Shopping – Page 8 – European Traveler

Christmas Markets Along the Danube

Explore the Christmas Markets with this easy river and rail adventure.

By Marilyn Heimburger
Photos by Don Heimburger

As the weather turns colder and stores begin playing Christmas music to heighten anxiety about getting everything done before Christmas, I yearn to spend the Advent season once again in Germany’s beautiful Christkindlmarkts.

Not long ago, a friend also expressed her longing to visit the famous Christkindlmarkts in Germany and Austria during Advent, but didn’t know where to begin. Which ones should she see? How do you find accommodations in each town, and arrange transportation from market to market? The planning seemed too daunting, and she just never got started.

European Traveler discovered the perfect plan to make that dream come true: last Advent we took a nine-day Christmas market tour by river and rail that was easy and convenient. We experienced more than a dozen Christmas markets along the Danube River in Germany and Austria, with guided tours in towns along the way.

VIKING AEGIR
The river portion of our “Advent along the Danube” trip was on the Viking Aegir, a 1-½-year-old Viking River Cruise ship which sailed from Budapest to Nuremberg. One of the best perks of a river cruise is that you unpack only once for the week. Meals are provided for you, and the ship delivers you from market to market, with local tour guides waiting when you dock, and activities onboard while you leisurely cruise from market to market. What could be easier?

On board the Viking *Aegir*, passengers relax in comfort with a beautiful view of Germany and Austria through panoramic floor to ceiling windows.

Although the cruise began in Budapest the day before, we chose to fly to Vienna and board the ship there. We moved into our spacious stateroom, complete with private bathroom with shower, drawers and closet for clothing, queen-sized bed, mini-fridge, TV and sliding glass doors on the balcony, offering a non-stop view along the Danube as Austria and Germany glided by.

Comfortable cabins await the passengers aboard the Viking *Aegir* cruise ship.

VIENNA’S MAGIC OF ADVENT
Since the boat dock is some distance from the city center, Viking provides bus transportation to and from Vienna’s largest Christmas market, which glitters in the shadow of Vienna’s City Hall. Named “Wiener Adventzauber,” or “Vienna’s Magic of Advent,” it features hundreds of vendors in wooden huts offering local pastry, sausage and hot drink specialties, gifts, decorations, candles and accessories. There are pony rides, story reading on the Celestial Stage, appearances by the Viennese Christkind, and even arts and crafts and baking stations inside the Rathaus so children can make their own gifts and Christmas goodies.

Located inside Vienna’s Rathaus is a baking workshop, where children can make their own cookies.

Within walking distance of the Rathaus market are several other Christmas markets, smaller but with their own local focus and definitely worth a visit. Markets in other parts of Vienna are on Maria-Theresien-Platz, in the Old AKH, on Freyung, the Am Hof Advent Market, at Belvedere Palace, on Karlslatz, on Spittelberg, at Stephansplatz, on Riesenradplatz, and at the Schönbrunn Palace. To see all of them would take an extra day or two! We saved some of our market visits for after the cruise, when we returned to Vienna by rail for our flight back home.

Vienna has several smaller Christmas markets each with their own style and specialties, and each worth a visit.

The local food experiences aren’t limited to the Christmas markets. Upon our chilly return to the ship, we were met with Lebkuchen and hot mulled wine, and Vienna’s famous Sachertorte for dessert after the onboard dinner.

900-YEAR-OLD MELK ABBEY
The small Christmas market at Melk, Austria, our next port of call, is only open on weekends, and unfortunately not during our visit. But we enjoyed a guided tour of the beautiful 900-year-old baroque Melk Abbey, and bought the famous local apricot liqueur.

A “Taste of Austria” luncheon aboard the Viking Aegir featured plenty of sausage and a Lederhosen-clad accordion player.

Leisurely travel on the Danube with its many locks means plenty of time for relaxing. To add to our Advent experience during that time, local culture is brought onboard: “A Taste of Austria” lunch included music by a Lederhosen-clad accordion player. A strudel-making demonstration showed that a tea towel was the trick to rolling the paper-thin dough around the apple/raisin/rum filling. As we neared the Bavarian town of Passau, a traditional Black Forest cake was the featured dessert after dinner.

