The last time I was in Germany was 15 years ago, when I visited Berlin for a long weekend during the early aughts mega-club era. Earlier this year, I was presented with a very different opportunity to experience the region: traveling by rail from Munich to Lucerne to Zurich to visit Mandarin Oriental properties in each city.
Arriving in Munich under bluebird skies, I was struck by its swaths of green: People fly fished on the Isar River, which bisects the city, and a jog through the English Garden revealed rolling lawns, commuters hustling to work, and children at morning soccer practice. It was an everyday slice of Munichian life, the minutiae that fuels my desire to travel. The way we commute, grocery shop, and board public transit often divulges more about a culture than any museum.
Then there was Frühlingsfest, a smaller, more subdued answer to Oktoberfest that happened to coincide with my time in Munich. I suited up in traditional dress ( dirndls for women and lederhosen for men) and took in a world of beer, brats, and pretzels. Many a stein was hoisted to the sounds of “Ein Prosit” and boisterous dancing. Germans don’t mess around when it comes to celebrations. The decor of the Mandarin Oriental, Munich is similarly bold: Contemporary and signature Asian elements playfully unite with traditional details, collectively referencing the building’s previous incarnation as the city’s opera house. The Munich-to-Lucerne train snakes through the Alps, with a surprise detour into Austria that offers a glimpse of Lake Constance. My view featured sauna culture alongside fishermen and swimmers brave enough to handle the brisk waters. The window of a train, I was reminded, is almost always better than in-flight entertainment.
Arriving at the Mandarin Oriental Palace, Lucerne was another delightful discovery. The hotel is conveniently located in the charming heart of Old Town, right on the edge of the city’s namesake lake. I opened my terrace’s French doors to take in the scene, which was framed by the Alps — some snow capped, others tree lined. But it wasn’t until the next day that I visited Lucerne’s main attraction, Mount Pilatus. It took a 20-minute drive followed by a 45-minute gondola ride (or five-hour hike) to reach the nearly 2,000-foot peak, which offered a breathtaking perspective of the city. If I’d had more time, I might’ve camped there for a night to watch the sunrise. Zurich, my final stop, balanced nature with culture. The Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich, mere steps from the Bahnhofstrasse’s luxury boutiques and Michelin-starred restaurants, offers an ideal base for exploring. I stumbled upon a flea market filled with antiques, toured the city’s up-and-coming west side on an e-bike, and explored Kunsthaus Zürich, the country’s preeminent art museum. The city was also home to my favorite restaurant of the entire trip, Kronenhalle: a 100-year-old institution, where white-jacketed servers present local hits — goulash, schnitzel, and rösti — on silver platters, surrounded by works from Marc Chagall, Joan Miró, Pierre Bonnard, and other French modernism masters. Grand design was the throughline to this varied trip, found in each Mandarin Oriental property. Like portals to a bygone era of refinement, they feature high ceilings and parquet floors, more than a few chandeliers, and plentiful gilding, with velvet drapes and pin-cushioned ottomans layering the opulence with comfort. The other common thread? Lilacs. Their sweet fragrance combined with aromas of freshly baked rye bread in Munich, woody notes in Lucerne, and clean lakeside air in Zurich, underscoring one of the many gifts of off-season travel: Beyond offering moderate weather and fewer crowds, it allows you to truly absorb the scents of a place. |
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Wine pairings are nothing new, but when the practice is extended to cognac — typically an after-dinner spirit — dishes take on a fresh, unique character. So it goes for the dining experience in the Hennessy Paradis Suite at The St. Regis Aspen Resort, a partnership between the 260-year-old spirits brand and the hotel. In the comfort of the spacious accommodation, guests can enjoy a private dinner pairing Maison Hennessy’s rarest creations with a curated menu developed by the hotel’s executive chef, Buğra Keleş. “I started by thinking about how people picture cognac in their minds, drinking it with dark chocolate, near a fireplace,” says Keleş. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but with such rich, aromatic, and exquisite flavors, why not add it to meals?”
To develop the menu, Keleş worked with the Hennessy team, including its seventh-generation master blender Renaud Fillioux de Gironde, to explore how the maison’s various editions would combine with different courses. For example, a Wagyu striploin atop parsnip puree with white alba truffle was served alongside Hennessy X.O. The maison’s signature 155-year-old edition bears notes of dark chocolate, oak, and peppery heat, bringing out the course’s nutty flavors with some extra warmth.
