"The dictator is coming"

With these words European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker welcomed Hungary's Viktor Orbán at a summit in Riga, Latvia in 2015. International flights are still not an option so I have to plan my holiday in the European Union for a second year in a row. My default plan was to go hiking in the Alps but suddenly this felt like a lonely version of Groundhog Day. Life has been too boring lately and I don’t want to repeat myself.

It’s been some time since I visited one of the Central and Eastern European countries, so the idea of Hungary came to my mind. Politically this destination is much more interesting than the Alps. In 2018 the European Parliament passed a motion declaring that Hungary is at risk of breaching the EU’s core values, resulting in a successful vote for an Article 7 procedure against Hungary. But so far Hungary has evaded sanctions. I strongly support the European Union’s fundamental values.

Maybe change will come. In 2022 there will be a Hungarian parliamentary election with the opposition parties running together as a front against Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz. In August 2021 the opposition parties will hold a primary election to select the candidate for Prime Minister. This primary could coincide with my stay.

Nonetheless, Hungary has provincial cities I’ve never visited before, plenty of hills to hike, a wine producing region, stuffed cabbage (töltött káposzta) and I’m sure in August the Hungarian beer (sör) will be cold as ice.

Eastern Partnership summit, Riga, 21-22 May 2015. “Hello dictator!”

Turning dark red on the map

I have planned my holiday in August and I’m not even sure if I will be welcome in Hungary by the end of summer. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (EDCD) has already coloured Noord-Holland orange on its map in support of the Council Recommendation on a coordinated approach to travel measures in the EU because of a combined indicator: the 14-day notification rate, testing rate and test positivity are showing high numbers.

At the current rate of infections it’s likely that on 14 July some provinces will turn red on the map (the next update will be based on data until 13 July). After that The Netherlands will turn dark red if no measures are enforced. The map is meant as a travel advice for the European countries but it quite possible some safe green countries will close the borders again.

How did we get here (again)? Just when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection rate was growing in The Netherlands, the demissionary cabinet announced that most restrictions are cancelled from 26 June. This resulted in a very high growth rate of delta very, very quickly. This was no surprise to me after following the data from India since April. The Westminster Tory government didn’t block flights from India in May and via holiday destinations in Portugal and Spain the delta variant established itself in The Netherlands in June before the restrictions were lifted.

This is all so predictable I’m not even angry. I might have to cancel my holiday plans again, or maybe my QR-code showing the validity of my two vaccinations will stay valid for travel within the EU over the summer. All I can say is “kismet”. [ Edit: a few days later I have to admit I’m livid at the government. 🤬 ]

Check this map a week later

Beautiful as long as it lasted. ECDC level ‘green’. All 3 days. @YorickB

My summer holiday is like the fruit for Tantalus.

Combined indicator: 14-day notification rate, testing rate and test positivity, updated 15 July 2021

“Sometimes you think that you want to disappear. But all you really want is to be found.”

Les Maisons dans la neige, Norvège. 1895. Claude Monet.

End of springtime

Most springtime flowers are gone expect bright red poppy’s. This is the time to aggressively prune some bushes, because I missed the opportunity in March, and weed undesirable plants. Everything grows so fast. This also is the time to prune early bloomers like brem and sering.

Sweet and sour pickled vegetables from Bogor, West-Java.

Julienne carrot and half-ripe papaya.
Slice cucumber.
Dice ketela rambat merah (sweet potato) and bengkwang in small cubes.
Cut white cabbage in strips.

Make a spice paste out of 100 gram ebi (dried shrimp), 0.5 liter water, 5 red lombok, 100 gram sugar. Before making the paste soak the ebi in the water. Reserve the water.

Grind the soaked ebi, lombok and sugar to a paste and mix with the water and 100 milliliter vinegar. Add some salt.

Mix everything with the vegetables and let it pickle for al least one night. Before serving fry some peanuts and sprinkle over the asinan.

The grass in the front yard was getting really high. I postponed mowing the grass as long a I could for biodiversity and the insects. So many tiny flowers!

Mapping a garden

It’s time for a scientific approach. I will have to map all major plants to even know what’s growing in the garden. Plant names according to Linnaean taxonomy or in Dutch.

Front yard:

• Taxus baccata

• Rose garden

• Salix caprea Boswilg. Native.

• Prunus serrulata Japanse sierkers. China, Korea, Japan. Flowers in May.

• Rhododendron (3x) China, Korea, Japan. Flowers in May.

• Malus domestica Apple. Central Asia.

• Cytisus scoparius Brem. Native. Flowers in May.

• Chelidonium majus Stinkende gouwe. Native. Flowers from May.

• Pieris japonica Rotsheide. East Asia, Japan.

• Laburnum anagyroides Goudenregen. Middle and South Europe.

• Buxus sempervirens

• Wisteria Blauweregen. United States, China, Korea, Japan.

• Berberis aquifolium Mahonie. North America.

• Heptacodium miconioides 七子花. Seven son flower. China.

• Impatiens parviflora Klein springzaad. I consider this weed.

Side yard:

• Prunus serrulata

• Prunus padus Gewone vogelkers. Native.

• Syringa vulgaris Sering. Southeastern Europe.

• Euonymus europaeus Wilde kardinaalsmuts. Native.

• Parthenocissus quinquefolia Vijfbladige wingerd. Eastern USA.

• Thuja occidentalis Westerse levensboom. East Canada, Northeastern USA.

• Buddleja davidii Vlinderstruik. China.

• Berberis julianae

• Camellia japonica Eastern and southern Asia.

• Forsythia Forsythia. Balkan - China.

Back yard:

• Forsythia

• Wisteria

• Cytisus scoparius

• Herb garden: Thymus vulgaris

• Geranium macrorrhizum (groundcover) Rotsooievaarsbek. Native to the South east Alps and the Balkans.

• Chaenomeles japonica Japanse sierkwee.

• Prunus padus

• Sambucus nigra Gewone vlier.

• Amelanchier canadensis Canadees krentenboompje. Native to eastern North America.

• Viburnum opulus Gelderse roos.

• Lonicera Kamperfoelie.

• Solidago gigantea ??

• Ribes rubrum Aalbes. Redcurrant.

• Malus domestica

• Pyrus "Nous vous offrons ce que nous avons de meilleur: nos vins, nos poires et nos cœurs".

• Juglans regia Probably a stray walnut. I will have to remove this because we can’t have another tree.

• Geranium robertianum Robertskruid

Annual plants:

• Papaver

∞ Mystic Garden ∞

A garden should be a living garden. “Spargelzeit”, was a tradition each springtime when the asparagus are in season. Fresh from the farmer in Germany, just across the border. You don’t need much. Just the asparagus, clarified butter, new potatoes, ham and hard boiled egg.