(left to right) The Simon family bakers demonstrate the art of making gingerbread in Passau.; A beautiful Advent wreath is easy to make, as demonstrated in Passau.

ADVENT TRADITIONS IN PASSAU
Our stop in Passau began a complete day of Advent tradition, all within easy walking distance from the boat dock. We learned the history and art of making Advent wreaths and the famous Simon family gingerbread, and were treated to a midday Advent organ concert at Passau’s St. Stephen’s Cathedral on the world’s largest cathedral organ. The main Passau Christmas market boasts a Bavarian flair with crafts and regional specialties, sausages, Glühwein and gingerbread.

Back on board our Viking ship we enjoyed tea time with plum cake, apple cake and other regional dessert specialties.

HISTORIC REGENSBURG
The next day’s stop in Regensburg included a town tour with visits to the Hutkönig, a world famous hatmaker; a cuckoo clock-making demonstration; and the oldest sausage kitchen in Germany, which has been serving sausages for 900 years, since catering to the workers who built the adjacent Stone Bridge.

(left to right) A cuckoo clock-making demonstration was a tour option in Regensburg.; Regensburg’s famous Hutkönig had very special hats to offer.

ROMANTIC MARKET AT THE PALACE OF THURN AND TAXIS
Regensburg’s main Christmas market spreads out near the cathedral, but another Regensburg highlight is the Romantic Christmas Market set in the courtyard and surrounding park of the Palace of Thurn and Taxis. Here the pathways are lit by torches, lanterns and lighted ropes wrapped around wooden fences, and there are hay bales for seating and open fires for warming stations. The bough-covered wooden stalls offer unique products obviously chosen for their quality and beauty. Although there is a fee of 6 -7 Euros to enter this private market, it was one of our favorites, and well worth the price.

The beautiful Romantic Christmas Market is on the grounds of the Palace of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg.

After a full day in Regensburg, the local Advent experience continued on board as we were greeted with hot Glühwein and heart- and star-shaped Lebkuchen.

Red- and white-striped awnings decorate this Lebkuchen stall at Nuremberg’s historic Christkindlmarkt. The Christkind stands high on the balcony of the church on the left to open the market.

NUREMBERG’S CENTURIES-OLD CHRISTKINDLMARKT
Our ship’s last stop was at Nuremberg, which boasts a 400-year-old Christmas market tradition. Once again, Viking provided bus transportation to and from the Christkindlmarkt on the Hauptmarkt square, since the boat dock is some distance away. Nearly 200 wooden stalls decorated with red- and white-striped awnings invite visitors from all over the world – more than two million each year – to sample the traditional gingerbread, sweets, sausages, potato pancakes and Glühwein, to buy their ornaments, candles, toys and prune men.

(left to right) The Children’s Christmas market in Nuremberg has rides and booths with hands-on activities for children, and appearances by Nuremberg’s Christkind.; Nuremberg’s unique Handwerkerhof is located at the distinctive Königtor within the historic city walls.

A few steps away is a children’s Christkindlmarkt with colorful rides, booths with hands-on activities, hot punch and Nuremberg’s beloved Christkind.

Don’t miss the nearby “Sister City” Christmas market featuring wares from Nuremberg’s sister cities around the world, and yet another Christmas market setting in Nuremberg’s distinctive Handwerkerhof, located at the Königstor within the historic city wall.

Though the river cruise part of our trip was over, and it was difficult to leave the cocoon of comfort we experienced on the ship, we had more markets to visit on our way back to Vienna.

INTER CITY EXPRESS SPEED AND COMFORT
With a first class Eurail pass in hand, we boarded the fast Inter City Express (ICE) train from Nuremberg to Vienna. The Eurail pass, which we had to purchase in the U.S., allowed us to hop on and off the train for more Christmas market visits enroute to Vienna. Sitting in a six-seat “quiet room” directly behind the engineer gave us a clear view of the tracks ahead, a rail buff’s dream. The track generally followed the Danube, busy with barge traffic, with snow-covered mountains in the distance and large balls of mistletoe visible in the bare trees along the route.

Through the panoramic windows we watched the snow-covered forests and villages speed by, looking like gingerbread creations sprinkled with powdered sugar. We saw firewood meticulously piled high in covered sheds in preparation for the long cold winter, and churchyard cemeteries somehow decked out with colorful plants: lavender, heather – where does all the winter floral color come from?

