Pieces of Ve - Travel & Food and Food & TravelPieces of Ve

Tannerhof – Biohotel Bayrischzell (Germany)

19. February 2018

When I wrote about Daberer and Posthotel I already told you that I was craving for some mountains and snow this year. And I’ve been lucky enough to get exactly that! My last stop has been at a place with an impressive history: Tannerhof at Bayrischzell, Germany. It was built in 1904 and it has always been a place known for naturopathy and its “back to nature” attitude. For generations until today the concept of a healthy life is the core philosophy of Tannerhof. This is why you can still find an extensive range of offerings like therapeutic fasting, gymnastics, various checkups, massages, deceleration cures etc. So I took the chance and had a full health checkup which I never seemed to have the time for when being home. Also, there are wellness options like sauna and massages which are to die for. Deceleration is another guiding principle at Tannerhof. This is why you won’t find television nor WLAN at the rooms which I found to be very refreshing. And not just that: my so called “Turmzimmer” has been an absolute delight. Everything was made out of wood and through my huge window and balcony I was able to enjoy a panoramic view over the mountains and sorrounding forest.

And I have been very excited about the food when I found out about the food philosophy at Tannerhof: there is one 4 course menu each evening and everything is 100% local and organic. And one thing I found to be especially impressive: 3 days a week there is a vegetarian menu for everyone due to sustainability and health reasons. Also, it has been no problem at all to order a full vegetarian diet for the whole time I stayed there. And the food truly turned out to be one of the highlights of my stay. Although it has been healthy indeed, it didn’t taste like that if you know what I mean 😉 That has been haute cuisine on a high level and you may take a look at the pictures to get an idea. Not to mention the breakfast. Oh, the breakfast! I guess I never found more variety of even vegan options at an breakfast buffet. I just couldn’t stop myself each morning and people must have been thinking that I was getting breakfast for two..

To wrap it up: those days at Tannerhof have been just perfect for contemplation, its beautiful nature and surroundings and to recharge batteries. To top it all, the amazing quality of the food made me feel like I’ve nourished my body as much as my soul during my stay.

Tannerhof

Tannerhofstraße 32

83735 Bayrischzell

Accomodation, Europe, Travel

Das Posthotel – Zell am Ziller (Austria)

19. February 2018

Das Posthotel is one of three high end hotels which are all part of ZillerSeason. It is one of the “Small Luxury Hotels of the World”and located in Zell am Ziller, which is a great spot when you’d also like to go skiing. The bus, which takes you to the huge Zillertal Arena, leaves right in front of the hotel and you can store your equipment in the basement of the hotel. But first things first: The Posthotel has been the second hotel on my trip and I’ve been so lucky with my room: The Skyloft Mariza. Like the rest of the hotel, the loft is furbished very exceptionally. Every loft has is own character and style and Mariza is the sexy one of them 😉 The thing which I liked most about the room was the convertible bathtub / sunbed with mountainview. I mean come on – how genius is that? I’ve spent a couple of minutes converting this thing back and forth, imaging how great it would be to take a bath while watching the sun go down behind the mountains (spoiler alert: it IS great indeed). Also, I definitely have to find out which scented candle they use. There sits one on the desk and it gave the whole room such a nice feel each time I’ve entered it. That was just one of the perfect little details of the room, on top of the high-end Sennheiser headphones, felt-slippers and natural cosmetics and care products from Susanne Kaufmann. Those things, which are thought through very cerafully, create this luxury feel you’ll get at some places in my point of view.

The one best thing in my opinion about this hotel is the restaurant. Included in my room was the 4 course gourmet menue. It was no problem to get an vegetarian alternative and it was put together so thoughtfully. I honestly don’t know when I’ve had such good food for the last time. Even the bread is extraordinary: it is home baked and when you come down to the restaurant you can already smell it. It comes with butter from the Alps and a little cress bouquet with vegetables and great olive oil. Well, I could go on and on for quite a while about the food but alltogether it is just really really great, regional and organic and even me as a vegetarian felt like this was haute cuisine on a very high level for three days in a row. By the way: I can encourage everybody to give feedback on great service like that instantly when you think that somebody did a great job. The chef seemed really flattered when I told him how much I appreciated his magic.

