For the 28 years it stood, it was an open wound between the two Germanies, the two Berlins. Today, the German capital commemorates the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and organizes a lot of events to celebrate this decisive episode of the recent European history. Five years ago, in 2009, I followed the official ceremonies which gathered together…
Category: GERMANY

October 3rd, Day of the German Unity
The Day of the German Unity is the national holiday day in Germany and it is celebrated on October 3rd. Since 1990 this public holiday has commemorated the German Reunification between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). November 9th – day of the fall of the Berliner wall – had been initially suggested during…

The Hugo : a trendy cocktail from the Alps
Fed up with the eternal mojitos or caïpirinhas? Good news: Latin America is not the only place where people know how to make sunny cocktails. Goodbye Cuba or Brazil: welcome to the South Tyrol! It was there, in the Trentino-Alto Adige, that the Hugo was born in 2005; a summer cocktail that quenches your Central Europe thirst, from Austria to Bavaria,…

The Apfelstrudel, a traditional Austrian pastry
From Austria to the United States, through Israel or Argentina, its reputation is worldwide. The Apfelstrudel is emblematic of Central European cuisine and has traveled along historic migrations, specifically of Jewish Ashkenazi communities. Austria, Germany, Switzerland, North-Eastern Italy, Hungary, Alsace, Slovakia, Czech Republic, even the Balkans, every country has its recipe and keeps it as a memory of the Habsburg…

An express to: Baden-Baden, Germany
Baden-Baden spreads leisurely at the heart of the Oos Valley, along a small tributary of the Rhine. This sprezzatura is characteristic of antiquated fashionable spa-towns. Baden-Baden, however, came out well from the “thermal transition” and has always remained, ever since the Antiquity, a small, but dynamic city. Indeed, the Romans first made the most of its hot water-springs, which are…