In June the garden resembles the poppy fields of Afghanistan.

Early springtime has become a distant memory.

Determining plants

Strepen trekken

Elken vri’jdag trek ik strepen,
strepen langs ‘t haegenpad.
Strepen naor de wiete wereld,
Strepen naor-ik-wet-neet-wat.

Vandage trok ik ok waer strepen,
kromme strepen deur de kop,
umdat i’j noo veur eeuwig slaopet.
Ne strepe deur de raekenschop.

11 April 2008

Writer and poet Henk Krosenbrink. On 16 March 2008 his wife Riek passed away. The above poem is written in the regional language.

I didn’t quite inherit a garden yet, but 2021 is the year I have to tend to my father’s garden. It’s the garden I have known since 1972 when my parents built a house on a piece of land. Half a century of love went into this garden. Much has changed over the years. A couple of years ago we cut down many large conifers, which were planted in the early 1970s and were over ten meters high.

It is springtime and most work goes into keeping weed under control. I removed many wheelbarrows of weed until I discovered the weed is in fact ‘winterpostelein’ (Claytonia perfoliata). It’s fully edible!

I had to use an app to determine the plant.

I was amazed to discover this plant on my mothers grave. What are the odds?

Recipes winterpostelein

You can simply eat it as salad and serve it with young potatoes, crème fraîche mixed with fresh herbs and fried mushrooms. Winterpostelein can also be used in a Dutch ‘stampot’ with mashed potatoes.

There are many plants I know and many plants I still have to learn the exact name of. The beautiful prunus in the front garden turns out to be a Japanese cherry.

Cutting down a forest

In the autumn of 2018 we cut down the last conifers in the front garden. In the years before a whole row of conifers was cut down along the driveway and about ten years before a mini-forest of pine trees was cut down in a piece of garden near the house. Pine trees are not suitable for a rather small garden.

I am a huge fan of DeWit garden tools from Kornhorn in Groningen. A fifth generation tool factory, making hand forged tools, which are nearly indestructible. Below is their take on the Japanese hori-hori knife. It is perfect for digging out weed. The serrated edge cuts through roots easily.

De Wit 14 cm push and pull hoes with 1400 mm ash handles. I also like the smaller hoe with a 400 mm handle.

De Wit Bad Ass trowel.

The month of May in 2015

Winterswijk-Miste

With travel restrictions still in place, the most far distance I travel from Amsterdam is the Dutch region Achterhoek where they speak West Low German instead of Dutch.

In February we had an unexpected cold snap of a week because of an unstable polar vortex. The hour before sunset and the first hour after sunrise are spectacularly beautiful. The song lyrics of Normaal singing in ‘Achterhooks’, being part of Low Saxonian, captures the mood. This is my childhood between 3 - 18 years.

D’n onbewolkten winterloch, die liek meer peers dan blauw
A-j buuten iets te doene hebt, dan doe je ‘t bliksemsgauw
De kniens en de fazanten die scharrelt deur ‘t kruppelholt
De streupers die blieft binnen, ‘t is eur völs te kold.

't holt dat knetterd in de heerd, 't is der lekker heit
na de koffie kump de foezel, i-j krupt dichter bi-j ow meid
en as der goed gezoppen wurt, de verhalen die goat in het rond
is er niemand die nog dich an d'n armen, armen hond.

- D'n huulende waakhond (1978)

If there are mountains

Yama areba yama o miru
ame no hi ame o kiku
haru natsu aki fuyu
ashita mo yoroshi
yūbe mo yoroshi

If there are mountains, I look at the mountains;
On rainy days I listen to the rain.
Spring, summer, autumn, winter.
Tomorrow too will be good.
Tonight too is good.

Taneda Santōka 種田 山頭火

23 October 2020

31 October 2020.

12 February 2021

Nine days after the snow, crocus flowers appear in the green grass. Autumn, winter, spring.

21 February 2021

Jungfrau-Aletsch

The last destination of my round trip was Jungfrau-Aletsch and its Aletschgletscher, the largest glacier of the Alps. To get there from Italy I had to cross the Simplon Pass at 2.005 meters and drive into the Rhonetal to reach Camping Eggishorn - z' Moosji in Fiesch. The car ride was stunning again. I just love driving in the mountains.

Simplonpass / Passo del Sempione.

Jungfrau-Aletsch & Aletschgletscher

Märjelensee.

I normally never visit the same place twice but in case of the Aletschgletscher I had been there before, a little over ten years earlier. We hiked from Camping Eggishorn - z' Moosji along the glacier to Betten Talstation, if I remember correctly, and then by train back to Fiesch. This time I walked the same route alone. I also wanted to see the glacier again because our Alpine glaciers are symbols of climate change. It is estimated that by 2100 (just 80 years from now) only one tenth of the current ice mass of the Aletschgletscher will be left. A sobering thought. Because it is the largest glacier, the proces will be slow. By 2100 many other smaller Alpine glaciers will be long gone. Jungfrau-Aletsch is an UNESCO World Heritage property due to Outstanding Universal Value but that will not prevent the disappearance of its glaciers.

I hiked the following route: Fiescheralp - Mountain hut Gletscherstube - and along the glacier towards Moosfluh. At some point before Moosfluh I hiked back to Fiescheralp.

The first day in Fiesch I hiked to Fiescheralp from the camping but got lost halfway because I tried to take a less traveled route and ended up in the wrong valley. Time to execute plan B the next day. There is always a plan B.

The ice mass in 2018.

The temperatures in the valley were well above 34 degrees Celsius and even high in the mountains it was quite hot. There was only one way to celebrate the last long hike of my journey: half a liter of ice cold beer, a fresh salad and a basic rösti.

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Fußnote

On my way from Switzerland to Amsterdam I camped in Sankt Martin (Pfalz) for one night. It’s a lovely wine village with plenty of Weinschorles to order. I drank a Riesling, Blauer Portugieser and Müller-Thurgau-Schorle, which was one too many.

Alpi Orobie, Lombardia

The Bergamo Alps (Italian: Alpi Orobie) are located about 30 kilometers above the city of Bergamo. I made a short stop in Peschiera del Garda on the shores of Lago di Garda but I found the place a bit too busy for my mood. I loved the oleander flowers though. There is a holiday photograph of my mother posing in front of oleanders somewhere in Italy in the 1960s. I have known this photo for many years, but recently I often dream of oleander flowers as a symbol of summer.

Lago di Garda.

I drove on and found a beautiful camping on the shores of Lago d’Iseo. Camping Cave (address: via Cave 13, Iseo, Italy 25049) is located right on the lake. After pitching my tent it was no more than 100 metres to the lake and the (open air) restaurant and bar. Before doing anything else I jumped into the lake.

