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  • From: Stefan Brandle <sbrandle@cse.taylor.edu>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Another report from Europe
  • Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:00:54 +0200

I've seen quite a lot of interesting things and have neither the memory nor the time to report them all, but here are some more thoughts.

Danube apricots: while visiting in Bavaria, they gave me some apricot juice to drink and explained that it was a great Austrian specialty from along the Danube. They said that the fruit was huge (and used hand signs to show something the size of a small apple), picked at perfect ripeness, non-shippable because of delicateness, and absolutely incredible in flavor. Because it has to ripen on the tree, and because ripe ones don't pick and don't last long, they must be picked and the right time and processed (or eaten!) quickly. The apricot juice/nectar flavor was really good. I would love to try the actual fruit, but Austria is not on my schedule. But there are good articles online and google images has pictures:
http://www.waldviertel.or.at/tiscover/pressecorner.asp?medium=PCN&sprache=d&archiv=&id=55478&tt=PCN_R19
(English search) http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=wachau+apricot&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
(German search -- better pictures, but text is German) http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=wachau+Marillen&btnG=Search+Images

Carpathian Walnuts: these are everywhere in Germany (that I was), lots in Switzerland and some in France. The German generic word for nut tree (Nussbaum) refers to the Carpathian walnut. Some of the trees are very large, compared to anything that I've seen. I took some pictures of trees taller than a 4-storey building. Don't have time to upload pictures now, but I'll try later.

I saw a 2-storey elderberry (sambucus ?): I went back and took pictures and ask locally about what it was and the answer was elderberry (don't remember the German name right now, begins with an 'H'). Really amazing to see it that big.

There is a mulberry in London with leaves the size of my hands. The fruit is redish, very juicy, and about the size (length and width) of the last two segments of my index finger. I don't think it was totally ripe. Have pictures, will try to post later.

Last (taxi is about to arrive), I saw a whole bunch of cedrus ? in Switzerland. Altitude was about 800-1000 feet. People appear to be very fond on them and use them abundantly in landscaping. Some are blueish (color of a blue spruce) and some are more the color of the cedrus libani that I've seen. Didn't get to ask about the variety.

-- sb





  • [NAFEX] Another report from Europe, Stefan Brandle, 07/23/2008

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