MORE CHRISTKINDLMARKTS AT LINZ
Soon we arrived at Linz, the location of our next Christmas market experience. We left our luggage in lockers at the train station and bought a ticket for the Linz City Express which took us through the town’s main shopping area to the Christkindlmarkt near the river on the Hauptplatz.

Nestled between the town’s centuries-old Baroque townhouses, this market featured wares by artists and artisans, with traditional hot drinks, Bratwürstlein and pastries. At the nearby Goldmann’s Bakery we sampled the town’s famous Linzer Torte. Lights above the stalls are designed to look like river waves, and a specially-designed light display above the river depicts angels blowing bubbles through a straw.

(left and bottom right) Vendors at the Schönbrunn Christmas Market offer painted pewter decorations and beautifully detailed figures for Nativity scenes.; Hot Glühwein in generous mugs, and stick-to-the-ribs comfort food hit the spot at the Schönbrunn Palace Christmas Market

Another short City Express ride delivered us to the Christmas market at the Folksgarten, which featured rides for children, stalls offering warm hats, scarves, decorations, and more hot drinks, pastries and comfort food.

Retrieving our luggage, we completed our train journey to Vienna, where one more very special Christmas Market beckoned.

SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE CHRISTMAS MARKET
Vienna’s famous Schönbrunn Palace hosts its own large and very beautiful Christmas market. Situated on the grounds in front of the UNESCO World Heritage site, this unique market still has plenty of room to wander through the juried product stalls. Six food stands are centrally located, as is a towering lighted tree and a magnificently carved nativity scene. The Schönbrunn Market celebrates its 21st year in 2014, and has grown in size and popularity each year. This market easily sets a new standard with its attention to detail in set-up and design.

For those wondering how to experience the Christmas markets in Germany and Austria in comfort and convenience, this trip by river and rail is the answer.

Websites to visit if you go:
vikingrivercruises.com
eurailpass.com
Vienna Christkindlmarkt
Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt
German Christmas Markets
Linz Austria Christmas Markets
Passau Christmas Market
Regensburg Christmas Market
German National Tourism Board
Austrian Tourism Board

Schwabinger Christmas Market: Flying High, Yet Down to Earth

Photos courtesy Schwabinger Christmas Market and Thomas Gießner

In times of technical developments and mass produced goods, the Schwabing Christmas Market in Munich, Germany strives to lift the focus to the individuality of arts and crafts.

FLYING HIGH, YET DOWN TO EARTH
This market has caught the imagination of its visitors for decades with a mix of artisans creating art and crafts. The magical atmosphere of the Christmas market with its many culinary delights give it an unmistakable flair.

In addition, visitors can also expect daily music shows, kids’ entertainment and various culinary delights—and all is free of charge.

MUNICH’S FINEST ARTISTS MARKET
More than 100 artists from all over Germany create a place where one can relax and enjoy this unique atmosphere. The concept has been one of an artist’s market from the very beginning. An unmistakable flair can be found here with the high level of artistic talent and craftsmanship. This is further underlined by the quality of the daily cultural programming and fine foods, as well as concerts and various events.

IDEA WAS BORN
In the early 1970’s a number of artists who exhibited during the summer on the “Art Mile” on Leopold Street in Munich began to show their work at the former Swiss House prior to Christmas. In 1975 the idea of an artist’s market, with stalls and events, was born. With the backing of the local council, the Schwabing Chistmas Market was founded. A jury is responsible for choosing the work shown, as well as finding new exhibitors. This ensures that all exhibited work comes from the studios and workshops of the artists.

For more info, go to www.schwabingerweihnachtsmarkt.de/en/info/info.html

Experiencing Great Britain in a Fresh Way

Photos courtesy Visit Great Britain

With summer approaching, it’s a good time to plan to visit the annual food and vegetable markets that pop up in the United Kingdom. Here are four of them that you might like to put on your “shopping list.”

Selection of colorful fruit, Borough Market, London, England

Pecorino Favoloso, Borough Market, London, England.

The farmers’ market in Winchester, England has a great variety of produce, organic vegetables and fruit.

