Recommend April 2015 - (Page 29)

europe onsitereview O C T O B E R 2 0 14 GREAT SWISS HOTELS GO GAULT-MILLAU ed wetschler Want to make me happy? Decant a Sanzeno Merlot Ticino Riserva 2011 and set down an amuse bouche of tender lamb cubes and foccacia redolent of rosemary. Then surprise me with a second amuse bouche, this time with a moist salmon roll, fresh radishcaraway salad, and onion jam. That's how dinner started at La Terrasse, in Interlaken's Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa. And if you think that sounds splendid, wait 'till you hear about the actual meal. In the past 30 years, Switzerland has sprinted from the middle to the front of the pack in Europe's culinary races. Was this thanks to prosperity, the sophistication that comes with being a four-culture country, or the inﬂuence of Switzerland's world-famous hotel schools? Hard to say, but this I do know: Although my wife, Carol, and I went there to trace my brother's steps as a medical student in Switzerland, we were constantly distracted by the cuisine. So come with me to some of Europe's top hotels, and let's eat. "Land of contrasts" is an overused phrase, but Basel earns it. The city nurtures both mega-corporations and a medieval core, both scientiﬁc types and offbeat Bohemians. Walking streets named after medieval guilds, you pass plaques with the dates houses were built: 1410, 1380, 1280. The depiction of Justice on the facade of the huge, 600-year-old city hall (instead of scales, she carries The Ten Commandments-in Hebrew) stops you short. So does the monumental Muenster (cathedral), a once-Catholic shrine that, like much of Switzerland, turned Protestant. An old-style ferry hitched to a line across the Rhine uses the current rather than an engine to reach the other side, while a streetcar system transports you anywhere else-quickly. The Kunstmuseum (Art Museum) transports you, too, from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. Napoleon Bonaparte dined at Les Trois Rois, a grande dame that wins high marks from Gault-Millau. We did not eat there, but we did dine at Hotel der Teufelhof. This art hotel features modern guestrooms, paintings (some by Picasso), a guy at the bar who-look closely!-is really a mannequin, and Atelier, an informal restaurant with a terriﬁc chef. It was still venison season, and my chanterelle-infused venison came with the crispiest, lightest dumplings, while a buttery Madeira sauce enriched Carol's poulet. bern: bears, cheese, chocolate Not only is Bern's Old Town a UNESCO World Heritage site, but this city on the twisting Aare River is the nation's capital, with a monumental Beaux Arts parliament building and restaurants to sate every diplomat's tastes. In addition to its sky-high Gothic cathedral and olde City Hall, Bern boasts a medieval clock tower ED WETSCHLER basel: business, history, art Rinsing out the cheesecloth at Emmental's Schaukaeserei, which offers a tasty tour of how cheese is made. with a complicated Rube Goldberg gear system. Fountains beautify streets, arcades shade sidewalks, the Einstein Museum and House honors young Albert, and seductive aromas waft out of chocolate shops. Speaking of food, Bern is also the gateway to Emmental, whose Schaukaeserei offers insights on what cheese is really all about. Only in Bern can people ﬂoat down a river encircling a capital city. The tourist ofﬁce sells wet bags for about $20, so swimmers can bring their clothing with them. From the park on the south side of Old Town, an elevator (small charge) and a staircase lead down to the oldest part of town, with its half-timber townhouses. Across the river is a gorgeous rose garden on a bluff, at the base of which is a sprawling habitat for European bears. Dignitaries stay at the Bellevue Palace, so we did, too. This is another grand hotel with oodles of history, heated ﬂoors in marble baths, Tiffany glass, perfect service, and 16 points from GaultMillau. Even the breakfast buffet is a gastronomical experience because the coffee, crepes, eggs, sausages, smoked ﬁsh, little vegetable salads, cheeses, fruits and yogurts are so excellent. interlaken: gateway to the alps One morning Carol and I checked our luggage at Bern's railroad station to be sent on to Interlaken Ost, while we headed south to the Jungfraujoch, where we stood upon the roof of the Alps and april 2015 29 29-31 EU Switzerland.indd 29 3/23/15 9:23 AM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend April 2015

Editor’s Notes
Hawaii Hotels Offer a Menu of Culinary Options
Blue Sky Tours
Official Florida Travel Industry Education Program
Vegas Morsels
Stanton South Beach
What’s New
Let’s Eat!
Grand Lucayan, Bahamas
Great Swiss Hotels Go Gault-Millau
Culinary Journeys in Asia
African Adventures in Food & Wine
Eating Our Way Through Peru
Frame it With a Theme
Celestyal Cristal

Recommend April 2015