and buglers.
Today, all that remains of the stadium is the excavated northern curved part that lies under the modern day Dzhumaya Square, surrounded by lively cafes and bars. It is believed that the larger portion of the stadium, including its quintet of arched gates still lies beneath the buildings along the main street, parts of which can even be seen in the basement of the local H&M!
Paying homage to a city that was built on the crest of seven syenite hills, I end my day trip to Plovdiv with an Aperol Spritz sundowner at the hillside Roman Theatre. Built by Emperor Domitian in the 1st century AD, for millennia it lay buried under the backyard of a local resident. Painstakingly restored in the 1970s, the theatre—with its soaring Ionic marble colonnade and triangular pediments—still stays true to its original purpose to this very day as a popular venue for staging plays and concerts, I’m told.
Unfortunately for me today, I’ll just have to make do with the sun’s disappearing act, as it gradually dissolves into the craggy horizon…
(A shorter, differently edited version of this article appeared in the 21st September 2019 issue of the Mint Lounge newspaper, India on page 16 https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/what-lies-beneath-sofia-1568978786033.html)
Saturday, September 14, 2019
Of gratis gyuvech and more…
Easily one of the world’s earliest fusion
cuisines, Bulgarian food has everything from Roman and Turkish to Greek
culinary influences thrown into the pot. What better way than a free food tour
to get acquainted with it?
By Raul Dias
The place I’ve ben told
to meet at for our afternoon rendezvous
isn’t hard to find at all. Almost everybody seems to be a fan of it, including
my hotel’s ever-helpful receptionist who points me in its direction at once.
Aptly named Supa Star, this 10-year-old soup-only restaurant in downtown Sofia
is said to be Bulgaria’s first soup bar. And thus, the perfect place to embark
on a tour that’s said to be the first of its kind in Europe and perhaps even in
the world!
Ever the frugal traveller, I had signed up online for a free food tour of Sofia after hearing about it from a fellow backpacker a few days earlier. Organised by a company called Balkan Bites, the two-hour long guided walking tour takes place every day at 2pm and stops in at around five places where one can get acquainted with the unique flavours of Bulgaria bite by bite...or perhaps in the case of our first stop, sip by sip.
And so, my initiation into the realm of Bulgarian cuisine will always be the taste of refreshingly chilled tarator soup that our guide Lila hands out to us in tiny, bright red paper cups. Though late March is still early spring in Bulgaria, the rather sultry weather totally warrants this yogurt-cucumber-dill summer soup that tastes like a watered down cross between the Greek dip of tzatziki and our very own raita with the tiny bits of cucumber providing texture.
Ever the frugal traveller, I had signed up online for a free food tour of Sofia after hearing about it from a fellow backpacker a few days earlier. Organised by a company called Balkan Bites, the two-hour long guided walking tour takes place every day at 2pm and stops in at around five places where one can get acquainted with the unique flavours of Bulgaria bite by bite...or perhaps in the case of our first stop, sip by sip.
And so, my initiation into the realm of Bulgarian cuisine will always be the taste of refreshingly chilled tarator soup that our guide Lila hands out to us in tiny, bright red paper cups. Though late March is still early spring in Bulgaria, the rather sultry weather totally warrants this yogurt-cucumber-dill summer soup that tastes like a watered down cross between the Greek dip of tzatziki and our very own raita with the tiny bits of cucumber providing texture.
Significant
Servings
It’s barely a few minutes into the tour and I’m already being made acutely aware of the great significance food has to almost every aspect of life in the Balkan country. We stop by a tiny hole-in-the-wall kiosk at the Zhenski Pazar Women’s Market in the heart of Sofia for a bite of the city’s famous on-the-go breakfast combo of the double ‘B’—bozo and banitsa. While the former is a fermented wheat and millet drink that tastes like mildly flavoured, sour chocolate milk, the banitsa is almost a national obsession.
Similar to both the spinach and feta cheese stuffed Greek spanakopita and to the Turkish börek, the banitsa is a coiled breakfast pastry of eggs, a yellow cheese called kashkaval, and yogurt, all ensconced between phyllo layers. Interestingly, every Easter, grandmothers across Bulgaria bake a banitsa for their grandkids with a coin hidden in its folds. The lucky finder of which is bestowed with an extra-special blessing from the matriarch of the home.
Another seemingly simply, but greatly significant dish is what Lila has us try next at the chaotic Central Food Market, diagonally opposite the ancient Roman historical site of the Serdika ruins. According to Bulgarian tradition, shopska salata or shopska salad is what newlyweds sit down to eat as their first meal together after the ceremonies. The recipe may seem straightforward, with just a few freshly chopped vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and capsicum as ingredients, but the taste is almost Mediterranean when coupled with a sprinkling of the crumbly, salty sirene cheese and oregano.
It’s barely a few minutes into the tour and I’m already being made acutely aware of the great significance food has to almost every aspect of life in the Balkan country. We stop by a tiny hole-in-the-wall kiosk at the Zhenski Pazar Women’s Market in the heart of Sofia for a bite of the city’s famous on-the-go breakfast combo of the double ‘B’—bozo and banitsa. While the former is a fermented wheat and millet drink that tastes like mildly flavoured, sour chocolate milk, the banitsa is almost a national obsession.
Similar to both the spinach and feta cheese stuffed Greek spanakopita and to the Turkish börek, the banitsa is a coiled breakfast pastry of eggs, a yellow cheese called kashkaval, and yogurt, all ensconced between phyllo layers. Interestingly, every Easter, grandmothers across Bulgaria bake a banitsa for their grandkids with a coin hidden in its folds. The lucky finder of which is bestowed with an extra-special blessing from the matriarch of the home.
Another seemingly simply, but greatly significant dish is what Lila has us try next at the chaotic Central Food Market, diagonally opposite the ancient Roman historical site of the Serdika ruins. According to Bulgarian tradition, shopska salata or shopska salad is what newlyweds sit down to eat as their first meal together after the ceremonies. The recipe may seem straightforward, with just a few freshly chopped vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and capsicum as ingredients, but the taste is almost Mediterranean when coupled with a sprinkling of the crumbly, salty sirene cheese and oregano.
Saying
Cheese
Speaking of cheese, at our next stop which is the hipster-chic Mekitsa & Coffee shop in downtown Sofia, we sample a yummy cream cheese and fig jam smeared mekitsa. It is no great surprise that like most world cuisines, Bulgaria too has its own iteration of fried dough. Made with a wheat-based dough enriched with yogurt and eggs, the deep-fried mekitsi (p) can also be had in their savoury avatar. And that’s exactly what the very generous counter staff ply us with next—a scrumptious slice slathered in another Bulgarian dairy staple, the salty-sour cream called smetana.