For more info, go to Visit Britain.

Vienna’s Sweet Treats

By Sharon Hudgins
Photos by the author

Vienna has a well deserved reputation as a capital of cakes, confections and coffeehouses. The Viennese can’t seem to get through the day without stopping for a mid-morning pick-me-up snack at their favorite coffeehouse and for mid-afternoon coffee-and-cakes at a neighborhood pastry shop. And who could resist buying a little box of handmade chocolates at one of the many tempting candy stores, to nibble on at home?

Winter is a great time to visit Vienna, when the city is decorated for the holidays and the colorful Christmas markets are in full swing. Even after the holidays, Vienna remains a festive city, with concerts, operas and other events to brighten up the gray winter days.

At this time of year, everyone needs more calories to cope with the cold weather. So let that be your excuse for sampling the many sweet treats that Vienna has to offer. Besides, what could be more romantic than sitting on a plush banquette under a sparkling chandelier in an elegant pasty shop, eating a rich torte and sipping hot coffee topped with whipped cream, while watching the snowflakes outside settle silently over the city?

KAFFEEHÄUSER & KONDITOREIEN
Vienna’s coffeehouses (Kaffeehäuser) are an institution dating back to the 17th century. The city claims to have more than 800 of them, including 150 “classic” coffeehouses with their traditional wooden floors, dark wood paneling, little marble-top tables, racks of newspapers on the wall, and waiters dressed in black.

Cafe Central, one of Vienna’s most elegant coffeehouses.

Most of them serve more than 20 different kinds of coffee drinks, hot and cold. If you don’t know the differences among a Grosser Brauner, a Franziskaner, a Kapuziner and an Einspänner, then ask the waiter to explain the coffees listed on the menu. Each will be served with a small glass of cold water on the side. And for the price of just one drink you’ve bought the right to sit in that spot for as long as you want, lingering over a newspaper or magazine, or writing your own journal or poetry, just like the historic figures who frequented that same coffeehouse in the past. Coffeehouses also serve a limited selection of sweet cakes and pastries as well as light meals (and sometimes more substantial fare).

Vienna’s most famous old coffeehouses include the elegant Café Central (corner of Herrengasse and Strauchgasse); Café Bellaria (Bellaria Strasse 6); Mozart bei der Oper (Albertinaplatz 2); Café Diglas (Wollzeile 10); Café Hofburg in the Imperial Palace (Hofburg/Innerer Burghof); Café Dommayer (Dommayergasse 1); Café Sperl (Gumpendorfer Strasse 11); and Café Sacher (Philharmonikerstrasse 4).

Vienna is equally famous for its pastry shops (Konditoreien), which are often packed with customers getting their mid-morning or mid-afternoon sugar fix. The 200-year-old Demel pastry shop (Kohlmarkt 14) attracts hordes of locals and tourists to its elegant showrooms and cafe. Demel’s high-quality cakes, pastries and confections are a temptation that can’t be resisted. After admiring the wares in the display cases downstairs, go upstairs to the chandeliered cafe to order your coffee and cake, stopping along the way to peer through the glass into the kitchens where the goodies are being made.

Founded in 1847, A. Gerstner is another outstanding traditional Viennese Konditorei. Visit its original location at Kärntner Strasse 13-15 for a taste of Gerstner’s top-quality delights, perhaps dolled up with a dollop of Schlagobers (whipped cream). Both Demel and Gerstner have been official providers of sweets to the Hapsburg court in Austria, so you’ll eat like an emperor at either establishment.

(top) Making marzipan roses at Demel’s pastry and confection shop; (below) Stretching the dough for an apple strudel

Although there used to be a stronger distinction between coffeehouses and pastry shops in Vienna, that difference is now somewhat blurred. You can often get the same range of coffee drinks at a pastry shop as at a coffeehouse, and a good (but usually more limited) selection of pastries at a coffeehouse. Formerly Kaffeehäuser were mainly for men, whereas Konditoreien primarily served the ladies (and also sold prettily boxed pastries to take home). In our modern era these gender differences have almost faded away.