One of the things I love about Italy is the culture of aperitivo, the drink before dinner, and cicchetti. I prefer Campari Spritz (prosecco, Campari and soda water). It’s bitter and has a beautiful red color. Being camped on the shores of a lake with plenty of cold drinks, meant that each hike would end in a luxury I don’t always experience.

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Valgoglio

27 July 2020

A green wall of trees.

For the first hike I drove to Valgoglio, which was quite a long ride from the camping through dozens of tunnels. The mountain roads were very busy with morning commuters. I didn’t have a map of this area since I only brought maps of Südtirol. I hiked along the river Goglio but when I was deciphering the sparse signs it was clear that the nearest mountain hut above the tree line was too far for a day hike. The Bergamo Alps are something else. The area feels very remote and I encountered few other hikers. Large parts of my hike I didn’t have a cell phone reception.

When you spent so many holidays alone, you tend to get some compulsive thoughts while hiking, especially walking uphill. I contemplated a lot on the archetypal Uomo senza nome. ‘The Man With No Name’ was a marketing ploy to promote the spaghetti westerns A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) with Clint Eastwood. But the original man with no name was Toshiro Mifune’s character in Yojimbo. (the bodyguard) on which Sergio Leone based his 1964 movie. In the opening scenes the rōnin (浪人) arrives at a junction in the road, he shrugs his shoulders, picks up a stick and throws it high into the air. He lets fate decide which path to take; he follows the direction of the fallen stick and walks into a village. And so the story begins. I like the idea of not having a full plan when starting a hike. But even without a plan there is always a plan B.

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Rifugio Magnolini

28 July 2020

The second day I started my hike in Bossico after an other exhilarating car ride with many hairpin turns. From there is was a very hot but easy hike to Ceratello. During the hike there were some good views of the lake. The narrow road during the ascent to Rifugio Magnolini (1610 m.) was very steep. On the way down I took the foot path back to Bossico and my car, through pine forests and long rocky single tracks. This was one of the more beautiful hikes. Below the route I walked.

Day hike: Bossico - Rifugio Magnolini - Bossico.

Lago d’Iseo.

On the way down I walked past a little stone hut marked as ‘ll cadi de la pest’ where the only Bossichesi who escaped the scourge of epidemic in 1630, sought refuge to escape the plague.

The region of Lombardy saw the most cases of COVID-19 by far in Italy. Notably Bergamo province was hard hit by the 2020 pandemic in March. On 8 March a quarantine lockdown was imposed for the whole region of Lombardy and 14 other northern provinces placing 16 million people under quarantine.

By the end of July 2020 quarantine was lifted but many measures were still in place. At the reception of Camping Cave my temperature was measured and face masks were mandatory in the camping toilet facilities. In general a face mask had to be worn in shops and in restaurants and mountain huts when ordering.

ll cadi de la pest.

By Giovanni Guida - Own work.

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Europa endlos

Das Leben ist zeitlos
Europa endlos
Wirklichkeit und Postkartenbilder
Europa endlos
Eleganz und Dekadenz.

Kraftwerk, 1977.

Last view of Lago d’Iseo before driving to Switzerland.

Next destination: Swiss Alps.

Corvara, Dolomiti

The car journey from Trafoi to Corvara in the Dolomites took a good part of the day. I stayed at Camping Colfosco, which was less intimate than the camping in Trafoi but still had the right vibe. I arrived in seemingly stable weather, but this was soon to change.

24 July 2020

The first day in Corvara the Alps were covered in a big cloud of heavy rain, reaching all the way from München to Venezia. There was no escaping the rain. I mentally prepared myself to lay in my tent all day. Luckily in the afternoon the rain largely stopped and I walked into the forest to prepare some Dan Cong oolong tea just keep myself busy.

Camping Colfosco in Corvara has some beautiful views of the mountains.

There was no escaping this rain front. The temperatures in Corvara dropped to below 15 degrees Celsius.

Making some spring 2020 Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong (“Duck Shit Aroma”) in the forest with natural mountain spring water.

Parco naturale Puez Odle

25 July 2020

The second day in Corvara the sun was shining as if the day before never happened. I walked a stunning round trip from Passo Gardena (2,136 m) through Puez-Geisler Nature Park to mountain hut Utia de Puez at 2475 m. and back through Val Longia and Wolkenstein before climbing back to Passo Gardena where I left my car.

Ascent from Passo Gardena.

Mountain hut Utia de Puez (2.475 m).

Pasta with Hirschragout and some flowers in Utia de Puez.

The valley Val Longia below, and the village Wolkenstein in the far distance.

Certainly one of the more beautiful roundtrips I walked.

Next destination: Bergamo Alps and Lake Iseo.

Trentino-Alto Adige

‘There is always Italy.’

With all my original travel plans cancelled due to COVID-19 I took the opportunity to go on a hiking trip to the Alps. I drove to the Reschenpass/Passo di Resia between Austria and Italy in the province of Trentino-Alto Adige or Trentino-South Tyrol. Beyond that I didn’t really have a plan. The pass was a bit underwhelming so I drove onwards to a small camping place in Trafoi, just below the mighty Passo Stelvio. Camping Trafoi. Via Tre Fontane, 1, 39029 Trafoi BZ, Italy.

The camping is a cosy hikers’ place. It also attracts bikers who are drawn to Trafoi for the 48 needle curves of the Passo Stelvio on the eastern side. Camping Trafoi also is close enough to the mountains to venture into the mountains directly from the camping.

20 July 2020

The first day I hiked up to Goldsee, about 1,2 vertical kilometres. From Goldsee you can follow the Goldseeweg with magnificent views leading to Forcola refuge, which is located about 700 metres above Trafoi. The whole round trip takes about 9 hours if you are in no hurry.

In the left of the photo the Stelvio pass from a walker’s perspective,

Goldseeweg between Goldsee and Forcola refuge.

21 July 2020

The second day in Trafoi the weather was less than ideal. I walked to Berglhütte/Refugio Borletti (2188 m.) for coffee and cake but the afternoon passed by while hiding from the rain in the village.

I learned that Sigmund Freud received a message of the suicide of one of his patients, struggling with sexual problems, while staying in Trafoi, which lead him to his analysis of the Signorelli parapraxis by linking Signorelli to Botticelli and Boltraffio. Freud’s analysis seems like an outdated word game to me. Somehow the bottom line is always Tod und Sexualität.

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Ötztaler Alpen

22 July 2020

The last day in Trafoi I drove to the small resort village Kurzas, 39020 Maso Corto, Bolzano, Bozen (2.011 m), just past Lago di Vernago, almost 1,5 hours by car from camping Trafoi. I walked from Kurzras to the Schutzhaus Schöne Aussicht - Rifugio Bella Vista (2842 m), a hike of about 800 vertical metres.

