Author: Mara L.

I’m in Berlin right now, for the first time in many years, for a quick visit with Jens. While I’m here, I want to research the grocery stores of the city. There are some large-scale markets that sell Mediterranean food to restaurants and ordinary people, and obviously, this interests me. So, yesterday I went to Mitte Meer at Invalidenstrasse. It is a useful store, and I really mean useful. It’s not inspiring, and many of their offerings are rather generic: the to-be-expected items from Spain, Italy, France, and so on. I searched for wine from my region, the Northern Italian Alps, and they didn’t have any. That’s just an example: they specialize in the things that the greatest number of tourists is likely to have encountered.

That being said, it is certainly nice to be able to buy proper pasta, olive oil, mozzarella, Mulino Bianco cookies, and so on, for reasonable prizes in the middle of Berlin. But on the whole, it all leaves me a bit depressed: Berlin Mitte seems to cater, quite generally, to tourists, in each and every way, be it tourists in Berlin, or Berliners in their nature as Mediterranean tourists. Two stars. **

Time to follow up with the second installment of my Dolomitian Strudel Di Mele Competition. Here comes the other winner: Rifugio Vallandro.

Rifugio Vallandro is perfect for those who need a break from serious hiking. But before you enjoy effortless walking along a lovely high-altitude path, you need to venture into lonely territory, following a street to “Prato Piazza.” The last bit of the street is one-way, regulated by traffic lights, which, however, not everyone attends to. As a result, it is possible to encounter other cars in a rather narrow and steep, icy and snow-covered lane, as well as poor souls on foot, who didn’t dare to drive up the street. The ones we met were so exhausted that their reactions to approaching cars were deplorably erratic. Anyway, it’s advisable to take on the habits of Mediterranean lorry drivers: honk every time you see the sign “tornante,” which indicates the next sharp turn of the street.

Once you’ve made it up to the parking lot, you’re done with the adventurous part of the tour. For now you are almost alone (pretty much everybody is deterred by the many signs that indicate that the streets call for special equipment…). And you walk through an absolutely stunning high-altitude meadow. That’s what “prato” means, meadow. And it’s true. There’s an atmosphere of loveliness, quiet, and ease. Even though the meadow was still covered with snow, one could almost sense how the flowers would come out only a few weeks from now.

Rifugio Vallandro is at the end of the meadow, and their strudel is a reflection of meadow-ness, translated into pastry. That is, it is light, fluffy, sweet, and sugary, and served by amazingly care-taking people who offer cushions and blankets, so that you can sit outside on the terrace, in spite of the winter temperatures. Five stars for the chef who was able to capture the spirit of the place to such perfection. *****

My visit with Jens in the Dolomites is not yet sufficiently documented on this blog. For my main interest, of course, was researching the food. I came with a particular plan: I wanted to walk from rifugio to rifugio, and taste their strudel di mele (that is, apple strudel). A kind of small competition. Since I visited only for two days, my procedure was highly unsystematic – I’m sure there are many more delicious versions out there. But for what it is worth, I want to report on two extraordinary incarnations. However, I have to do it in two installments, because there is reason to digress…

I begin with the Rifugio Tre Scarperi. The place reminded me of a Greek temple: everything is about location, perspective, light, sun, and the horizon. The rifugio is built into a kind of corner, high up in the mountains. When you sit in front of it, it’s like sitting in a theater, built for perfect vision of panoramic events. Also, you can sit outside even though it’s still winter, because the layout of the building provides unbelievably smart shelter against the wind.

Anyway, the strudel. Impressively different from anything one might find in Manhattan: practically no sugar, only a tiny bit on top. It didn’t really taste like cake, more like a kind of nutritious bread, with raisins, apples, and nuts. This is serious mountain food, perfect if you have a couple more hours of hiking to do. Five stars for its lovely flavor and total lack of pretension. And, of course, for location. *****