Falstaff Special Boutiquehotels English.pdf

dreams / SOUTHERN

dreams / SOUTHERN FLAVORS At the centre. Not only the name of the hotel testifies to the hostess’s passion for citrus fruits. The yellow fruit of the gods can be found everywhere in the hotel and garden. Photos: Christian Husar 28

IT IS NO WONDER THAT FOR CENTU- RIES LEMONS HAVE BEEN THE SYMBOL OF THE SOUTH. Voluptuous is the word that perhaps best describes the scent of lemons. The fact that they like to emit their delightful fragrance in thick clouds in the evening and at night adds to their magic. And then, of course, there’s the taste: their juice and flesh are delightfully refreshing, fruity and tart, their skins bursting with delicious essential oils that you only need to squeeze once to send a visible, fragrant fountain into the air – a natural perfume bottle from the tree. In addition to all sorts of fantastic flavours, citrus fruits also contain plenty of glutamate, that natural flavour enhancer that makes just about everything it comes into contact with taste better. A SHORT JOURNEY THROUGH TIME No wonder they have been the symbol of the South for centuries. “Do you know the land where the lemon-trees grow, in darkened leaves the gold-oranges glow, a soft wind blows from the pure blue sky, the myrtle stands mute, and the bay-tree high? Do you know it well? It’s there I’d be gone, to be there with you, O, my beloved one!” Goethe wrote at the end of the 18th century. This may sound kitschy today, but it still sums up the longing of Central Europeans for warmer, sunnier climes quite well. Citrus fruits are winter sun for squeezing. No wonder Helena Ramsbacher had 150 lemon trees planted in the paradisaical garden of her hotel on Brač – and then named the hotel “Lemongarden” after the small plantation. Depending on the season, guests can either revel in the scent of the blossoms or pick a fresh fruit from the tree. Still warm from the sun and ripe, they are so > Breakfast with a view. On the sumptuous breakfast table, lemon jam plays a starring role. 29