corina.gruber

I've never been a big fan of fruit. I eat them when I remember and I am very particular in my tastes, and I never eat a lot. Mostly, I consume fruit because I know it's good for me. But I could easily live without it. However, on a tropical island like Bali, the fruit is a must, whether you want it or not. From the breakfasts which always start with fruit platters and juices, to the fruit markets and the vendors outside the temples, from the street vendors in every single village to the enormous palm trees laden with coconut, everything invites you to eat fruit. It's also very hot, so I felt the need for something more watery in my meals. Breakfasts always started with a platter of fruit. We usually had watermelon, honeydew, papaya, pineapple and an assortment of freshly squeezed juices, using the fruit above or avocado. There was a certain difference from what I knew about these fruit from back home (where they were some kind of fresh, but not just-pluc...

Frankfurt am Main is by definition a very cosmopolite city. You only need to walk among the skyscrapers or into the commercial district to understand how worldly it is, with thousands of people around, speaking all the possible languages. In terms of food, things are the same, as ethnic restaurants fill the city's streets and malls. The food markets in Frankfurt are pop-up markets. There is no permanent market, but rather local producers who showcase their merchandise in certain days of the week, in public designated grounds, during a fixed schedule. I spent a  week in the city and I managed to visit two of these markets. The offer is pretty generous, with the seasonal products (all kinds of fruit and vegetables) wonderfully presented. There are also products from different meat farms or fish farms in the area, and, most notably, products from the apple farms native to the Hessen land. What I loved most about the markets in Frankfurt was that all these producers who sell out...

I’m a Lego fan. Maybe that’s because when I was a child the colorful bricks were almost impossible to find in communist Romania. Maybe because today the Lego world is a flight away from my hometown. Anyway, I’ve visited Legoland in Germany more than once.  It took me some time to understand how the place is organized and what is the role of the food in Lego story. When I first visited I found no certain logic to the placement of the 15 restaurants and coffee shops. After some time, I realized that behind all the concepts, the decorum, even behind the chosen recipes was the  story . Everything belongs to a concept in which the food represents a small part of a complete experience. The most interesting restaurants and coffee shops are the ones that have a distinct Lego theme. I enjoyed the Knight’s table, a restaurant right near the Castle Ice Cream coffee shop, The schnitzel Depot (which is right to the hotdog kiosk called Oasis in the Jungle) and the Asian pas...

"The Tuscan sun" is a frequently used cliché, both in media and in the pictures available on social networks. I only understood the fascination growing from it when I discovered a fresh dimension of the Tuscan landscape while visiting Chianti last summer.  The region is known for its vast vineyards covering the hills near the city of Siena. When I arrived there, I understood the media obsession with the Tuscan sun. The road leading to Chianti passes through the coastal area, where olive trees and vineyards alternate as far as the eyes can see. Afterward, the road to Chianti travels only among hills. They are covered in miles and miles of vineyards, such as I have never seen anywhere in Europe. In the center of every vineyard rises a small castle. They're farms, but the architecture of the area is singular and every dwelling (including these farms) looks like a medieval fortress. Castellina in Chianti a small town, with only 2800 inhabitants, dating back in the Etrus...