As you can tell from the pictures, there’s at least one more highlight. The beautiful spa including six saunas, relaxation area and heated outdoor swimmingpool and hot tub. Unlike in many other hotels, there even have been special sauna infusions, peels, etc where you can participate during your stay. And if you felt like you have had slightly too much food the night before (guilty!), you could use the fitness room and there even is a vital programm with pilates for example. Another thing I’ve really liked is that the Posthotel is certificated with the EU Ecolabel and the Austrian Ecolabel and that you can feel that it is family owned for many generations.The whole hotel was redesigned in a very careful way, preserving the natural atmosphere with the use of local woods and materials.

For me, ZillerSeasons provided a perfect blend of ski, spa, boutique and gourmet hotel. And what else could you ask for?

Posthotel ZillerSeasons

Rohrerstraße 4

6280 Zell am Ziller, Österreich

Accomodation, Europe, Travel

Der Daberer – Biohotel Dellach (Austria)

18. February 2018

After new year I’ve recognized two things: first, I haven’t experienced a real winter in cologne and secondly, I couldn’t stop looking at pictures from the mountains. I took that as a sign and started researching for hotels, which are not too far away so that I would be able to get there by car from cologne and in the middle of nature, with a nice spa and restaurant which would allow me to do literally nothing but going for walks, enjoying the spa and have great food. Soon, I’ve found a couple of hotels and planned a tour which started at the fabulous Biohotel der Daberer in Kärnten, Austria. When I arrived, something great happened as soon as I’ve entered the room: I instandly felt at home. I know that this is a platitude people often use but I never really felt it until that day. The whole place is so peaceful and everything is decorated and furnished in a way which makes it a pleasure for all senses to just be there. Literally everything about this place was great but there are two things which I’d like to point out especially: For one, the food. Oh my god, the food. Der Daberer is a Bio Hotel and also a member of slow food Austria. Besides, the husband of one of the owners owns a stunning gourmet food store, the Edelgreißler Herwig Ertl. Therefore, everything is organic, ingredients are of highest quality and I’ve found more vegetarian and especially vegan options than ever before. Especially for breakfast, which is very rare in my experience. Also, often the vegetarian option in other hotels has also been suitable for all kinds of diets and allergies which made me feel like I’m on a diet which is the last thing I want when beeing on holidays. Luckily, that hasn’t been the case here. Everything has been so delightful and just YUM! The second thing which I’ve enjoyed most was the spa. It is freshly renovated and the design and atmosphere are to die for. Just take a look at the pictures if you like. There are several saunas including a forest sauna, a natural pond and a fantastic indoor swimming pool with a wonderful view over the mountains and in my point of view almost more important: two incredible beautiful relaxations rooms with the same stunning view. Finally, I’d like to mention some more things which I loved about my stay: the Alpinstudio was spacious and very comfortable, and I was even provided with a meditation cushion, the view from the balcony (and even bed 😉 was beautiful and everyone of the staff has been highly professional and kind. Also, the owners regulary took there time to ask every guest if everything is alright and always have been present in some way which I thought is special. I don’t say this a lot but I’m saying it this time: Daberer is one of my all time favourite Hotels and I hope to come back one day.

Der Daberer – Das Biohotel

St. Daniel 32

9635 St. Daniel, Österreich

Accomodation, Europe

Hotel Oderberger – Berlin

17. February 2018

As I was able to spare a little time off from our restaurant Mashery Hummus Kitchen in Cologne I felt the need to squeeze in a little city trip to try some new restaurants. And we all know that there is one city very reachable and with a wide range of innovative food places: Berlin. As my list of restaurants contained places in all parts of the city I wanted a hotel which is comfortable, out of the ordinary and very central. Quick research and I’ve found what I was searching for: Hotel Oderberger in the heart of so-called “Helmholtzkiez”. They took an old town pool which was built in 1898 and was shut down in 1986 and they rebuilt it as a hotel in 2012. It took them four years to turn the municipal building into an very modern and up to date hotel. Everywhere you’ll find pictures and many other artefacts which will remind you of the impressive history of the building and even the city. Sometimes, wandering around the halls made me feel like beeing in the middle of an art gallery and often it took me some extra minutes to wander around and take a look at the pictures.

But whats most important when booking a hotel? Location, right? And it’s just perfect: the train station is just two minutes away from the hotel and you are located basically in the middle of wide spread Berlin which allows you to get everywhere very easily. And whats almost as important as location? Breakfast!! Well, I loved the breakfast. For instance, the restaurant is so beautiful. Just take a look at the pictures and you’ll see what I’m talking about. But whats of course even more important is the food. There’s such a wide range of regional, vegetarian and even some vegan choices. ALSO, you can make your own fresh waffles. Enough said! I would love to stay there again one day.