There seems to be no escaping the cheese onslaught as we sit down at our final stop of the afternoon—the tongue twister of a restaurant called Hadjidraganovite Izbi or “Hadjidraganov’s Cellars”—for a tiny bowl of the traditional Bulgarian dish of gyuvech. This hearty one pot wonder is a stew made from beef, mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions with some kashkaval cheese grated over it. Lila lets us know that a good gyuvech will always have boiled eggs and a whole lot of paprika in it.
It is here that we all get a parting shot of the traditional Bulgarian drink called pelin. With its base of house wine which can be either red or white, pelin, we were told, is made from a bouquet of 24 herbs along with sugar, chopped apple, quince, and an ancient Roman-time fruit called medlar. Left to macerate for two weeks, the drink is imbued with a mellow, fruity bitterness coupled with a mighty alcoholic punch at the end.
Perfect for raising a toast to all the best things in life that are so apparently free!
Speaking of cheese, at our next stop which is the hipster-chic Mekitsa & Coffee shop in downtown Sofia, we sample a yummy cream cheese and fig jam smeared mekitsa. It is no great surprise that like most world cuisines, Bulgaria too has its own iteration of fried dough. Made with a wheat-based dough enriched with yogurt and eggs, the deep-fried mekitsi (p) can also be had in their savoury avatar. And that’s exactly what the very generous counter staff ply us with next—a scrumptious slice slathered in another Bulgarian dairy staple, the salty-sour cream called smetana.
There seems to be no escaping the cheese onslaught as we sit down at our final stop of the afternoon—the tongue twister of a restaurant called Hadjidraganovite Izbi or “Hadjidraganov’s Cellars”—for a tiny bowl of the traditional Bulgarian dish of gyuvech. This hearty one pot wonder is a stew made from beef, mushrooms, sweet peppers and onions with some kashkaval cheese grated over it. Lila lets us know that a good gyuvech will always have boiled eggs and a whole lot of paprika in it.
It is here that we all get a parting shot of the traditional Bulgarian drink called pelin. With its base of house wine which can be either red or white, pelin, we were told, is made from a bouquet of 24 herbs along with sugar, chopped apple, quince, and an ancient Roman-time fruit called medlar. Left to macerate for two weeks, the drink is imbued with a mellow, fruity bitterness coupled with a mighty alcoholic punch at the end.
Perfect for raising a toast to all the best things in life that are so apparently free!
Travel
log
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Bulgaria, one can reach Sofia by connecting flights from most European cities like Paris, Zurich and Amsterdam. Alternately, one can also fly in to Sofia via Istanbul. Given its compact size, most of Sofia can easily be accessed on foot or by its very convenient and affordable metro train system. Though one needs a Bulgarian visa to enter the country, a multiple entry Schengen visa too will suffice.
Getting There
As there are no direct flights from India to Bulgaria, one can reach Sofia by connecting flights from most European cities like Paris, Zurich and Amsterdam. Alternately, one can also fly in to Sofia via Istanbul. Given its compact size, most of Sofia can easily be accessed on foot or by its very convenient and affordable metro train system. Though one needs a Bulgarian visa to enter the country, a multiple entry Schengen visa too will suffice.
Stay
Offering a range of hotels to choose from, Sofia has accommodation options to suit most budgets. Two such recommended accommodation options are the conveniently located, city-centered Les Fleurs Boutique Hotel (Rs 7,500 for two without breakfast, lesfleurshotel.com) along the city’s main Vitosha Boulevard and the more upmarket Grand Hotel Sofia (Rs 12,300 for two without breakfast, grandhotelsofia.bg) with spacious rooms overlooking downtown Sofia.
Offering a range of hotels to choose from, Sofia has accommodation options to suit most budgets. Two such recommended accommodation options are the conveniently located, city-centered Les Fleurs Boutique Hotel (Rs 7,500 for two without breakfast, lesfleurshotel.com) along the city’s main Vitosha Boulevard and the more upmarket Grand Hotel Sofia (Rs 12,300 for two without breakfast, grandhotelsofia.bg) with spacious rooms overlooking downtown Sofia.
Tip
* Take the metro to the Business Park station in the suburbs of Sofia to visit the Kambanite Bell Park. One of Sofia’s lesser-known attractions, the peace park was built in 1979 as a global children’s monument to commemorate UNESCO’s International Year of the Child. The idea here was to include a bell from every country in the world and to have children ring these as a gesture of peace.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 14th September 2019 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/a-food-walk-in-sofia/article29401443.ece)
* Take the metro to the Business Park station in the suburbs of Sofia to visit the Kambanite Bell Park. One of Sofia’s lesser-known attractions, the peace park was built in 1979 as a global children’s monument to commemorate UNESCO’s International Year of the Child. The idea here was to include a bell from every country in the world and to have children ring these as a gesture of peace.
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 14th September 2019 issue of The Hindu Business Line newspaper's BLink section on page 20 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/takeaway/a-food-walk-in-sofia/article29401443.ece)
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Notes from Sofia
By Raul Dias
Here’s an honest observation. Sofia isn’t a beautiful
city. The modest sized capital of the Eastern European country of Bulgaria will
never be up there with the top five ‘must-visit’ destinations in one’s
lifetime. Nor will it ever be bestowed with those silly, rather patronising monikers
of ‘Paris of the East’, ‘Venice of the South’ etc. But what it does have in abundance
is character. Everywhere you look there’s an oxymoronic grittiness coupled with
a breathless vibrance. And probably one the greatest contributors to this is Sofia’s
bounty of street art and graffiti in all their candy-coloured brilliance and
in-your-face insouciance.
First
‘Impressions’
Ever the thrifty traveller, one of the first things I did after checking into my hotel was to sign up for a free graffiti and street art tour of the city. Run by a bunch of passionate art students and experienced street artists who double up as guides, the two-hour long walking tour is their way of helping visitors discover Sofia and its colourful history.
And speaking of history, I was told by my guide Stella that it is thanks to Bulgaria’s socialist past that the street art sub-culture and era of the true-blue graffiti artist emerged. The drab, Soviet-style apartment blocks with their plain, grey exteriors provided the city’s 21st century street artists with a range of ideal surfaces for large scale mural art. It was also the sudden ‘invasion’ of satellite television and the emerging hip-hop scene of 90s America that served as harbingers of this sub-culture.
