Category: Misc.
Chilling in the Swiss Alps
Amy takes a dip in Arosa, Switzerland’s ice-cold Untersee lake. Courtesy Carmen Prantl of EisbadiArosa.
My mother has offered lots of advice over the years. Some of it I’ve heeded: “Look both ways before you cross the street.” “Always buckle your seatbelt.” Some of it I haven’t: “Don’t talk to strangers.” (As a journalist, that’s part of my job…and generally speaking, the stranger the better).
But one topic evaded her maternal warning system. “Never set foot in a frozen lake in a bikini.” Or rather, “Never set foot in a frozen lake, full stop.”
So if you’re reading this, Mum, look away now. The rest of you can read the full story in Wine Dine + Travel Magazine.
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Carmen Prantl, a volunteer with the EisbadiArosa ice-bathing organization, coaches Amy through her frozen dip in Switzerland’s Untersee lake. Courtesy Tschuggen Hotel Group.
Winter in Bavaria, Germany: A Festive Foodie Feast
If your idea of the perfect holiday season escape is like something out of Hansel and Gretel—charming half-timbered cottages and all-you-can eat sweet treats (minus the cannibalistic overtones, obviously)—then buckle up for Bavaria, my friends. Just be prepared to loosen your belt a notch or two, because this trio of festive destinations—Rothenburg, Bayreuth, and Nuremberg—will leave you full to bursting with the Christmas spirit, not to mention gingerbread and glühwein.
A present-laden car and stately nutcracker mark the entrance to the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop and museum in Rothenburg. Copyright Amy Laughinghouse.
Colonel Saab: London’s India-Inspired Salute to Afternoon Tea
There are few culinary customs more quintessentially British than afternoon tea. Typically consisting of a selection of bite-sized savoury sandwiches, scones, sweets, and bottomless brews (of the leafy variety…as opposed to pints), this gastronomic indulgence dates back nearly 200 years.
In the 1840s, the Duchess of Bedford, one of Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting, got tired of waiting–on her evening meal, that is. To assuage the “sinking feeling” she often got around 5 PM, the Duchess requested some tea, bread, butter, and cake. “What a terrible idea” said no one ever, and thus, the tradition was born.
There have been many clever 21st Century takes on this historic repast, from fashionis-teas to fur-tea-ve dalliances with felines. One especially apt incarnation, given the rise of the U.K.’s first prime minister of Indian descent, Rishi Sunak, is afternoon tea at Colonel Saab.