Keleş also collaborated with chef Cyril Baudin of Château Bagnolet (the historic Hennessy home) on the menu’s pièce de résistance: a dessert aptly named Cognac to Colorado. The lavender-infused baba cake featured a dehydrated peach glaze, vanilla chantilly, and lemon madeline complemented by Cognac Hennessy Paradis, the maison’s amber-hued, limited-edition blend, which was developed in 1979 by Maurice Fillioux as a tribute to symphonic music. This particular course best reflects the namesake suite’s warm, soft interiors, a comforting combination of marble, mohair, and wood. There’s even a Steinway Spiriocast baby grand piano in the living room, a nod to the original inspiration of Hennessy Paradis — and an opportunity to create your own harmonies. |
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My family was approaching a milestone: Our eldest daughter was leaving for college. We all sensed a chapter closing and the uncertainty of what lay ahead. It felt like the last chance for a bucket-list road trip, which we chose to take in Spain, traveling from Madrid through Andalusia, an area rich with the intertwined histories of Christianity, Judaism, and Moorish culture.
We wanted experiences that would bring us together, like touring the Alhambra fortress in Granada, while leaving room for the girls to enjoy their own adventures. That’s what brought us to La Donaira, a nine-bedroom hotel, spa, and organic farm set in stunning Serranía de Ronda, a world away from the urban monuments we’d been exploring days before. We met our gracious hosts in the village of El Gastor, where we climbed into a Toyota 4Runner that carried us to the finca (Spanish for “estate”). We had read about the beauty of the area but were wholly unprepared for what surrounded us as we approached the property: snow-capped mountains in the far distance (the first range to catch rain clouds after they cross the Atlantic), endless olive groves and vineyards, and rolling hills dotted with sheep and horses. The air smelled fresh as the sun warmed the landscape after days of rain. Everything seemed to be coming to life.
Our bags were whisked away as we entered the main house, where we would later share meals, play games, listen to music, and meet other guests over pre-dinner cocktails and jamon. On one particularly memorable evening, those cocktails stretched late into the night.
Manuel and Nerea, the property’s onsite chefs, walked us through La Donaira’s farm-to-table practices before serving us a delicious lunch of homemade bread, freshly churned butter, a chilled soup, their own kombucha, and greens from the medicinal garden, which is meticulously curated by Gigi (its lavender and spearmint still live in our memory). Many staff members share a similarly personal relationship with the land: David, for example, arrived as a sommelier but is now a winemaker; Veronica brought her donkeys to the property years ago and today leads guests in shinrin-yoku (forest bathing).
After lunch, a tour with María (one of our hosts) provided us with insight into the consideration present in all elements of the property. From the herbs grown for its soaps and soups to the trails linking nearby communities for events like the annual fall trail run, everything is intentional and connected to the region’s history and culture.
A basket overflowing with fragrant oranges could have been arranged by the master painter Diego Velázquez (he was from Seville, just an hour and a half away). Logs would magically appear in the sauna’s fireplace, which resided alongside a breathtaking plunge pool. The staff even seemed to sense our family’s lifestage, leading us to a part of the farm where baby lambs (called “orphans”) were kept.
I watched the girls scoop them up as they used to with puppies, hoping we’d let them bring one home. It was a glimpse back into their childhoods and a reminder to savor the moments we had together in this serene, special place. Our stay at La Donaria has become part of the “greatest hits” of our family travels — a North Star for the type of experiences we want our children to have as adults exploring the world, and a place we hope to return to for future milestone moments. |
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Chef Sara Aqel’s culinary path spans continents, but her heart remains close to home. Born and raised in Jordan to Palestinian parents, she trained at Les Roches in Switzerland before interning at The Hong Kong Jockey Club, then eventually became executive chef of Fi’lia, the first fully female-led restaurant in Dubai. Now, she’s returned to Amman and co-founded Dara Dining, a restaurant offering dishes layered with emotional memory and subtle reinvention ( dara means “home” in Arabic). Aqel’s cooking represents her shared cultural roots — Palestinian stuffed vine leaves, Jordanian mansaf (lamb cooked in a fermented, dried yogurt sauce with rice over flatbread) — but with a twist. At Dara, even tabbouleh is reimagined, not as a salad but as a velvety cream that replaces tiger’s milk in a ceviche, resulting in a dish that’s transformed yet instantly familiar. In her words, “It’s like meeting someone and having so much in common that it feels like you know them, but you’ve just met them.”
Here, she shares the flavors, women, and rituals that have shaped her.
Karen Yuan: What’s a dish that feels like home?
Sara Aqel: My mom makes the best food and she's an amazing cook. One of the dishes everyone knows she makes the best is vine leaves stuffed in rice with meat on the bottom. It’s amazing. My dad also cooks very well. He makes breakfast every Friday and sometimes he bakes. There was always food in the house. My mom would always tell people, "We are seven [people] in the house. There’s always enough food."
KY: What did it mean to return to Jordan and open your own restaurant?