At first frowned upon, slowly street art came to be respected for what it is—art! In fact, graffiti is so well-accepted in Sofia that the tram stop under the National Palace of Culture (NDK) is officially called “NDK Graffiti”, all thanks to the abundant, ever-evolving graffiti than can be found around the tram stop.
Municipally sanctioned street art in particular also started to be used as a means to deter artists from committing random acts of vandalism. A few years ago, “Theatre on the Street”—an art project by Bulgarian NGO, aptly named Transformers—saw 30 artists, over 10 days transform 51 pavement-side electrical boxes into graffiti art along Sofia’s theatre-infested Rakovski Street.
Ever the thrifty traveller, one of the first things I did after checking into my hotel was to sign up for a free graffiti and street art tour of the city. Run by a bunch of passionate art students and experienced street artists who double up as guides, the two-hour long walking tour is their way of helping visitors discover Sofia and its colourful history.
And speaking of history, I was told by my guide Stella that it is thanks to Bulgaria’s socialist past that the street art sub-culture and era of the true-blue graffiti artist emerged. The drab, Soviet-style apartment blocks with their plain, grey exteriors provided the city’s 21st century street artists with a range of ideal surfaces for large scale mural art. It was also the sudden ‘invasion’ of satellite television and the emerging hip-hop scene of 90s America that served as harbingers of this sub-culture.
At first frowned upon, slowly street art came to be respected for what it is—art! In fact, graffiti is so well-accepted in Sofia that the tram stop under the National Palace of Culture (NDK) is officially called “NDK Graffiti”, all thanks to the abundant, ever-evolving graffiti than can be found around the tram stop.
Municipally sanctioned street art in particular also started to be used as a means to deter artists from committing random acts of vandalism. A few years ago, “Theatre on the Street”—an art project by Bulgarian NGO, aptly named Transformers—saw 30 artists, over 10 days transform 51 pavement-side electrical boxes into graffiti art along Sofia’s theatre-infested Rakovski Street.
Interpreters
of Maladies?
At one of our stops, a car park on the city’s arterial Knyaginya Maria Luiza Boulevard, a little north of the busy Serdika metro station, we were met with a rather evocative mural by local graffiti legend who goes by the tag of Bozko. A veritable nom de plume, a tag we’re told, is not just an artist’s signature and mark of territory, but also an allusion to their style.
In the case of Bozko, that style is something that borders on hallucinogenic with otherworldly characters harbouring hidden social messages. For example, painted below a peeling Chupa Chups lollipop advertisement, his Pinocchio-like figure from a project series titled Urban Creatures seems to reference the untruths the advertising industry perpetrate with its ever-growing beak-nose. The interpretations are limitless.
With a diametrically opposite style from Bozko, Nasimo, another local Bulgarian muralist, I was told, is known for his dreamy, largely figurative works that draw a lot of inspiration from classical art and convey a sense of escapism from reality. Behind the old Turkish Thermal Bath House, we stopped by two of his pieces a few meters away from each other. Both sublime. But the one that caught my attention the most was a photorealistic mural depicting an embracing couple with cupid superimposed onto them. The fading rays of the evening sun bouncing off the glass panels of the adjacent building and casting fluid-like rippled effects onto the wall, made the piece even more magical than it was.
At one of our stops, a car park on the city’s arterial Knyaginya Maria Luiza Boulevard, a little north of the busy Serdika metro station, we were met with a rather evocative mural by local graffiti legend who goes by the tag of Bozko. A veritable nom de plume, a tag we’re told, is not just an artist’s signature and mark of territory, but also an allusion to their style.
In the case of Bozko, that style is something that borders on hallucinogenic with otherworldly characters harbouring hidden social messages. For example, painted below a peeling Chupa Chups lollipop advertisement, his Pinocchio-like figure from a project series titled Urban Creatures seems to reference the untruths the advertising industry perpetrate with its ever-growing beak-nose. The interpretations are limitless.
With a diametrically opposite style from Bozko, Nasimo, another local Bulgarian muralist, I was told, is known for his dreamy, largely figurative works that draw a lot of inspiration from classical art and convey a sense of escapism from reality. Behind the old Turkish Thermal Bath House, we stopped by two of his pieces a few meters away from each other. Both sublime. But the one that caught my attention the most was a photorealistic mural depicting an embracing couple with cupid superimposed onto them. The fading rays of the evening sun bouncing off the glass panels of the adjacent building and casting fluid-like rippled effects onto the wall, made the piece even more magical than it was.
(This article first appeared in the 28th July 2019 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 27 https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/notes-from-sofia/article28723200.ece)
Sunday, June 23, 2019
Nostalgia—The Berlin Way!
Once a divided city split in two by a mighty wall, Berlin still pays homage to its communist past in myriad ways. Raul Dias takes you to a few iconic places in the German capital that both reference and celebrate this nostalgia equally.
By Raul Dias
Visiting a city like the German capital of Berlin taught me a very important lesson. And that is, that the feelings of nostalgia cannot be compartmentalised into rigid boxes of ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ memories of the past. Even though most of us, including myself, tend to lean towards the former as we reminisce of the good old days. I also learnt that the past cannot be ignored and white washed over!
In the few days spent there, I noticed that some of the most visited attractions in the city are those that reference the city’s divided, pre-1990 past so very well. The Berliners have even coined a very interesting phrase to represent their very own brand of nostalgia. They call it ‘Ostalgie’. Simply put, Ostalgie is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia) and one that popped up almost everywhere I went.
But, having said that, I found it represented the best in the following attractions and sites around Berlin:
East Side Gallery
I cannot possibly kick start this list without one of the most iconic and obvious remnants of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) taking top billing! Yes, I’m talking about the mighty Berlin Wall. Though most of the wall has be razed there are parts of it scattered across the city that still give you a good look and feel. Once such place is the East Side Gallery that lies between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, located right next to the River Spree. Parts of the Berlin Wall are still there and street artists from all over the world have immortalised their work on the wall, which makes it a 1,316-meter-long piece of art. 118 artists from 21 countries painted on the wall in 1990, and since then it’s one of the most famous monuments in Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie
Another must-visit, given the sheer number of selfie-hungry tourists that swing by it is the infamous Checkpoint Charlie. A former border crossing at Friedrichstrasse, it was managed by the Allies during World War II and in 1961, the U.S and the Soviet tanks had a confrontation here. Checkpoint Charlie also served as a place where many tried to escape from East Berlin. Do make sure to check out the wall museum, as you can explore things which were used to escape underneath or over the wall and read stories of the refugees. The museum does serve to keep their memories alive, as it rightly should...