If you’re interested, I’d like to mention some restaurants nearby with a wide range of vegetarian and vegan choices which I really enjoyed:

Lecker Song: amazing little place selling homemade dumplings. Almost half of the menue is vegetarian/vegan. Favourite restaurant of the trip. Schliemannstr. 19, 10437 Berlin
Häppies: cute small restaurant with just a choice of yeast dumplings. Very innovative, friendly staff and just YUM. Dunckerstraße 85, 10437 Berlin

Hotel Oderberger

Oderberger Str. 57

10435 Berlin

Allgemein, Europe, Food, Travel

Gräflicher Park – Hotel Bad Driburg

19. November 2017

Do you know those times when you are just exhausted, tired, uninspired? Most likely when you’ve worked too much, didn’t get enough sleep and just haven’t had enough time for yourself in a while. It has been a time like that for me and my best friend. So we’ve made the only sane decision one could make in that situation: to get a break! Soon we found the Hotel Gräflicher Park quite close to our home town cologne. While browsing through the Website we couldn’t believe all the benefits this place has to offer:

Amazingly beautiful surrounding: the “Gräflicher Park”
Extensive spa area on 1.500 m² with a pool, saunas
Big variety of wellness and medical treatments
2 restaurants and 1 cafe each with very good reputation
Included Ayurveda clinic
Modern and beautiful rooms

Especially the Ayurveda treatments and approach which even applies to the menu of the restaurant fascinated us. Decision made! A few weeks ago in October 2017 my friend, her baby and me spent two nights at the hotel. Spoiler alert: we LOVED it there. The whole property was built 230 years ago in the 17th century and is run by a family in 7th generation. When we arrived and got a first glimpse at the venue we wondered if this could really be the hotel we are about to stay in. It’s just amazingly beautiful. During our stay we had the pleasure to experience the Ayurveda pulse diagnosis, the Ayurveda three course menue including a chat with the chef, tried all of the restaurants and the spa area. I guess one could say that we really made the best of our stay. So where to start? I’d like to point out the two highlights. First, the pulse diagnosis which was examined by Vaidya Kumaran Rajsekhar has been astonishing. Both of us were surprised which detailed insights he received by simply taking our pulse and asking a few questions. At the end, you’ll get a detailed recommendation regarding the recommended diet and lifestyle. Secondly, to complete this experience we signed up for the three course Ayurveda menu which was prepared by head chef Thomas Blümel. What should I say? You simply HAVE to book this when you are there. I told my friend that this has probably been the best meal of my life and I still can’t believe how great it was. Also, it has been vegan and prepared according to ayurvedic principles. So basically, it has been full of amazing flavours, healthy and cruelty free. What a great combination. Also, talking with Thomas Blümel has been very interesting and gave us an insight on how many benefits this way of cooking has and also how the staff of Gräflicher Park is treated. The management obviously internalized how important it is to support the health of the bodies and minds of their employees. I personally find this very progressive and also it is something which you can really tell as everybody is just extremely friendly and positive. Well, what can I say: this weekend was just everything we did hope for and more.

Accomodation, Europe, Food, Travel

Hotel Schwarzschmied – South Tyrol

27. August 2017

We’ve spent the other half of our vacation in southtyrol at Hotel Schwarzschmied which is located close to the beautiful city of Meran. It is surrounded by vineyards and the whole setting and design of the place is just extraordinary. The moment we entered our room I fell in love. The garden suite is one of the most beautiful rooms Schwarzschmied has to offer. The most amazing detail is the large bathtub with a view over the vineyards and church. Rarely I have felt so comforted and like home when entering a hotel room. I’ve been so tempted to spent there every minute of my stay and just the fact that everything else was so great as well. There is a great spa with three saunas, indoor and outdoor pool and best of it: there’s a yoga class everyday! Even my boyfriend tried it once and liked it. The Yoga teacher is exceptional and also gives great holistic massages which I’ve tried as well. Also, there are special activities everyday like guided hikes or cultural events. I can’t really say that I’ve hiked a lot but that surely didn’t keep me from enjoying the wonderful food they served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast and lunch was served in buffet form and you can choose from three courses for dinner. And guess what: one of the courses is always vegan or vegetarian. And if theres nothing on the menue which you like, you can always ask for another alternative and everybody will try their best to meet your wishes. I’m still searching for the right words but my whole stay I’ve just felt so very welcomed and cozy. I hope to be able to go back there some day.

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