In 1991, just on the other side of the mountains, a body was discovered in the melting ice. Amazingly the person had died around 3300 BC. The body was well preserved and contained a treasure trove of information about the living conditions of this dead person who lived more than 5300 years ago. Even his full genome has been sequenced. Kurzas is not the correct starting point if you want to visit the actual Ötzti Fundstelle. The mountain ridge between Bella Vista and the Ötzti Fundstelle cannot be hiked.

Rifugio Bella Vista.

Fried potatoes and egg at the rifugio.

Above is the mountain ridge behind which Ötzi was discovered. It seems like a very remote place but from the valley it’s only half a day’s scramble. The photo below shows the foot path, which connects modern Italy with the Ötztaler Alpen in Austria over a mountain pass. Only a small stone hut marks the border.

Ötzi lived in the chalcolithic when in Europe the first metal tools were crafted from copper. Later it was discovered that by adding tin you can make bronze, which is harder than both copper and tin. A 99,7% pure copper axe was found near Ötzi. This must have been a very valuable tool. The copper mould was made from ore mined in South Tuscany.

The mummy is now on display at the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano, Italy.

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Passo dello Stelvio (2.758 m.)

The Passo dello Stelvio is somewhat famous. The pass was originally built by the Austrian Empire (1804 to 1867) in the 1820s to connect the Austrian province of Lombardy (currently Italy) with the rest of Austria. After 1867 the Austrian Empire was succeeded by Austria-Hungary and in World War I the pass saw some heavy fighting due to its strategic importance. Italy entered the war aiming to annex the territories of present-day Trentino and South Tyrol. After the war the pass lost its strategic importance.

23 July 2020

Today the pass on Route SS38 is famous with cyclists and motorcyclists. Since my next destination were the Dolomites I didn't need to cross the pass but decided to drive my car up the pass nonetheless just for the adrenaline kick. How could I not? In 2008 the TV show Top Gear declared the Stelvio Pass in Italy one of the best driving roads in Europe. I am macho enough to not let that opportunity pass.

It was a thrilling experience indeed, especially because the road was quite busy with countless motor bikes, cyclists, other cars, campers and even the occasional line bus. Driving uphill each corner is a blind corner, because only at the last moment you’ll see oncoming traffic. The only two gears you will need are first and second gear. It takes about half an hour to reach the top.

The pass itself has several tacky tourist shops. I thought my car deserved a “Passo Stelvio” sticker for the rear window, but only eleven days after my holiday somebody crashed into the rear of my car when I was standing still in a traffic jam on the motorway near Amsterdam. My Renault Clio IV Estate was a total loss. I thought it was a bit ironic, having completed the 48 switchbacks (and many more mountain passes in Italy and Switzerland) without a scratch and then my car being totalled by just being stationary.

My focus on this trip was not on food but this clear broth with Speckknödel in a restaurant on Stelvio pass was just perfect. With all the corona measures still in place I didn’t want to visit restaurants indoors. I mostly cooked in front of my tent and had lunches at mountain huts if I could sit outside.

Next destination: Dolomites.

SARS-CoV-2

Just before the International Toy Fair in Nürnberg at the end of January 2020, there was a foreboding that the new virus discovered in Wuhan not so long before, would bring about change. And the world would change. This is my first pandemic and Europe is the hot spot at this moment. I can't get the first pages of Albert Camus' La Peste out of my head.

“After the fourth day the rats started to emerge in groups to die. They came up from basements and cubby-holes, cellars and drains, in long swaying lines; they staggered in the light, collapsed and died, right next to people.”

— Albert Camus, The Plague

People are dying and SARS-CoV-2 is not contained. We are in the delay phase, which means we are buying time by slowing down the spread of the virus. In Europe we screwed up the containment phase by not taking the threat serious enough.

Around this time I would have booked an airplane ticket for my first holiday of 2020. I wanted to visit Vietnam. Or maybe the United States, or India. It is now irresponsible to fly. I can still go to work and do my groceries shopping, other than that I pretty much have confined myself in my house. If the outbreak lasts months rather than weeks I will have to rethink my holiday and drive to a remote place in Europa for a few weeks of hiking. It will be a lonely holiday. Not looking forward to it.

Changed world map on 14 March 2020.

The chart below shows why it is so important to close everything down and practice social distancing before things get out of hand. Complacency is deadly.

Source: Tomas Pueyo analysis over chart from the Journal of the American Medical Association, based on raw case data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

July 2020

This map show the travel recommendations by the Dutch government. The orange countries can only be visited when travel is necessary, although you get to decide yourself if your trip is necessary. Local quarantines might be in place. Since I decided not to travel by air this year, I’m stuck with the yellow countries for this year’s holiday. Luckily the Alps are accessible this summer.

I used to be able to travel 24.859 miles to be here.

La fête du Train au Pays des Grands Noms

My work usually takes me to Germany but December 2019 was an exception. Every three years Denis Thomas, Président Office de Tourisme de Meursault, organises a model train fair named ‘La fête du Train’. The company I work for was present with a stand. Meursault is a small wine village in Côte de Beaune the southern part of the Côte-d'Or department and region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in France. When I arrived in the afternoon there was a pretty dense fog. The surroundings were completely hidden behind a grey wall. It was clear the beginning of December was off-season. Many restaurants were closed and not much work was done on the vines. The hotel I booked was a small private house right in the center. It was really a perfect place to spent a leisurely afternoon on my own.

Meursault wine

Around 98 percent of wines produced in Meursault are white wines. Most wines are 100% Chardonnay although AOC regulations allow both Chardonnay and Pinot blanc. Several climats or lieu-dits are classified as Premier Cru vineyards. Meursault is pretty much synonymous with Chardonnay and the quality of a Meursault Chardonnay is excellent. The price of a bottle starts with approximately 16 euro and can easily go up to 70 euro or higher for a Premier Cru. I think those prices are too high. For 20 euro you can buy a very good ‘buttery’ Chardonnay from Meursault thanks to extended oak ageing.

Hotel Restaurant Le Chevreuil

Address: 1 Place de la République, 21190 Meursault

The second day I took our new agent for France, Guy Coessens, out for dinner. After a few too many aperitif (Chardonnay & pastis) in the local pub, we settled for Restaurant Le Chevreuil for diner.

Demi-lune de foie gras poêlé, duxelles de cèpes, bouillon de queue de bœuf aux arômes de champignons

Pigeon de Corton en deux cuissons, châtaignes rôties et mousseline de potimarron.