DDR Museum
Another must-visit Ostalgie strong-hold is the DDR Museum. Located right in the center of Berlin across from the Berliner Dom, the museum is perhaps one of the first places to go if you want to learn more about East German history in the city. This interactive museum has exhibitions that are all about the daily life in the former DDR in all its morbid glory! From the Stasi secret police, the Trabant car to the rather stark and austere DDR style housing and plenty more. Here is where you will get to immerse yourself into a different time and experience 40 years of the DDR.
Unterwelten
Speaking of an ‘immersion’, how about doing so literally? Descend into the bowels of the city and get yourself a piece of history in a place that is as different from a museum or a monument as it can possibly be. I’m talking of Berlin’s Unterwelten. Most people would not have been to a bunker or an abandoned U-Bahn tunnel, so now’s your chance. The Berlin Unterwelten offers five daily English tours through subterranean Berlin. You can experience World War II bombing raids through the eyes of citizens, see a former mother and child bunker or walk through the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall.
Dinner and a movie, perhaps?
The city’s stunning Karl-Marx-Allee boasts two of the DDR’s cult cinemas, the Kino Kosmos and the Kino International—both offering you a different twist on your normal movie night. Kino Kosmos has a mammoth 3,400 seats and was the DDR’s largest cinema. Its architecture and typography will transport you in a different time. Still on the Karl-Marx-Allee, Café Sibylle offers cinemagoers a convenient option for a pre- or post-cinema coffee. The café exhibits authentic DDR flair with original painted murals covering its walls and everyday objects from 1950s East Germany dotted around its rooms.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 23rd June2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/how-berlin-has-kept-its-nostalgia-intact)
By Raul Dias
Visiting a city like the German capital of Berlin taught me a very important lesson. And that is, that the feelings of nostalgia cannot be compartmentalised into rigid boxes of ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ memories of the past. Even though most of us, including myself, tend to lean towards the former as we reminisce of the good old days. I also learnt that the past cannot be ignored and white washed over!
In the few days spent there, I noticed that some of the most visited attractions in the city are those that reference the city’s divided, pre-1990 past so very well. The Berliners have even coined a very interesting phrase to represent their very own brand of nostalgia. They call it ‘Ostalgie’. Simply put, Ostalgie is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia) and one that popped up almost everywhere I went.
But, having said that, I found it represented the best in the following attractions and sites around Berlin:
East Side Gallery
I cannot possibly kick start this list without one of the most iconic and obvious remnants of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR) taking top billing! Yes, I’m talking about the mighty Berlin Wall. Though most of the wall has be razed there are parts of it scattered across the city that still give you a good look and feel. Once such place is the East Side Gallery that lies between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke, located right next to the River Spree. Parts of the Berlin Wall are still there and street artists from all over the world have immortalised their work on the wall, which makes it a 1,316-meter-long piece of art. 118 artists from 21 countries painted on the wall in 1990, and since then it’s one of the most famous monuments in Germany.
Checkpoint Charlie
Another must-visit, given the sheer number of selfie-hungry tourists that swing by it is the infamous Checkpoint Charlie. A former border crossing at Friedrichstrasse, it was managed by the Allies during World War II and in 1961, the U.S and the Soviet tanks had a confrontation here. Checkpoint Charlie also served as a place where many tried to escape from East Berlin. Do make sure to check out the wall museum, as you can explore things which were used to escape underneath or over the wall and read stories of the refugees. The museum does serve to keep their memories alive, as it rightly should...
DDR Museum
Another must-visit Ostalgie strong-hold is the DDR Museum. Located right in the center of Berlin across from the Berliner Dom, the museum is perhaps one of the first places to go if you want to learn more about East German history in the city. This interactive museum has exhibitions that are all about the daily life in the former DDR in all its morbid glory! From the Stasi secret police, the Trabant car to the rather stark and austere DDR style housing and plenty more. Here is where you will get to immerse yourself into a different time and experience 40 years of the DDR.
Unterwelten
Speaking of an ‘immersion’, how about doing so literally? Descend into the bowels of the city and get yourself a piece of history in a place that is as different from a museum or a monument as it can possibly be. I’m talking of Berlin’s Unterwelten. Most people would not have been to a bunker or an abandoned U-Bahn tunnel, so now’s your chance. The Berlin Unterwelten offers five daily English tours through subterranean Berlin. You can experience World War II bombing raids through the eyes of citizens, see a former mother and child bunker or walk through the escape tunnels under the Berlin Wall.
Dinner and a movie, perhaps?
The city’s stunning Karl-Marx-Allee boasts two of the DDR’s cult cinemas, the Kino Kosmos and the Kino International—both offering you a different twist on your normal movie night. Kino Kosmos has a mammoth 3,400 seats and was the DDR’s largest cinema. Its architecture and typography will transport you in a different time. Still on the Karl-Marx-Allee, Café Sibylle offers cinemagoers a convenient option for a pre- or post-cinema coffee. The café exhibits authentic DDR flair with original painted murals covering its walls and everyday objects from 1950s East Germany dotted around its rooms.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 23rd June2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/how-berlin-has-kept-its-nostalgia-intact)
Sunday, June 9, 2019
12 Hours in Belfast
All it takes is half a day to discover Northern
Ireland’s wondrous capital city—Belfast. Raul Dias shows you how!
By Raul Dias
8am
Start off your Belfast innings with a typical early morning Irish Fry Up breakfast of soda bread, eggs, bacon, sausages and baked beans. The Duke of York Pub in the city’s historic Half Bap area is an iconic spot that serves up one of the best fry ups in the city.
Start off your Belfast innings with a typical early morning Irish Fry Up breakfast of soda bread, eggs, bacon, sausages and baked beans. The Duke of York Pub in the city’s historic Half Bap area is an iconic spot that serves up one of the best fry ups in the city.
9am
Take in the colourful street art and murals that can be seen adorning the walls of buildings that dot the leafy neighbourhood of East Belfast, especially on the corner of Dee St and Newtownards Rd.
Take in the colourful street art and murals that can be seen adorning the walls of buildings that dot the leafy neighbourhood of East Belfast, especially on the corner of Dee St and Newtownards Rd.
11am
Enjoy a little pre-lunch treat by going shopping! The huge Victoria Square Shopping Centre and Castle Court on Royal Avenue are two of Belfast’s best malls to lose yourself in. But for those of you who prefer to go antique hunting, then Donegall Pass is THE place, while Smithfield Market is a haven for bric-a-brac aficionados. For jewellery fiends, look no further than Queen’s Arcade, while the lovers of expensive baubles, art and home décor must make a pilgrimage to Lisburn Road that is also fondly referred to as the Diamond Mile of Belfast.