SA: It was very surreal. You always think you need to go somewhere else to create. Maturing professionally outside [my home country] made me realize what I actually like is what I had when I was younger. I had nature around me. I had seasonality. I had times when my mom laughed, because I'd asked for strawberries and it wasn’t the season. Being home means connecting with people who make your produce, like the farmers, the dairy makers. It helps a lot when you are creating something and it’s not about you. It’s just about a product that is very well done.
KY: What do you wish more people understood about where you’re from?
SA: Our region is full of beauty — culture, history, food, and traditions. I wish more people would come to see why we love it, why we’re so attached to it, why the land means so much to us. We should be proud of what we inherited. But we should also keep an open mind. In order to make [Jordan] global, we need to translate it into a language that is common between everyone in the world. And that’s food.
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KY: What’s the role of memory in your cooking?
SA: I love to think I can actually just trigger a feeling between people who come to the restaurant and the dishes I make. I want someone to take a bite and feel like you know it. You’re not sure how you know it, but you know it.
KY: What ingredient do you always return to?
SA: Tabbouleh is a very famous salad that we have in the region. If you talk to any Palestinian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Syrian — they’ve all had it growing up.
KY: How do you decide when to modernize tradition, or when not to?
SA: I'm a big fan of keeping traditional heritage as it is. Mansaf [Jordan's national dish, which features lamb cooked in jameed, fermented, dried yogurt] is something that is cherished in Jordan. People actually schedule their days according to what time mansaf is being served. I wouldn't want to play with that. But I’m also a big supporter of doing our takes on things. Some people wouldn't eat tabbouleh as a salad. They feel weird, like, “Why am I eating only parsley?” So we turned it into a cream for ceviche, which might be a great opening. If you like it as ceviche, I can talk to you about tabbouleh again and tell you it's actually a salad.
KY: Who inspires you?
SA: My mom, for sure. She has so much patience. I can't even tolerate myself and she raised five of us. My sisters are successful, strong, empowering, caring, thoughtful. They’ve never thought, “Why not?” They’ve always thought, “Why, yes.” I don’t think I’ve ever felt as confident as my little sister Hiba does. And Julia Child. She looked badass. She used to cook in heels and perms. She really embodied her womanhood.
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The Bear Lake Road Corridor is the most heavily trafficked part of Rocky Mountain National Park. Timed entry is required from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. during peak season and tickets sell out months in advance. Bear Lake serves as a trailhead for numerous other lakes in the area, all with their own unique views. Big tourist draws, such as Dream Lake and Emerald Lake, lie further up the trail, where the valleys become steeper and the air thinner. Nymph Lake, by contrast, is nestled in the forest, closer to the beginning of the trail. On any ordinary day, it would be a lake on the way to somewhere else. But when I walked by, I was not thinking about the day. I was imagining the night. By the time I revisited Nymph Lake, it was already dark.
The park is at its best when the crowds and clouds die down, when the sun and wind vanish. And Nymph Lake is perfect for my favorite summertime activity: stargazing. Small clearings dotted the edge of the water, with a handful of lily pads floating near the rim. The trees shielded the lake surface from the wind when I was there, creating a mirror in the night. Most importantly, a fantastic southern exposure gave me an unmatched view of the sky.
This shot has come to symbolize more than just late nights and lily pads. It reminds me to slow down, look up, and take the time to explore. It hasn’t failed me yet.
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Chasing Rainbows. While traveling this summer, I carried my Fabriano Cartucciera 36 case of watercolor crayons and pocket-sized Venezia notebook everywhere. The Italian-made crayons sit in a soft linen pouch, tied with a colored cotton ribbon. The high-quality pigments glide effortlessly across the page. So far, I’ve filled about 10 pages of the notebook; the rest I’ve reserved for landscapes to come. –Anna Kaplan
Spellbound. Given the promise of Vyrao — the fragrance company founded by Yasmin Sewell that channels and targets emotions and energy — it’s impossible to select only one bottle. Sometimes I yearn for Mamajuju, a scent with grounding and awareness-promoting properties; other moments call for Witchy Woo’s courage and creativity spells. Most days, I could benefit from spritzing on Sun Rae to elicit joy and happiness. Thankfully, eight of Vyrao’s fragrances now come packaged in a charming heart-shaped box, aptly called the Love Eight, each tiny enough to take on the go for a mini mood boost. –Jackie Risser
On the Tiber. Lele’s Roman brings a taste of Rome’s Trastevere neighborhood to Boerum Hill in Brooklyn. Chef Francesco Battisti captures the spirit of the traditionally working class, now evolved neighborhood with classics that return to its roots: tender suppli alla romana (with risotto, tomato, and mozzarella) and al dente rigatoni alla gricia served alongside carciofi. I can’t wait to pair a negroni with a lamb chop on my next visit. –Elysha Beckerman
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