Château de Meursault

On Saturday evening were invited for diner at the Château. This was an amazing experience. The annual La Paulée de Meursault after the harvest is legendary. La Paulée was launched by the Meursault wine producer Jules Lafon in 1923. The reputation of this wine fest reached far and since 2000 La Paulée de New York and La Paulée de San Francisco are being hosted by American sommelier and wine entrepreneur Daniel Johnnes. The diner I attended borrowed quite a few things from the post-harvest fest. Music and singalongs were provided by the Joyeux Bourguignons, Each course only started after the communal Ban Bourguignon and at the end of the evening everybody raised up and waved their napkins to the "Marseillaise bourguignonne".

Tatin de St-Jacques aux petits légumes au coulis d’olive.

“Notre mission : chanter le vin et animer vos festins !”

— les Joyeux Bourguignons

Carte des vins

• Meursault “les Tillets” 2017, Domaine Yves Boyer-Martenot.

• Baune 2017, Domaine du Château de Meursault.

• Pommard 2016 “Les Noizons”, Domaine Gilles Lafouge.

Filet de Boeuf Rossini sauce Périgueux, foie gras et pommes Anna.

At the end of the evening everybody raised up and waved their napkins to the "Marseillaise bourguignonne".

Brussel Wereldtentoonstellingen

When I travelled to Brussel for a weekend trip I didn’t have a particular theme in mind. It was the first weekend of the Christmas market, a huge market with over 240 stalls. I booked an apartment just 500 meters from Le bâtiment Berlaymont, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission. When I realised the Royal Museum for Central Africa was established after an exposition during the world's fair of 1897 I became interested in the world’s fair (“world expo” after 1967) phenomenon. Brussels hosted no less than four world’s fairs. Two fairs were intimately linked to Belgium’s (or King Leopold II’s) troublesome colonial past.

Wereldtentoonstelling van 1897

De Onafhankelijke Congostaat / État indépendant du Congo (1885 - 1908) wasn’t an independent African state but privately owned by the Belgian King Leopold II. In 1908 Belgium took over the Onafhankelijke Congostaat from King Leopold II and renamed it Belgisch-Congo. For the Brussels International Exposition in 1897 Leopold II built a colonial exhibit in a specially built Palace of the Colonies. After the exposition a bigger (and current) building was finished in 1910, which became the Royal Museum for Central Africa. The museum has one of the best collections of African masks and applied arts. The collection encompasses 120.000 ethnographical objects and over 10 million natural specimen. In 2013 the museum closed for renovation and after reopening in 2017 the museum reflects a new dynamic in which Belgium had to come to grips with its, often brutal, colonial past.

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Wereldtentoonstelling van 1958

The world expo of 1958 was held just two years before independence of Congo and only a good decade after the war. There was a general feeling of “never again” and a new optimism in science, technology and the connection of people. The first sketches of the Belgium pavilion were needle shaped structures but they were put aside as being ‘not original enough’. But then André Waterkeyn came up with a brilliant idea: a building shaped in the molecule for Fe (iron).

Even today the Atomium is a fascinating building. I was sceptical and was afraid it would feel like a tourist trap. But I loved it. After entering you are being catapulted to the highest sphere at 102 meter by an elevator. Only after taking the elevator back to ground level you can access the escalator to work your way up to other atoms. It very much feels like wandering about in a science-fiction building with one added dimension to the normal three dimensions. It’s confusing and fun.

1958 is a long time ago and it is difficult to grasp the mindset of the vistors of the Expo 1958. My parents were in their early and mid 20s. Much emphasis was laid on the Belgiums to learn foreign languages so they could communicate with visitors from the other countries exhibiting. But when the Belgium government flew in a group of Congolese évolués to perform ‘traditional’ dances and be part of the exhibition, they were ridiculed by Belgium vistors. Bananas were thrown at the performers and they had to change their dress from European dress code to grass skirts.

The Congolese were not only observed by the Belgiums, they also observed the Belgiums themselves. For the first time they were confronted by ordinary Belgiums who had to work and could be quite poor. The myth of the ‘white man high in hierarchy’ was broken and Belgium-Congo would be independent just two years later. Mobutu Sese Seko (president of Zaire 1965 - 1997) was among the visitors of the fair as a journalist. When he travelled back home nothing would be the same ever again.

The leadership of Mobutu didn’t work out too well for the Zairians. A stark reminder of the saying: Power is eaten whole.

“Le pouvoir se mange entier”

— Troupe Théâtrale Mufwankolo of Lubumbashi, Johannes Fabian. (1990). Power and performance. Ethnographic explorations through proverbial wisdom and theater in Shaba (Zaire).

Human zoo at the world expo 1958.

Cagliari

Cagliari

The history of Cagliari goes back more than 5000 years. Much later the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1720 the kingdom was composed of several states including Savoy, Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Nice, Oneglia and Sardinia. By mid 19th century the Kingdom of Sardinia became an important force in Italian unification. In 1860, Piacenza, Parma, Tuscany, Modena, and Romagna voted in referenda to join the Kingdom of Sardinia. On 17 March 1861, law no. 4671 of the Sardinian Parliament proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy.

A landmark of Cagliari is the Bastion of Saint Remy built between 1896 and 1902. It was developed from an idea developed by Sardinian architect Gaetano Cima. The structure was damaged in the Second World War but rebuilt from 1946. Only after climbing the stairs it becomes clear part of Cagliari is built on a hill.

Modern Cagliari is a pleasant city of less than half a million if you count the Metropolitan City. Cruise ships dock in the harbour and I wouldn’t want to be there in summertime. In the quiet November month the atmosphere was relaxed.

Mercato Di Sanbenedetto

Address: Via Francesco Cocco Ortu, 46, 09128 Cagliari.

This food market was frustrating for me. All those beautiful fresh fishes and I couldn’t buy any! In the end I bought some chestnuts and fregula. The most popular fish were orate (gilt-head bream) and muggine (flathead grey mullet). The roe of the latter is used to make bottarga. But there were plenty of other fish. I saw red mullet, striped red mullet, sardines, tuna, swordfish, octopus, squid, skate and plenty of shrimp and crabs.

‘Trigliole’ are baby red mullet (‘triglie’). At the time I didn't think much of it, but Mohammed Benzakour, my fishing friend, became angry when he saw this photo. Fishing baby fish before they can produce offspring is not sustainable.

Aperitivo

Originally a northern Italian habit, but very much alive in Cagliari: aperitivo. For 5 euro they serve you a good glass of red wine including bread, cheeses and a selection of assorted dried meat, or an Aperol Spritz with plenty of small bites. I had drank Aperol Spritz before but strangely never a Campari Spritz. Campari is much more bitter than Aperol and has an alcohol content of up to 28% as opposed to 11% for Aperol. The alcohol percentage depends on which country both drinks are sold. I have to say I prefer Campari Spritz. Both cocktails are nowadays served in a big ballon glass instead of the more traditional Old Fashioned glass. But any old wine glass will do.