Enjoy a little pre-lunch treat by going shopping! The huge Victoria Square Shopping Centre and Castle Court on Royal Avenue are two of Belfast’s best malls to lose yourself in. But for those of you who prefer to go antique hunting, then Donegall Pass is THE place, while Smithfield Market is a haven for bric-a-brac aficionados. For jewellery fiends, look no further than Queen’s Arcade, while the lovers of expensive baubles, art and home décor must make a pilgrimage to Lisburn Road that is also fondly referred to as the Diamond Mile of Belfast.
1pm
‘Do’ a leisurely lunch like the locals at the St Georges Market Bar. Stop in here for a pint of ale and chase it with a plate of freshly shucked oysters and finish it all off with a potent shot of the whiskey-laced Irish coffee.
‘Do’ a leisurely lunch like the locals at the St Georges Market Bar. Stop in here for a pint of ale and chase it with a plate of freshly shucked oysters and finish it all off with a potent shot of the whiskey-laced Irish coffee.
2pm
Walk off that lunch by taking a short stroll down to the Titanic Quarter, 10 minutes from the city centre along Queen’s Road for a tryst with Titanic Belfast. This fascinating museum is housed in the former Harland & Wolff shipyard, the exact same place where the seemingly un-sinkable leviathan of a vessel was constructed. The building contains more than 130,000 sq ft of floor space, most of which is occupied by the dry dock where the ship was built, as well as by a series of galleries including a replica of Titanic’s 5th and 6th floor banqueting suite.
Walk off that lunch by taking a short stroll down to the Titanic Quarter, 10 minutes from the city centre along Queen’s Road for a tryst with Titanic Belfast. This fascinating museum is housed in the former Harland & Wolff shipyard, the exact same place where the seemingly un-sinkable leviathan of a vessel was constructed. The building contains more than 130,000 sq ft of floor space, most of which is occupied by the dry dock where the ship was built, as well as by a series of galleries including a replica of Titanic’s 5th and 6th floor banqueting suite.
3pm
Bask in the warm afternoon sun at one of Belfast’s most popular natural attractions. Spread over 28 acres, the lush Botanic Gardens in the south end of the city is the place to take in the beauty of nature, one fecund plant at a time after a hectic day traipsing around the city. Designed by Sir Charles Lanyon and completed in 1840, the gardens today house the Palm House and the Tropical Ravine.
Bask in the warm afternoon sun at one of Belfast’s most popular natural attractions. Spread over 28 acres, the lush Botanic Gardens in the south end of the city is the place to take in the beauty of nature, one fecund plant at a time after a hectic day traipsing around the city. Designed by Sir Charles Lanyon and completed in 1840, the gardens today house the Palm House and the Tropical Ravine.
5pm
One of the best places to get a feel of Belfast’s music pulse is at the Oh Yeah Music Centre that houses The Belfast Music Exhibition which takes you on a unique journey—from Ruby Murray to Snow Patrol, by way of Stiff Little Fingers, Dana and Clodagh Rogers, via The Divine Comedy, Ash and The Undertones. This exhibition tells of the glorious achievements and diverse musical talents that Belfast has produced over the years.
One of the best places to get a feel of Belfast’s music pulse is at the Oh Yeah Music Centre that houses The Belfast Music Exhibition which takes you on a unique journey—from Ruby Murray to Snow Patrol, by way of Stiff Little Fingers, Dana and Clodagh Rogers, via The Divine Comedy, Ash and The Undertones. This exhibition tells of the glorious achievements and diverse musical talents that Belfast has produced over the years.
6pm
This city by the River Lagan puts on a spectacular show as the sun bids adieu. Start your tryst at the stunningly lit up City Hall. This mighty edifice and Northern Ireland’s pride and joy located in the heart of the city centre on Donegall Square first opened its doors on 1 August 1906. Take a tour exploring its inner bowels where local Belfastians register births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.
This city by the River Lagan puts on a spectacular show as the sun bids adieu. Start your tryst at the stunningly lit up City Hall. This mighty edifice and Northern Ireland’s pride and joy located in the heart of the city centre on Donegall Square first opened its doors on 1 August 1906. Take a tour exploring its inner bowels where local Belfastians register births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships.
8pm
Treat yourself to a Titanic-themed nine course dinner hosted nightly at the stately Rayanne House restaurant and inn, housed in the city’s very own Hollywood neighbourhood. Indulge in a champagne-lubricated meal served on Royal Doulton crockery that is composed of haute cuisine dishes like the exotic salad course of asparagus and watercress with roast squab and the sublime sixth entrée course of pan-seared filet mignon topped with foie gras and truffles among other delicious courses. All this, finally climaxing with the dessert course of spiced peaches in chartreuse jelly and French vanilla ice cream. How’s that for decadence at its best?
Treat yourself to a Titanic-themed nine course dinner hosted nightly at the stately Rayanne House restaurant and inn, housed in the city’s very own Hollywood neighbourhood. Indulge in a champagne-lubricated meal served on Royal Doulton crockery that is composed of haute cuisine dishes like the exotic salad course of asparagus and watercress with roast squab and the sublime sixth entrée course of pan-seared filet mignon topped with foie gras and truffles among other delicious courses. All this, finally climaxing with the dessert course of spiced peaches in chartreuse jelly and French vanilla ice cream. How’s that for decadence at its best?
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 9th June 2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/weekend/12-hours-in-belfast?fbclid=IwAR2YHMVSKszWWD2CcPfB-KpLUw1jAl7Hk7l-dVVRwlfmMeJQ0VbNmhi1Of4)
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Zurich in Style!
A vibrant, stylish city that lies on the
shores of the meandering River Limmat, Zurich has a lot to offer the sybaritic traveller.
Raul Dias
draws up the perfect itinerary for a short, luxurious stay in the financial
capital of Switzerland.
By Raul Dias
Although I’ve been to Zurich several times—for both work and pleasure—I’ve never really had the chance to let the city truly show me what it was all about. A quick layover here or a passing through lunch there was all I had ever experienced of this Swiss city that deserved a lot more attention than I was giving it.
So, on my last trip to Switzerland, I decided to slow down and factor in three days to savour Zurich and all it had to offer me. Veering away from the typically touristy clichés, my itinerary was all about seeing the city from a fresh perspective. One where food, wine and living the good life trumped the rest.