TORTE WARS
Every visitor to Vienna wants to eat a slice of Sachertorte. Many pastry shops sell their own version of this rich chocolate cake, flavored with one or more layers of apricot jam and covered with a semi-sweet chocolate icing. But there are only two places that can claim to make the true Sachertorte: Hotel Sacher and Demel.

Pastry cook Franz Sacher invented this cake in 1832, and much later the recipe was further developed by one of Sacher’s sons while working at Demel’s bakery. In the 20th century a legal battle developed between the Hotel Sacher and Demel over who had the right to call this popular cake “The Original Sacher Torte.” After years of legal wrangling, the Hotel Sacher was given the right to attach a circular chocolate seal on top of its cakes and sell them as “The Original Sacher-Torte,” whereas Demel was allowed to attach a triangular seal on its cakes and call them “Eduard Sacher-Torte,” after the Sacher son who developed his recipe at Demel’s. (Now you’ll also see the cakes identified as “Demel’s Sachertorten.”) Each version is slightly different, so you’ll want to taste both of them, at their bakeries of origin, to decide which you like best!

(left) Marzipan confections cleverly colored and shaped to look like Austrian open-face sandwiches

HAVE A BALL
If your sweet tooth is hungering for more, you can easily satisfy it at any of Vienna’s many candy shops, some of which make their own special confections. A number of them are concentrated around St. Stephen’s Cathedral in the heart of Vienna’s Altstadt. Look for Confiserie Heindl (Stephansplatz 11), which has 22 stores throughout Vienna; Manner (Stephansplatz 7); Metzger (also at Stephansplatz 7), which sells handmade confections, gingerbread and beeswax candles; and Lipizzaner (Stephansplatz 6), long known for its excellent chocolates, including some of the world’s first white chocolate candies.

Beyond St. Stephen’s, but still in the Altstadt, are Schokolade König (Freisingergasse 1), featuring handmade chocolates; City Confiserie (Bognergasse 5), with its extensive array of whimsical marzipan confections; Christian Rosenauer (Fleischmarkt 12), an old-fashioned Viennese candy store chock full of Mozartkugeln and other traditional sweets; and Leonidas (Fleischmarkt 9), which sells luxurious Belgian chocolates. Blühendes Konfect (Schmalzhofgasse 19) specializes in confections made from, and decorated with, flowers; and Xocolat (Strauchgasse 1) is a mecca for chocolate connoisseurs.

Wherever you go in Vienna, you can’t get away from those Austrian confections called Mozartkugeln. Invented in Salzburg in 1890, they’ve now taken all of Austria by storm. The original Mozart balls have a round center of sweetened green pistachio paste surrounded by a layer of hazelnut nougat, dipped in dark chocolate to coat the outside. Like all Mozartkugeln, they’re about the size of a small walnut. Other candy companies make their own versions, too, each a slightly different variation of the original confection. Mirabell-brand Mozart balls are the most widely marketed, in their distinct red-and-gold packages. You can’t leave Vienna without tasting this typical Austrian sweet.

MEHLSPEISEN
Finally, any discussion of Viennese sweets should include mention of Mehlspeisen, those “flour foods” so beloved by the Austrians. This category of dishes made with flour includes Palatschinken, thin panckakes spread with jam, folded into quarters, and garnished with chocolate sauce and whipped cream; Kaiserschmarrn, a large buttery and sugary, raisin-studded pancake that looks like it has been hit by an earthquake; sweet Knödel, fruit-or jam-filled round dumplings garnished with confectioners’ sugar; Nockerln, big light-and-airy egg-white dumplings, sometimes served with berry sauce; and Strudel, layers of flaky pastry surrounding a filling of sweetened fruit, berries, or soft cheese. These are often listed in the dessert sections of restaurant menus, although they might be found under their own menu category, Mehlspeisen, reflecting the time when these dishes were also eaten as a main course, especially during fasting periods when meat products were prohibited.

Shelves of Mozart Kugeln at a Viennese candy store

► For more information about places to eat in Vienna (including restaurants, cafes, coffeehouses, pastry shops, and candy stores), get the 67-page booklet titled “Shopping, Wining & Dining” from the Vienna tourist office, WienTourismus (Albertinaplatz/Maysedergasse, www.vienna.info/en).