Supramonte Mountain Range

I had planned to spent time hiking in the Sardinian mountains but due to some very rainy days I just had one day. The Supramonte Mountain Range has the second highest peak of the island. Monte Corrasi is the Supramonte highpoint. The mountain is made of limerock, which is quite similar to that of the Dolomites but much older and therefor more eroded. I choose Nuoro as base camp and the town to spent a few nights. Traffic wise Nuoro is an extremely confusing city. I was amazed I only got one parking ticket. Part of the city center is off limits without a special permit during some hours of the day. Camera’s enforce this rule. Several times my navigation led me through a maze of narrow streets on a hill. The proximity alarm was beeping and the dashboard lit up with red warning lights. But not a scratch.

Before I arrived in Nuoro I visited the Roman Aquae Ypsitanae thermal baths of Fordongianus on the left bank of the river Tirso. The sulphurous waters are pretty hot and flow into the icy cold river. In the river somebody made an artificial bath with a ring of stones. A group of Germans traveling by camper van were bathing in the river. I joined them after burning my feet directly in the thermal water. The ancient thermal bath itself was closed. Apparently prayers are carved in the stones in honour of the Nymphs, Greek water divinities protecting Aquae Ypsitanae, and of Aesculapius, Greek god of the medicine.

Aquae Ypsitanae in Fordongianus.

Locanda Del Muggianeddu

Between Fordongianus and Nuoro I stopped for lunch in a local restaurant called Locanda Del Muggianeddu in Tonara. No website. The address is as follows: Via Monsignor Tore, 26, 08039 Tonara Nuoro, Italy. I arrived too early for lunch, wasn't allowed to sit down, so I walked around for half an hour. A few minutes after opening time the place was already half full with locals. In the fireplace a log was slowly burning.

I ordered antipasto della casa, which was a rich plate filled with: smoked cheese, melted cheese, pickled vegetables, fried vegetables and meats, all perfect quality. The truffles ravioli was not available so I choose something which seems people would eat at home: flat bread doused with tomato sauce and a fried egg on top. For desert I had to go for torrone. Torrone di Tonara is famous and there is no better place to eat it than in Tonara. All in all another excellent lunch, with a little help in German from a villager who had lived in Zwitserland as a migrant worker.

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Mountain hike

Days are short in November so I knew it wasn’t going to be a very long hike. I tried to drive up to what seemed to be a parking place on Google Maps. In reality the road leading to the spot was a goat’s path and I had to turn around with all the proximity warning sounds of my Volkswagen Golf beeping like crazy. I parked somewhere much lower and hiked up to the place, which wasn’t a parking place at all. From there on the paths were pretty much at the same elevation. It took a few hours to get to the highest peak. The next day more rain was predicted so I stayed on the mountain as long as possible, just sitting there watching the sea in the distance.

Nuoro is the town on the far left side of the frame.

Punta Corrasi (1463 m.)

View from the highest peak of Supramonte Mountain Range and the second highest peak of Sardinia.

Strada Statale 125 Orientale Sarda

I had to make it back to Cagliari for my flight. The SS 125 is a somewhat famous road in Sardinia. Total length of this coastal road on the eastern part the island is 354 kilometers. The section until Santa Maria Navarrese takes you over a high mountain pass, which was supposed to be spectacular. After the Swiss Alps I wasn’t particularly impressed and driving across the pass was not a Top Gear worthy challenge. But you do pass cheesemaker Gruthas who sells pecorino cheese directly from the farm. Of course I bought a big chunk of pecorino. They sell both sheep and goat pecorino. But now I can’t remember whether I bought sheep or goat pecorino. Probably goat, since I had to fend off a flock of goats who were trying to steal my lunch an hour earlier.

Sardegna - Oristano

November is really one of the least appealing months to travel in Europe but I had to take my last five official holiday days of this year. Destination Sardinia was pretty much coincidental. In the summer I listened to an episode on the Sardinian kitchen (guests: gardener Luigi Pitzalis, his son Samuele Pitzalis and Leonardo Pacenti, chef restaurant Toscanini) on my favourite radio programma Mangiare! and the words ‘Sardijnse keuken’ stuck in my mind.

The airplane touched down at Cagliari Elmas Airport at three o’ clock in the afternoon. The next day it was raining. I drove from the capital Cagliari to the province of Oristano on the west coast. On the way to my bed and breakfast in Oristano I took a long detour into the hills of Montiferru to have lunch in Agriturismo Montiferru.

The province of Oristano is home to Tharros, a very ancient city. Once said to be founded by the Phoenicians, but recent findings direct the origins to a much older nuragic settlement. Not much is known about this Bronze Age culture. All there is left are roughly seven thousand of Nuraghe, tower like structures. After the Phoenicians, the Punics and the Romans settled in Tharros. In 1070 the city was relocated to modern Oristano under the pressure of Saracen raiders. Many stones from Tharros were re-used in the city of Oristano.

When standing on the ruins of Tharros it is easy to see the appeal of the location, but also its vulnerability. Many of the artefacts can be found in the Archaeological Museum at Cagliari, in the Antiquarium Arborense in Cabras and in the British Museum, London. The two columns were rebuilt in modern times. The temple area has both Punic and Roman ruins and the original position of the columns is not clear. The most visible symbol of Tharros is a modern interpretation. The capital on top of one of the columns is original though.

On that November Monday morning I was the only vistor of Tharros. This was both a blessing and - somewhat - lonely. What else was there to do but look past the ruins and stare at the golfu de Aristanis? Tharros felt like paradise but like all prosperous cities of the past, the streets were eventually soaked in blood before being abandoned.

A better view of the temple area of Tharros.

Roman road in Tharros.

Wave surfers just south of S'Archittu.

Cabras

Less that 15 minutes from Oristano is the coastal town Cabras on the Stagno di Cabras, a lake connected to the sea. Cabras was also founded by people fleeing from Tharros in the 11th century and resettling on the shore of the lake.

Bottarga di muggine

Cabras is famous for bottarga, dried and cured fish roe from grey mullet (muggine). If the bottarga is of lighter hue, you can slice it and eat it on bread, if the bottarga is dark and dried for a longer time, you can grate is over a pasta dish, like spaghetti con vongole e bottarga.

Due to the season all trattoria in Cabras were closed. I found a small restaurant open, hardly a trattoria. They did offer fresh fish off the menu. Orate is the Italian name for gilt-head (sea) bream (Sparus aurata), or goudbrasem in Dutch. The fish was poached for me in white wine with olives and tomatoes.