Although I’ve been to Zurich several times—for both work and pleasure—I’ve never really had the chance to let the city truly show me what it was all about. A quick layover here or a passing through lunch there was all I had ever experienced of this Swiss city that deserved a lot more attention than I was giving it.
So, on my last trip to Switzerland, I decided to slow down and factor in three days to savour Zurich and all it had to offer me. Veering away from the typically touristy clichés, my itinerary was all about seeing the city from a fresh perspective. One where food, wine and living the good life trumped the rest.
Lunch
at Haus Hiltl
According to the Guinness World Records, Haus Hiltl was the first vegetarian restaurant in the world. The restaurant—which is named for its founder, Ambrosius Hiltl—has been serving vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike with meat-free culinary specialties from all over the world since 1898. When here, make sure to try the cumin-dusted roasted cauliflower soup and the aromatic saffron gnocchi…and thank me later! (www.hiltl.ch)
According to the Guinness World Records, Haus Hiltl was the first vegetarian restaurant in the world. The restaurant—which is named for its founder, Ambrosius Hiltl—has been serving vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike with meat-free culinary specialties from all over the world since 1898. When here, make sure to try the cumin-dusted roasted cauliflower soup and the aromatic saffron gnocchi…and thank me later! (www.hiltl.ch)
Go
on a walking tour
Take a private, guided walking tour of Zurich’s old quarter and come face to face with the city’s past and present through a selection of buildings, stories and anecdotes. You too will be fascinated by the rich testimonies to bygone days which document the early international significance of the city, as I was. And after your tour, why not stop by the Kunsthaus Zürich which houses the most important collection of Classical Modernism in Zurich? (www.zuerich.com)
Take a private, guided walking tour of Zurich’s old quarter and come face to face with the city’s past and present through a selection of buildings, stories and anecdotes. You too will be fascinated by the rich testimonies to bygone days which document the early international significance of the city, as I was. And after your tour, why not stop by the Kunsthaus Zürich which houses the most important collection of Classical Modernism in Zurich? (www.zuerich.com)
Bathe
above Zurich’s rooftops!
Confused? Well, I’m talking about the experience of bathing on the rooftop at the Thermalbad & Spa Zurich amid the century-old stone vaults of the former brewery. Fresh thermal water bubbling straight from Zurich’s hot springs helps you catch up with some much-needed R&R. Here you have the choice of a thermal bathing world or the Irish-Roman spa ritual—both of which invite you to sink into a world of wellness inside the unique architecture and matchless building structure of a very special place in the city. (www.thermalbad-zuerich.ch)
Confused? Well, I’m talking about the experience of bathing on the rooftop at the Thermalbad & Spa Zurich amid the century-old stone vaults of the former brewery. Fresh thermal water bubbling straight from Zurich’s hot springs helps you catch up with some much-needed R&R. Here you have the choice of a thermal bathing world or the Irish-Roman spa ritual—both of which invite you to sink into a world of wellness inside the unique architecture and matchless building structure of a very special place in the city. (www.thermalbad-zuerich.ch)
Wine
tasting at Zweifel Wine
Located in the Höngg area of Zurich, this family-run winery can trace its roots as far back as the 14th century. Today it produces spectacular wines from its own vineyards in the city, the Limmat Valley, and the “Gold Coast” region along Lake Zurich. (www.zweifel1898.ch)
Located in the Höngg area of Zurich, this family-run winery can trace its roots as far back as the 14th century. Today it produces spectacular wines from its own vineyards in the city, the Limmat Valley, and the “Gold Coast” region along Lake Zurich. (www.zweifel1898.ch)
Go
chocolate crazy
Chase all that wine with another icon of Switzerland—chocolate…but with a little twist! The one man show that is Taucherli Chocolate is a super innovative place to see how Swiss chocolate making has evolved. Take a bite off founder and sole employee (yes, you read right!) Kay Keusen’s deliciously dark 77% chocolate bar made from Colombian cocoa nibs or his truly unique ruby chocolate and roasted rapeseed milk chocolate bars. Pure, undiluted bliss.
Did you know?
The average person in Switzerland consumes about 9.9kg of chocolate per year which surpasses every other country in the world!
Chase all that wine with another icon of Switzerland—chocolate…but with a little twist! The one man show that is Taucherli Chocolate is a super innovative place to see how Swiss chocolate making has evolved. Take a bite off founder and sole employee (yes, you read right!) Kay Keusen’s deliciously dark 77% chocolate bar made from Colombian cocoa nibs or his truly unique ruby chocolate and roasted rapeseed milk chocolate bars. Pure, undiluted bliss.
Did you know?
The average person in Switzerland consumes about 9.9kg of chocolate per year which surpasses every other country in the world!
Shop
at Freitag
In a building in Zurich-West, namely that of the former Maag cogwheel factory, the Freitag brothers produce over 120,000 bags and accessories every year from recycled materials taken from the streets. Read: used, exhaust-stained truck tarpaulins, the inner tubes of bicycle tires, old safety belts and air-bags. All this is transformed into unique items—trendy, functional, waterproof and robust. In fact, it was Zurich-West itself that inspired the Freitag brothers to make bags out of truck tarpaulins in the first place, thanks to the colourful trucks that trundle through the district on the transit route every day. (www.freitag.ch)
In a building in Zurich-West, namely that of the former Maag cogwheel factory, the Freitag brothers produce over 120,000 bags and accessories every year from recycled materials taken from the streets. Read: used, exhaust-stained truck tarpaulins, the inner tubes of bicycle tires, old safety belts and air-bags. All this is transformed into unique items—trendy, functional, waterproof and robust. In fact, it was Zurich-West itself that inspired the Freitag brothers to make bags out of truck tarpaulins in the first place, thanks to the colourful trucks that trundle through the district on the transit route every day. (www.freitag.ch)
Have
dinner at Clouds
End your Zurich trip in style and up in the clouds, well almost! A few yards away from the Freitag store, Restaurant Clouds is located 120 meters above the city as it sits atop Prime Tower, Switzerland’s tallest building. Here the dining experience extends far beyond that of a fine dining restaurant, with a bistro and a bar promising spectacular views of the city, Lake Zürich, and the Alps at sunset. The scrumptious cuisine here is primarily Mediterranean, inspired by Catalonia. (www.clouds.ch)
End your Zurich trip in style and up in the clouds, well almost! A few yards away from the Freitag store, Restaurant Clouds is located 120 meters above the city as it sits atop Prime Tower, Switzerland’s tallest building. Here the dining experience extends far beyond that of a fine dining restaurant, with a bistro and a bar promising spectacular views of the city, Lake Zürich, and the Alps at sunset. The scrumptious cuisine here is primarily Mediterranean, inspired by Catalonia. (www.clouds.ch)
FACT
FILE
Getting There
There are daily direct flights from India to Zurich, Switzerland on a world-class airline such as Swiss International Airlines. From Zurich, the extensive network of Swiss Railways gets you just about anywhere in luxury and comfort. Visit www.swiss.com for more information.