BASKING IN TASTE: Cuisine of the Basque Country

French Basque cheesemonger at the open-air market
in St.-Jean-de-Lu

A special region with a proud history, a distinct language and a unique cuisine

By Sharon Hudgins
Photos by the author

The Basque country of Europe is a region with a special ambiance all its own. Located in northern Spain and southwestern France, it’s a land of green meadows and high mountains, rugged coastlines and white beaches, wooded valleys and dry plains. Bordering on the Bay of Biscay, the Basque country straddles the Pyrenees Mountains and the coastal foothills along the frontier between France and Spain. It includes the Spanish provinces of Álava, Vizkaya, Gipuzkoa and, historically, parts of Navarra, as well as the western part of the French district of Pyrénées Atlantiques.

The Basques are proud of their regional identity and possess a spirit of independence that has often defined their history. An ancient people unrelated to other Europeans, they speak a unique language peppered with x’s, k’s and z’s. Theirs is also a land of contrasts, between rural and urban, past and present, rich and poor: the elegant boulevards of Biarritz and San Sebastián; the functional red-brick highrises and the soaring steel modernism of the Guggeheim Museum in Bilbao; the somber stone buildings of Vitoria and the picturesque fishing villages along the coast; the grimy industrial suburbs of major cities and the pastoral farmhouses of the interior, their walls, doors, and shutters painted white, red and green, the colors of the regional flag.

Passionate for politics and sports, the Basques are also very serious about food. Basque cuisine is famous on both sides of the border, and several Basque chefs have been among the leaders of Spain’s modernist cuisine movement. There are nearly 40 Michelin-starred restaurants in the French and Spanish Basque regions, with San Sebastián boasting a trio of restaurants awarded three Michelin stars (out of only seven 3-star restaurants in all of Spain). Known as the culinary capital of Spain, the city of San Sebastián has more Michelin stars per capita than anywhere else in the world.

The Basques like to cook, and they know how to eat well. Basque cooks of both sexes are renowned in Spain and abroad. Basque women are noted not only for the excellence of their home cooking, but also their success as restaurateurs. And Basque men, as accomplished restaurant chefs and members of local male gastronomic societies first organized in the nineteenth century, have been especially important in perpetuating and promoting Basque culinary traditions.

(left to right) Pork sausages flavored with paprika, in a Basque market; French Basque oil flavored with red peppers from Espelette

BASQUE FOOD PRODUCTS
High quality ingredients form the basis of any notable cuisine. Fresh fish and shellfish are the mainstays of Basque cooking, caught in the Bay of Biscay and beyond, as well as in the mountain streams that flow to the sea: cod, hake, sardines, anchovies, herring, sole, sea bream, baby eels, tuna, bonito, bass, red mullet, octopus, squid, lobsters, crabs, clams, mussels, oysters, freshwater salmon and mountain trout.

The interior of the Basque country provides pork, beef, lamb and game, some of which is processed into cured meats like the famous the hams of Bayonne on the French side and the spicy sausages of the Spanish Basque land to the south. Basque dairy products are also of high quality, and the Basques use milk, butter and cream extensively in their cooking. Sheep’s milk goes into the production of several kinds of Basque cheeses made on both sides of the border, many of them matured in caves or huts high in the mountains. And the Basques are crazy about mushrooms. Every spring, summer and fall thousands of Basques head to the forests and meadows to pick the many varieties of wild mushrooms that suddenly pop up in secret places.

Market gardens grow the fresh produce so essential to many Basque regional dishes, including artichokes, asparagus, cabbages, leeks, onions and carrots. With the first Spanish voyages to the Western Hemisphere 500 years ago, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, beans and cacao (later processed into chocolate) began returning in the holds of the ships and eventually became an important part of the Basque diet. Today several specific places in the Basque country are well known for the New World crops they grow: tomatoes in Deusto near Bilbao, potatoes in the province of Álava, many types of beans in Navarra and Gipuzkoa, and long green peppers from Gernika. Across the border in the French Basque country, paprika made from the bright red peppers grown around Espelette is the first and only spice in France to be awarded an AOC (controlled designation of origin) and APO (protected designation of origin) status.