Agriturismo Montiferru

Address: Str. del Monte di Sant'Antonio, 09078 Scano di Montiferro, Oristano, Italy.

It was thanks to a small entry in the Lonely Planet I visited Agriturismo Montiferru, hidden in the hills of Montiferru. This restaurant opens only once a week for a Sunday lunch. Reservations are essential, which posed a serious problem. Nobody on the phone spoke English. The place has no website or even an e-mail address. When I drove into the rainy hills I didn’t know if I had a reservation or not. I assumed not. The restaurant was fully booked and I was about to turn around and walk back to the car when I was greeted and led to a table with one chair. Somehow my reservation got trough.

What followed was nothing short of amazing. For three hours they filled my table with antipasti, two (!) courses of primi piatti, two (!) courses of secondi piatti, desert and three cookies of which I could only eat one, I was completely stuffed. This was quintessential Sardinian farmer’s cuisine: soft cheeses, pork, wild boar, garden beans, purple potatoes, forest mushrooms, Sardinian pasta, the list goes on. Every single dish was perfect and stayed true to tradition. There was not one single false note.

Antipasti

Primi piatti

Fregula with stewed mushrooms. Fregula (also spelled fregola) is typically Sardinian and consists of semolina dough that has been rolled into tiny balls and toasted in an oven. Because it is semolina based you have to cook it between 10 and 15 minutes.

Secondi piatti & contorni

Dolci

Below: Sebadas (o Seadas)

People's Vote

“Our future is greater than our past.”

— Ben Okri, Commonwealth Memorial Gates.

The biggest political story in Europe in 2019 is no doubt Brexit, Britain’s exit from the EU. When I read about the People’s Vote March on October 19, I decided that weekend should be the moment to revisit London. It was in the late 1990s I visited London for the last time. After the break-up with my then London girlfriend May Oduah I didn’t feel much like visiting the city afterwards for a long time. Memories and so on. But after twenty odd years I was ready for the city again.

In January of 2019 I started following Brexit. The 29th of March was the moment the UK would withdraw from the EU after invoking Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (2009). This was astounding to me. Why on earth would you give up power voluntarily? This is practically unprecedented in politics. Soon I was spending two to three hours every day following Brexit. Of course, 29 March came and nothing happened. On 21 March the EC extended the deadline until 12 April 2019 but mere days before the PM asked for another extension.

By then Parliament had rejected the negotiated Withdrawal Agreement three times, the third vote was on 29 March. The deadline was extended to 31 October. The new European Commission would take office on 1 November so the final weeks before 31 October were to be very significant.

“Britain has two strong alliances, it has a great alliance with America and it’s part of the European Union, which is the biggest political union in the world and largest commercial market in the world. What on Earth would induce you to think that you’re going to gain by giving up that relationship. It’s an unbelievable act of self-denial. For me, it’s just a very simple thing, power is power.”

— Tony Blair, May 2019

Boris’ new deal

It became clear there would be a meaningful vote on Saturday on a new ‘deal’ Boris Johnson agreed upon with the EU27. This was the first time since the Falkland war in 1982 Parliament would assemble on a Saturday. 19 October was to be a ‘super Saturday’. If Johnson could summon a majority in the House of Commons the UK would be on track to leave the EU on 31 October to start a decade long process of negotiating new arrangements with the EU.

Letwin amendment and Benn Act

But then there was former Tory minister Oliver Letwin. He put forward an amendment to withhold approval of Johnson’s deal until the legislation to enact it is passed. There would be no approval of Johnson’s hastily cobbled together deal until the European Union Withdrawal Agreement bill (WAB) of 115 pages and 126 pages of explanatory notes was scrutinised and voted for. The WAB gives Johnson’s deal legal status. MP Sir Oliver Letwin is no remainer. In fact, he supports Johnson’s deal. In his mind his amendment was an insurance policy against crashing out of the EU of 31 October.

Passing the Letwin amendment would also trigger the Benn Act. The Benn Act, officially know as EU Withdrawal (No.2) Act requires the prime minister to ask the EU for an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period, to avoid a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. The 19th was the deadline imposed by the Benn Act. When I arrived in St Pancras International station it wasn’t clear at all if the UK would still be a member of the EU two weeks into the future. The scene was set for the weekend.

The People’s Vote campaign group was launched at an event in April 2018 with the aim to unite anti-Brexit groups. Among supporting groups are For our Future's Sake (FFS) and Our Future Our Choice (OFOC). The October 2019 People's Vote March was the third London march.

One of the people who shaped my ideas on Brexit is Femi Oluwole. I have been following his Twitter account @Femi_Sorry since 2018. Femi is co-founder of Our Future Our Choice (OFOC).

A People’s Vote is the only way out of the deadlock but has no support in Parliament. In the ill-advised 2016 referendum 51,89% voted to leave the EU and since then there has been no consensus on what the future relationship with the EU should be and whether the UK should stay in the customs union and the single market or not. In fact, there was no idea before the referendum how that relationship should look like if people voted for leaving the EU. The referendum was likely won by Facebook micro-targeting campaigns by Vote Leave (a cross party government campaign co-founded by Dominic Cummings) and Leave.EU founded by Arron Banks and Richard Tice. Vote Leave has been fined £61,000 after being found guilty of breaking electoral law during the Brexit campaign. Many of the micro-targeting adds were simply untrue.

Facebook has settled with the U.K.’s data protection watchdog, the ICO, agreeing to pay a £500,000 fine. The ICO concluded that Facebook “contravened the law” — specifically the 1998 Data Protection Act — “by failing to safeguard people’s information.” Data on 1 million UK Facebook accounts might have been used by Cambridge Analytica in the 2016 referendum campaign. Vote Leave put out one billion political adds to 7 million users in the last weeks of the referendum.

UKIPs “Breaking Point” bill board mixes the refugee crisis of 2015 with the issue of economic migration.

The march

The People’s Vote March assembly area was Park Lane (Hyde Park) and the march led to Westminster Square. I arrived a couple of hours early in Hyde Park. At that moment only a group of Scots had gathered at the foot of the Statue of Achilles (Wellington Monument) waving Scottish flags adorned with the 12 golden stars borrowed from the EU flag. The statue commemorates Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852). Somewhat ironically Wellington had a multinational “European” army to his disposition consisting of Dutch troops, the King's German Legion and units from Ireland, Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau when he fought the Battle of Waterloo.