There are daily direct flights from India to Zurich, Switzerland on a world-class airline such as Swiss International Airlines. From Zurich, the extensive network of Swiss Railways gets you just about anywhere in luxury and comfort. Visit www.swiss.com for more information.
When to Visit
A great all-year-round destination, Switzerland is equally wonderful in the spring and summer months from May to September—when one can enjoy hiking in the lush hills and mountains—as it is in winter from December to March when the ski season transforms the country into a snow-covered winter wonderland. Visit www.swissinfo.ch for more information.
A great all-year-round destination, Switzerland is equally wonderful in the spring and summer months from May to September—when one can enjoy hiking in the lush hills and mountains—as it is in winter from December to March when the ski season transforms the country into a snow-covered winter wonderland. Visit www.swissinfo.ch for more information.
Accommodation
Zurich has an excellent selection of hotels to choose from to suit all budgets and tastes. Two such recommended accommodation options are:
* Marktgasse Hotel Zürich (www.marktgassehotel.ch)
* The Dolder Grand Hotel (www.thedoldergrand.com)
Zurich has an excellent selection of hotels to choose from to suit all budgets and tastes. Two such recommended accommodation options are:
* Marktgasse Hotel Zürich (www.marktgassehotel.ch)
* The Dolder Grand Hotel (www.thedoldergrand.com)
(An edited version of this article first appeared in the 8th June 2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Saturday Great Escapes section on page 24 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/what-stylish-zurich-has-to-offer)
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Hail, Holy Helsinki!
From grand cathedrals to ‘alien’ chapels and churches hewn from rocks, Helsinki has an interesting selection of unique places of worship. Raul Dias recently discovered this facet on a short layover in the capital of Finland.
By Raul Dias
Do pardon the triple ‘H’ alliteration in the header of this travel piece. It’s not just that I have a great affection for that particular figure of speech. But in this case, it is very much deserved and thus, warranted. “Hail, Holy Helsinki!” was also the exact same phrase that I uttered when I got back to my cruise ship cabin after spending precisely eight hours in Helsinki, when the ship docked at the Finnish capital’s port for a day, halfway through its nine-day Baltic Sea itinerary.
Now, for a city of modest proportions such as Helsinki, that one can easily cover on foot in less than two hours, it sure has an interesting cache of—here goes another alliteration—churches, chapels and cathedrals.
Here are four of the most unique and awe-inspiring ones:
The Helsinki Cathedral
This neoclassical Lutheran cathedral is one of the most iconic buildings of Helsinki and cannot be missed as it occupies prime position in the center of town. In fact, it was the first thing I saw of Helsinki from my ship cabin’s balcony as we docked. The imposing building dominates the city’s main Senate Square with its grand pillars, blue domes dotted with golden stars and statues of the twelve apostles along the roof that seem to lay guard over the city. Interestingly, the interiors of the cathedral are rather spartan and plain when compared to the elegant exterior. However, the cathedral does hold an atmospheric crypt with a small chapel which is worth exploring if you have the time. A city landmark of sorts, the flight of stairs leading to the cathedral is where locals set up meeting spots. But the stairs is also a great place to sit down and marvel at the other neoclassical buildings encircling the square, all of which were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel.
Uspenski Cathedral
A spectacular red-brick building, the Uspenski Cathedral can be seen from a distance and forms a stunning part of Helsinki’s skyline. Set on top of a hill on Katajanokka island, you also get panoramic views of the city from outside the cathedral. As the largest Orthodox Church in Western Europe, the Uspenski Cathedral shows Russia’s influence on Finland as the country was part of the former USSR. Built in the Russian-Byzatine style, the green and gold onion-shaped domes resemble many of those found on churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Orthodox style continues on the inside with an array of impressive chandeliers. The cathedral is also home to a number of religious icons that shine in all their gilded splendour.
Kamppi Chapel
Slap bang in the middle of Helsinki’s rather quiet downtown area, it’s very hard to miss the sight of the intriguing Kamppi Chapel. Also known as the ‘Chapel of Silence’, it has been described as resembling everything from a bow of a wooden ship to an alien egg, if you please! Whatever it reminds you of, it cannot be argued that it is brilliantly designed. In classic Finnish style, it is an ultra-modern and innovative design whilst also being simple and stylish. As the newest of the lot, it was dreamt up by the architects at KS2 and opened in 2012. It is also very different from the rest featured in this article, in that, no religious events, such as baptisms or weddings, take place here. Rather, it is used as a quiet haven and escape for people to retreat from the noise of the city, for a moment of peace and calm.
Temppeliaukio Rock Church
I’ve truly saved my favourite of the four for the last. The final iconic church on my list is the Temppeliaukio Church or the Church of the Rock, or just Rock Church, which is also the most exotic of the quartet. Located in the heart of the city, it is carved entirely out of solid granite rock and is a beautiful sight to behold. Exuding a definite pre-historic, Flintstones-eque vibe, the church was planned by two Finnish architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Natural light streams into the church through the skylight that surrounds the 22-diameter copper dome roof. The raw rock walls create excellent acoustics and the church is regularly used for concerts.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 26th May 2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/hail-holy-helsinki/1533719)
By Raul Dias
Do pardon the triple ‘H’ alliteration in the header of this travel piece. It’s not just that I have a great affection for that particular figure of speech. But in this case, it is very much deserved and thus, warranted. “Hail, Holy Helsinki!” was also the exact same phrase that I uttered when I got back to my cruise ship cabin after spending precisely eight hours in Helsinki, when the ship docked at the Finnish capital’s port for a day, halfway through its nine-day Baltic Sea itinerary.
Now, for a city of modest proportions such as Helsinki, that one can easily cover on foot in less than two hours, it sure has an interesting cache of—here goes another alliteration—churches, chapels and cathedrals.
