The visual of handsome dark horses, racing at impressive speeds on an all-white backdrop is simply stunning.  More over, the white isn’t just the snow-covered Engadine mountains in the distance, yet the frozen lake of St. Moritz that they are racing on.  White Turf, a unique and truly extraordinary sporting event in Switzerland, is a series of horse races on snow.  Need I say more ?!

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The first of July marked three years that I have been living in Zürich.  And yet when I walk out the door of my apartment, I still get that giddy excitement of a child when I see the Alps crisp in the distance or a perfect reflection of one of the many churches on the river; and I continue to smile when I walk up and down my favorite winding, cobblestone streets in the old town.  You’d think that after a while, it would wear off.  Not a bit.

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A sweet pilgrimage for a site named, MyKugelhopf ?  That can mean only one place…  Alsace !  This region in France by the German border is known (and disputably so, as all food history goes) as the birthplace of the kugelhopf.  To be even more precise, that would take us to the town of Ribeauvillé, in the heart of Alsatian vineyards. Even though their annual “Fête du Kougelhopf” was unfortunately canceled this year (sadly not enough bakers wanted to participate), I didn’t let that stop me from heading to the source.  Alsace happens to be one of my favorite regions in France.  So when friends from New York told us they had a wedding to attend in Brussels, I jumped at the chance to see them while in Europe and a prime opportunity for them to discover one of my favorite places.  And to track down the best kugelhopf, of course.  I told them to take a train to Strasbourg and we’d pick them up there…

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Whenever I visit a new town, I’m not only on a mission to discover the sweet scene, but also to spend time at a local market.  It’s a perfect introduction to the culinary landscape, and always so interesting to observe the exchanges between proud vendors and their loyal customers, and most of all, see what people eat there !  What seems completely normal and mundane in one country (like the Swiss’ multicolored hard-boiled eggs) can be exotic and exciting – or just weird – to another.

Right now at the markets in Zürich, bright red strawberries and stalks of rhubarb are in the spotlight, but fat, white asparagus are taking up a lot of prime real estate too. While the latter has become common for me, living here in the German part of Switzerland and making regular visits to Zürich’s Bürkliplatz and Oerlikon markets, white asparagus were once strange and unfamiliar.  For me, asparagus were green, showing again that one person’s apple is another person’s rambutan.

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One of the (many) reasons I love living in Zürich is how we are in the center of Europe.  We drive thirty minutes north and we’re in Germany.  Spend just over an hour on the train heading northwest, and we get off in Alsace, France.  Head east for less than an hour and we’re in Austria.  Or go south two and a half hours and it’s pizza and pasta just over the Italian border.  Beyond the car and train, affordable flights make yet more cities an easy visit, even if just for the weekend.  That’s how we found ourselves in Rome, joining friends heading there from Paris.  It was a few days filled to the brim with history, culture and art, a nice dose of blue skies and sun, and countless scoops of gelato.

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I just lost someone very close to me, the man who not only gave me my love for chocolate and my insatiable sweet tooth, but who also taught me how to play backgammon and dominoes, crack an egg with one hand, make challah French toast and master his famous matzoh brei (I had shared his handwritten recipe – and secret – on the blog).  My 89 year old Grandfather, my friend and role model, who was playing tennis a few times a week just a couple of months ago, and skyping with me from New York to Switzerland, passed away after 72 years as my Grandmother’s best friend.

Sy Paris Abramson, 1921-2011 (the handsome fella in the center)

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I hope 2011 has gotten off to a sweet start for everyone! It is certain to be full of new discoveries and adventures for me, with travels near and far.  We’ll be home in Zürich, bouncing around Switzerland and going beyond the borders to wherever the train may take us.  Perhaps heading to more exotic destinations too.  And let’s not forget all the adventures in the kitchen. Many food bloggers have been compiling their “best of” lists and sharing their favorite travel and food experiences of 2010, which naturally got me thinking too. It’s fun to browse through photos of past trips and recall memorable tastes that demand to be recreated.

What are your travel and food highlights from the past year? Here are some of mine…

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When I try to express to people just how much I love dates, here’s what I say: I might even love them more than chocolate.  That’s certainly a strong statement coming from me.  An apple a day keeps the doctor away (so they say), a square (or two) of dark chocolate keeps it balanced, and 5 dates a day… keeps me happy.

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I love finding goodies in my mailbox, whether it be a new magazine I am subscribed to, a book I ordered online, or better yet, surprises by way of a care package from my parents in New York City or a postcard with a simple “thinking of you” from a friend or family member around the world. Guy Trebay wrote a wonderful piece on the future of the postcard in this social media heavy world (Travel + Leisure, February 2010), and I too grow saddened at a world without traditional paper postcards, mailed with a licked stamp, arriving days or weeks after you’ve already returned home from that trip.  I send hand-written letters, use a filo-fax, make lists with a pencil and eraser, have vintage postcards and paper photos on my wall and love checking out the fun, new stamps at the post office. And of course, I send postcards on my travels. Read the rest of this story >>

Not far behind my love for sweets and for markets,… you may have picked up on my love for Zürich.

I love Zürich. I love going for a stroll through the old town, a run along the river, a picnic off the lake… staring out at the snow-capped Alps not too far off in the distance, passing fields of wild flowers, fishermen at work and crew boats gliding on the water.

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