What to eat in Baden: Flammkuchen, Schwarzwälder Schinken (Black Forest Hams), and Feldsalat

Of all the historic regions of Germany, the district traditionally known as Kaiserstuhl, a beautiful wine-growing valley tucked away between the east bank of the River Rhine and the western fringe of the Black Forest, is considered by many food critics as the culinary capital of Germany.

In this part of Germany, food and wine are taken very seriously, and people in general pay far more attention to the quality and taste of their food, as well as how and where foodstuff are produced and farmed. Organic farming is not a new concept in this part of Germany at all; when I was a student at the University of Freiburg throughout the 1990s, the local population was already very much into 'Bio-produkte' - namely foodstuffs produced by organic farming methods. Anything that has been certified by relevant authorities to be a genuine produce of an organic farm in Germany can fetch a far better price than products produced on a conventional basis. 

When it comes to local specialities, the first thing that comes to mind is the well-known Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwälder Schinken), which is a smoked ham produced in the Black Forest region of southern Germany. The ham was first salted and seasoned with various spices, then left to cure for several weeks before being cold smoked in room temperature with the smoke created by burning a mixture of fir and sawdust, a process which lends the ham its beautiful deep red colour and its smoky flavour.  

What and where to eat in Bodrum? Some Places where Discerning Locals Go

Being someone who has spent almost a decade living in Bodrum, it is interesting to note that compared to maybe a few years ago, some of the restaurants preferred by locals are starting to serve a more innovative kind of Mediterranean Fusion cuisine which aims to combine the elements of Turkish Aegean cookings with those of the neighbouring Greece and South-Eastern Mediterranean region. More and more restaurants in the chic part of Bodrum, frequented by Turkey's affluent yacht-owning jetset class, begin to experiment with different styles of food preparation whilst using fresh ingredients locally available from the gardens and fields of the Bodrum Peninsula. Instead of the usual 'Turkish cuisine' that can be found all over the place, an increasing number of restaurants in Bodrum are offering both traditional-regional and Mediterranean dishes with a twist.

To start with, it is important to note that to a certain extent, the cuisines of Bodrum have always been unique, especially when compared to the rest of Turkey. Culinarily speaking, traditional cookings in Bodrum Peninsula have been influenced by the neighbouring Greek Dodecanses islands, as well as by the recipes of the Muslim refugees from the island of Crete who were resettled in this part of Asia Minor from the mid-19th century onwards, whose culinary tradition involves routine use of wild herbs, spices such as cumin, fresh vegetables, seafood, and olive-oil based dishes. In day-to-day Bodrum cookings, the use of fish, seafood, olive oil, herbs, spices, and seasonal wild greens available from the fields and valleys of the Bodrum Peninsula are paramount in importance, and the prominence of these ingredients in the preparation of day-to-day food is what makes Bodrum regional cuisine stand out from amongst the rest of the field.

Gümüşlük: Tree in the Water, Romantic Seaside Dinner, and the Sunken City of Myndos

About 45 minutes by car northwest of Bodrum is the seaside village of Gümüşlük, known for its (pricy) seaside fish+seafood restaurants, splendid views of sunset over the Aegean, and the Sunken Underwater City of Myndos. 

Being the site where the ancient city of Myndos once stood, modern Gümüşlük is accorded the status of a designated protected area, which has helped to prevent the beaches and hillside surrounding this little village from falling prey to the watchful eyes of property developers. Besides the fish restaurants and taverns that lined the waterfront of the harbour which made the little fishing village appearing more Greek than Turkish, the main attraction of Gümüşlük is of course the sight of the ruins of ancient Myndos, which lie in part submerged in the shallow waters, in part on the Rabbit Island right across the narrow stretch of sea directly facing the small fishing harbour.