Pepper Salad

Here's my first dish made in Germany: A salad with curly lettuce, rucola, red and yellow bell peppers and pickled chillies, seasoned with oregano, juice of half a lemon, and olive oil.

To make, combine:

• Half a curly lettuce head
• Handful of rucola
• Large handful each of chopped red and yellow bell peppers
• 4 large pickled chillies
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 teaspoon of oregano
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil 

 

 

 

 

 

Farmer's Market, Tubingen

For a country known for its potatoes, Germany sure has some really fresh produce (even if at this time of year, the produce is coming in from Spain). One thing you will get fresh and locally grown are apples this time of year. And potatoes.

The farmers market in Tubingen is really close to where I stay and so I make it a point to go there at least once a week. They are up and running from 7 am to 1 pm on Mondays/Wednesday/Fridays. I did buy a couple of sausages at a convinience store the other day and ate just a quarter of one, and meat just doesnt agree with me anymore - feels alien after not having had it for so long! I gave the remains to a colleague, who will in turn get me some Glühwein and Sauerkraut tommorow. I'm also feeling a bit constipated - and I think it's because of that low-calorie sugar replacer pellets we have at our place - the honey's over and there is no regular sugar. So, I just had to get some honey from the farmers market today to see if that makes a difference!

Got myself some apricot jam, honey, yellow and red bell peppers and some salad leaves (don't know the name!). But was so impressed with the variety and freshness of the produce. Its got the Mumbai farmers market beat hands down.

Füssen, Germany

Ever dreamed of having your own castle? Enamored by princess sagas by Walt Disney? Then you have to come to Neuschwanstein Schloss at Füssen, Germany. I mean, Neuschwanstein is THE castle, bar none. We went there over the weekend as my boss was driving down to the Austrian border for some weekend ski-ing. As soon as he showed me a photo of Neuschwanstein, I went "Oh, the Cinderella castle!!!" Fussen was definitely on my to-go list, so I said why not?! We drove on the Autobahn, and I also saw and touched my first snow - no kidding...The only snow you see in Mumbai is the one you see inside a badly broken down refrigerator. My landlord, that day, asked me if I wanted to join him in a anti-nuclear protest rally at Stuttgart, and that the reactor there is very unsafe and there could be a repeat of the Japan disaster. Tempting. Tempting. But I had a little fairytale castle to pay homage to first.

Apparantly, Neuschwanstein is a bit of a tourist trap, with many German colleagues not even visited the famed castle. You'll see a horde of tourists - mostly Chinese or Japanese. The entry fee is a hefty 12 euros, and you pay more if you want a bus ride up to the castle. Add to that, you cannot take photos once inside the castle. Bummer, yeah. Oh, did I mention, it's freezing cold up there (at least for an Indian)?!

Would I recommend it? Absolutely. It's gorgeous on the inside and you could not have asked for a more dramatic setting than high up the German Alps. Fairytale-like, indeed! Now, if only princes existed in this day and age, and I could get permanent residency inside the castle....

More photos here