During the march news broke that the Commons voted for the Letwin amendment. There would be no meaningful vote on super Saturday. On Monday 21 October the Withdrawal Agreement Bill would be published for the first time. On Tuesday 22 October MP’s approved the Withdrawal Agreement Bill for a second reading but minutes later in a second vote on a fast-tracked timetable for the bill, Johnson was defeated, again. On Tuesday it was clear the United Kingdom would not leave te EU on the 31st of October. Johnson could have let Parliament debate the Withdrawal Agreement Bill but instead withdrew the Bill and everything went back to the EU for a new extension of the Brexit-deadline, which led BBC-presenter Andrew Neil to say: “Kids are fond of dressing up as zombies at Halloween… but for this zombie Parliament, every day is now Halloween”.

Addendum 30 October: The EU agreed to a January 31 Brexit extension in 2020 and days later a General Election on December 12 was approved in the House of Commons. Everything now depends on the outcome of the GE. It is clear there will be no confirmatory referendum before the election. An election is a hell of a risk to take for the opposition.

Banner by Led by Donkeys.

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Quote by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, February 2019.

Boris’ new deal revived Brexit, barely.

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Brixton Market

Whenever I felt hungry in London I hopped on the Victoria Line towards Brixton. I love Brixton market which is technically a collection of Electric Avenue, Brixton Station Road Market, arcade Brixton Village and arcade Market Row. I didn’t find all the Jamaican food stands open at the time of my visits but at least I was able to get some oxtail soup with mostly brown beans and potato. My trip was too short to try proper oxtail stew and ackee, but I will save that for a trip to Jamaica hopefully in 2020 but depending on my mood.

Street food on Electric Avenue.

Jamaican Oxtail Soup

Electric Avenue.

Only after my trip to London I read about Stormzy’s favourite restaurant: Bluejay Cafe on 2 Market Parade Portland Road, South Norwood, London. Apparently they serve the best Caribbean cuisine, including curry goat (never goat curry), ackee and saltfish and jerk chicken. Something to remember for my next visit.

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Cheap beer as ‘Brexit benefit’

On my first day I visited the Wetherspoon pub The Knights Templar. JD Wetherspoon’s boss, Tim Martin, uses the pub chain for his political pro-Brexit message. Wetherspoon News magazine is full of rather positive articles on Brexit. He cut the price of a pint of Ruddles ale by 20p to illustrate “Brexit benefits”. A pint could cost as little as £1.39. I ordered a Ruddles but after the barman figured out what I was trying to pronounce, he said: “We don’t do Ruddles”. So I ordered another ale which cost me £3.29. It was clear Wetherspoon prices vary greatly depending on the location. The Knights Templar was located near Fleet Street, so no “Brexit benefit” for me.

“In fact, this will be the first FTA in history that loosens economic ties, instead of strengthening them. Our agreement will not make trade between the UK and the EU frictionless or smoother. It will make it more complicated and costly than today, for all of us. This is the essence of Brexit.”

— Statement by President Donald Tusk on the draft guidelines on the framework for the future relationship with the UK, 7 March 2018

Conservative Michael Heseltine (born 1933) was one of the speakers in Parliament Square. An excerpt of his speech:

“Our accession led to Margaret Thatcher's pivotal role in the creation of the Single Market. She insisted that our voice at the table was heard alongside France and Germany. She would have been appalled to see us excluded from the top table, and we saw it so clearly on Thursday. Mrs May's dash across the channel begging bowl in outstretched hand, excluded from a lengthy meeting of our former partners. The take-it or leave-it offer.
That is what the Brexiteers have done to our country. A national humiliation made in Britain, made by Brexit.

I look back over the years. 70 years of peace in Europe. 50 years of European partnership. The fascists have gone from Spain and Portugal. The colonels have gone from Greece. Communism hardly features in European politics. 29 parliamentary democracies working together, with power based on a shared sovereignty far in excess of anything any one of us could achieve individually.”

Pfälzer Weinsteig

At the turn of the millennium the Romans brought wine to the Pfalz. The Pfalz is one of the thirteen wine growing areas of Germany. Around 22% of the grapes being grown in the Pfalz are of the Riesling variety. The Pfälzer Weinschorle is famous, especially for being poured in huge half liter glasses called ‘Dubbeglas’.

I drove to the Pfalz for a one day hike. I stayed at Campingplatz Wachenheim, which is right on the Pfälzer Weinsteig. I walked from Wachenheim to Neustadt an der Weinstraße via Deidesheim, famous because Bundeskanzler Helmut Kohl (1982 - 1998) liked to entertain his guests in Deidesheimer Hof and served the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, John Major, Václav Havel, Jacques Chirac and Mikhail Gorbachev Saumagen, stuffed pigs stomach.

Die pfälzische Saumagen-Diplomatie

Below Deidesheimer Hof where Kohl invited Michail Gorbatschow in 1990, almost exactly a year after the Mauerfall on November 9 and only weeks after German reunification on October 3. Kohl believed that the cosy atmosphere would prove to be more productive as opposed to a pompous state visit in the capital Bonn. Kohl and Gorbatschow had indeed a lot to talk about. That summer Kohl went to Moscow and Stavropol to seal a deal on German reunification with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The main point of contest was if Moscow would allow a unified Germany to remain part of NATO. Gorbachev agreed in principle. But it would cost West Germany between 25 and 40 billion euros to be paid to the Kremlin to gain the East-German territory.

Kohl couldn’t quite create the same atmosphere when Margaret Thatcher visited Deidesheim the year before in April 1989. The German leader was very much in favour of the European Union and wanted to bring forward disarmament talks. The Iron Lady wasn't very interested. Kohl: "Mein Eindruck war, dass Margaret Thatcher bei allen Themen, die wir besprachen, grundsätzlich nur die Interessen ihres Landes im Auge hatte und auf Empfindlichkeiten anderer Länder kaum reagierte." Source: Die pfälzische Saumagen-Diplomatie

Deidesheimer Hof

Michail Gorbatschow in Deidesheimer Hof (10 November 1990).

Helmut Kohl was known to love his Mercedes S-Klasse der Baureihe W 140.

Pfälzer Weinsteig

The Pfälzer Weinsteig is a typical German long distance trek. If you walk the entire length you are looking at 172 kilometers of mostly single track in dense forests, through vineyards and wine villages. The walking path was only opened in 2010. You will find plenty of forest restaurants along the way. During lunchtime I ended up in Altes Jagdhaus Looganlage which serves local food and Weinschorles in a Dubbeglass. I spied when they were making my Weinschorle and my rough estimate is that my glass contained about 0,3 litres wine and 0,2 litres Sprudel. I drank two of these glasses for lunch and was lucky the path was mostly winding since I couldn’t walk straight for quite a bit. The day ended in Neustadt an der Weinstraße about 25 kilometers from the camping. I was able to take a train back to Wachenheim.

Pfälzer Saumagen

Neustadt an der Weinstraße