Mild sweet peppers are a popular ingredient in Basque cuisine; peppers are a popular culinary motif in the Basque Country

Spanish Basque meals are often accompanied by excellent red wines from the Alavesa area of the famous Rioja wine region. A different type of Basque wine made near the Spanish coast is txakolí, which is light, slightly effervescent, and fruity but dry. Although the Basques produce white, red and rosé versions of txakolí, the whites are considered the best of these simple table wines, especially good with the fish dishes of the region. Reds are the predominant wines produced on the northern foothills of the Pyrenees in the wine region of Irouléguy, which is the only AOC-certified wine area within the Basque country of France.

Basque sparkling cider is another popular drink on the Spanish side of the border, served not only at home and in restaurants but also at sidrerías, combination cider mills and eating houses where the cider is tapped fresh from the barrels and served as an accompaniment to simple country-style meals.

TRADITIONAL BASQUE DISHES
Fish and seafood dishes—grilled, baked, stewed, sautéed—are an important part of Basque cuisine. One of the most expensive dishes in Spain is the Basque dish of angulas, silvery-white baby eels (which cost up to 1,000 Euros per kilogram!) cooked in a small earthenware casserole containing very hot oil, a clove of garlic and a piece of dried red chile pepper. Much more reasonably priced are the rustic fish stews of this region, including classic marmitako, an oily-rich mélange of white-fleshed bonito and potatoes, usually cooked with tomatoes, garlic, and white wine in an iron pot. And although the Basques have an abundant and continuous supply of fresh fish from the sea, they also love bacalao, dried salt cod that has been split lengthwise, flattened out, heavily salted, and dried in the open air. Reconstituted in water before being prepared in innumerable ways, bacalao has been aptly described as mummified fish brought back to life by the cook.

In the Spanish Basque country, seafood is also paired with classic sauces whose colors reflect those of the Basque flag: red sauce (a la vizcaína, or Biscay-style) made with onions and dried sweet red peppers; green sauce (salsa verde) colored with parsley, peas, and asparagus; and a special kind of white sauce made by cooking the ingredients al pil-pil, in a shallow earthenware casserole set over a low flame, the casserole shaken, not stirred, until the gelatin released by the fish combines with the oil to produce a rich, unctuous sauce. The Basques also prepare baby squid in a thick, creamy, subtly flavored sauce tinted black by the squid’s own ink.

Another classic Basque dish is piparrada (Spanish) or piperade (French). Sweet red or green peppers, roasted and peeled, are sautéed in olive oil, butter, or lard, along with other ingredients such as tomatoes, garlic, onion, and ham. Often beaten eggs are swirled into this sauce just before serving, to make a kind of scrambled egg dish, or the sauce alone is served as an accompaniment to baked, grilled, or roasted meats.

Pintxos are a particularly popular category of foods in northern Spain. The Basque version of Spanish tapas, these are bar snacks that range from traditional potato omelet slices, mayonnaise-bound potato salads, spicy sausages, and stuffed mussels, to more modern variations made from a thick slice of chewy white bread topped with two or three layers of tasty, colorful ingredients, all held together with a toothpick. Miniature masterpieces of the culinary art, these pretty little open-face sandwiches are enticingly displayed on the counter of each bar. No visit to the Spanish Basque country is complete without a poteo, a kind of civilized pub crawl, where you wander from one bar to the next, drinking a glass or two of local wine and tasting the designer pintxo specialties at each place.

But leave room for dessert. Traditional Spanish Basque specialties include leche frita (fried milk), thick custard squares dipped in beaten egg and flour, then fried until crisp; intzaursalsa, walnut cream soup made with crushed walnuts, toasted bread crumbs, milk, and sugar; mamiya, milk curds flavored with lemon and sugar; and colorful fruit compotes made with red wine and spices, such as zurracapote served on Christmas Eve. Spanish pastel vasco and French gateau basque are both classic Basque double-crust tarts filled with custard and sometimes jam. And if these old-fashioned desserts don’t appeal to your more modern palate, then spring for dinner at one of those Michelin-starred restaurants to taste (and marvel at) the futuristic sweets prepared by the Basque Country’s many highly acclaimed chefs.

For more information see:

www.foodsfromspain.com

www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/gastronomia/cocina-regional/pais_vasco/pais_vasco.html

www.travelandleisure.com/articles/exploring-frances-basque-country