Here are four of the most unique and awe-inspiring ones:
The Helsinki Cathedral
This neoclassical Lutheran cathedral is one of the most iconic buildings of Helsinki and cannot be missed as it occupies prime position in the center of town. In fact, it was the first thing I saw of Helsinki from my ship cabin’s balcony as we docked. The imposing building dominates the city’s main Senate Square with its grand pillars, blue domes dotted with golden stars and statues of the twelve apostles along the roof that seem to lay guard over the city. Interestingly, the interiors of the cathedral are rather spartan and plain when compared to the elegant exterior. However, the cathedral does hold an atmospheric crypt with a small chapel which is worth exploring if you have the time. A city landmark of sorts, the flight of stairs leading to the cathedral is where locals set up meeting spots. But the stairs is also a great place to sit down and marvel at the other neoclassical buildings encircling the square, all of which were designed by Carl Ludvig Engel.
Uspenski Cathedral
A spectacular red-brick building, the Uspenski Cathedral can be seen from a distance and forms a stunning part of Helsinki’s skyline. Set on top of a hill on Katajanokka island, you also get panoramic views of the city from outside the cathedral. As the largest Orthodox Church in Western Europe, the Uspenski Cathedral shows Russia’s influence on Finland as the country was part of the former USSR. Built in the Russian-Byzatine style, the green and gold onion-shaped domes resemble many of those found on churches in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Orthodox style continues on the inside with an array of impressive chandeliers. The cathedral is also home to a number of religious icons that shine in all their gilded splendour.
Kamppi Chapel
Slap bang in the middle of Helsinki’s rather quiet downtown area, it’s very hard to miss the sight of the intriguing Kamppi Chapel. Also known as the ‘Chapel of Silence’, it has been described as resembling everything from a bow of a wooden ship to an alien egg, if you please! Whatever it reminds you of, it cannot be argued that it is brilliantly designed. In classic Finnish style, it is an ultra-modern and innovative design whilst also being simple and stylish. As the newest of the lot, it was dreamt up by the architects at KS2 and opened in 2012. It is also very different from the rest featured in this article, in that, no religious events, such as baptisms or weddings, take place here. Rather, it is used as a quiet haven and escape for people to retreat from the noise of the city, for a moment of peace and calm.
Temppeliaukio Rock Church
I’ve truly saved my favourite of the four for the last. The final iconic church on my list is the Temppeliaukio Church or the Church of the Rock, or just Rock Church, which is also the most exotic of the quartet. Located in the heart of the city, it is carved entirely out of solid granite rock and is a beautiful sight to behold. Exuding a definite pre-historic, Flintstones-eque vibe, the church was planned by two Finnish architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Natural light streams into the church through the skylight that surrounds the 22-diameter copper dome roof. The raw rock walls create excellent acoustics and the church is regularly used for concerts.
(An edited version of this column first appeared in the 26th May 2019 issue of The Free Press Journal newspaper's Weekend section on page 3 https://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/hail-holy-helsinki/1533719)
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Notes from the World’s Oldest Vegetarian Restaurant
By Raul Dias
Ever the sceptic when it comes to anything remotely “record-worthy” within the realm of one of my life’s greatest passions i.e. food (coupled with my callously carnivorous proclivity!), I really wasn’t looking forward to my very first meal in Zurich, Switzerland. My friend and local Indian culinary guru, Ity Tiwari had all but dragooned me into a pure vegetarian lunch at Haus Hiltl.
A veritable Zurich institution, Hiltl, as it is more commonly known as today, is believed to be the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, having been founded in 1898. The stately-looking restaurant, perched on the city’s crowded Sihlstrasse street, even has a shiny plaque from the people at the Guinness World Records to corroborate this claim.
Coming from a country like India, it seemed rather strange for me to see such a title bestowed on a restaurant in Switzerland of all places. For here, no meal in general is complete without a serving of a hunk of meat with some potatoes and the ubiquitous cheese on the side. But some quick, on-the-spot research confirmed this as being very much the case. And so, I soldiered on, tucking into my yummy cumin-dusted roasted cauliflower soup and saffron gnocchi, while a few interesting morsels of Hiltl trivia served as accompaniments!
Born of Necessity
Founded by a family of German immigrants in 1898, and originally called Vegetaria, the restaurant was a boarding house for vegetarians with a small attached café. But thanks to the concept of vegetarianism being virtually non-existent in Switzerland at that time, with vegetarians even mocked as ‘grazers’, the erstwhile establishment didn’t have much success.
It was only a few years later in 1904 when a Bavarian tailor named Ambrosius Hiltl was rendered jobless due to rheumatoid arthritis, did he take over the restaurant and rename it Haus Hiltl, after he was prescribed an all-vegetarian diet by his doctor. Not only was Ambrosius cured of his affliction, but his restaurant was looked upon as a novelty to which scores of locals flocked, making it an overnight success. Something that it enjoys to this very day thanks to its famous pay-by-weight vegetarian buffet that’s a rage with Zurich’s hipster brigade.
And today, as an annexe, it even has the world’s first “vegi butcher” called the Hiltl Shop on the adjacent St. Annagasse street. Here is where one can stock up on everything from all-vegan mock meats like seitan and tempeh—where the former is made from wheat gluten, while the latter from fermented soybeans—to the wacky ‘noix gras’ hazelnut stand in for the controversial goose liver foie gras.
The Indian Connection
But talk of India and its rich vegetarian influence on Hiltl seemed inevitable as I was taken on a short, post-prandial tour of the gargantuan, three-levelled restaurant and shown the photograph of India’s late former prime minister Morarji Desai relishing a plate of pakoras at the restaurant. It was Ambrosius’s daughter-in-law Margrith, who, in the 1950s, introduced recipes and elements from Indian cuisine into Hiltl’s repertoire.
Understandably, at first it was mainly the Indian guests who responded with enthusiasm, but over time they were joined by more and more locals. The art of Indian cooking remains a major element of Hiltl with their channa masala being the top seller and a personal favourite of Rolf Hiltl, the fourth generation Hiltl who runs the restaurant today. “I have an affinity to Indian cuisine, due to our family and company history, and because of its wide variety of spices,” says the Hiltl great-grandson who caused quite a stir in 1993 when he introduced alcoholic beverages to the menu for the first time. But the Hiltl’s adherence to vegetarianism is non-negotiable and so strong that it is rumoured that they are even known to deny entry to those wearing fur. ‘nuff said!
The Mumbai-based writer and restaurant reviewer is passionate about food, travel and luxury, not necessarily in that order.
(This article first appeared in the 19th May 2019 issue of The Hindu newspaper's Sunday Magazine section on page 27 https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/travel/notes-from-haus-hiltl/article27160593.ece)
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