Ten best “Extreme Ironing” stunts from around the world

by Gadling Staff on

Sometimes questions are better left unanswered. Like how a sport called “extreme ironing” has circumnavigated the globe, fascinating folks from France to Fiji. Described on the official website as the “latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt,” it’s an activity that is as much a sport as it is a hilarious performance art. Here are the most unique incarnations of this increasingly popular international craze. Get ready to be amazed and amused as participants from around the world make a new name for this mundane household chore:

1. England: Multi-Disciplinary Extreme Ironing
Since the thrilling sport of extreme ironing was born in the United Kingdom, it makes sense that they’ve mastered the art. This guy has more than one trick up his sleeve when it comes to finding ridiculous places to get the wrinkles out of his duds. I’m just not sure they always score that high when it comes to productivity…

2. Japan: Speed Ironing on a Mountain Board

Short and sweet – this guy knows how to get the chores done. In speedy fashion he gains ground heading down a grassy hill, iron in hand, and takes a bold turn right in time to graze the shirt awaiting him on his ironing board. Who says you can’t extreme iron in a city park – at least that works when adventuring in Japan.

3. USA: Ironing in Transit, on Road and over Water
At first you think these crazy guys are just tied in to the side of a moving van attached to a soldered ironing board, but after they round a few curves the “van” takes to the water… Magically, this dual-purpose craft allows for two extreme forms of ironing, and to these Massachusetts pranksters that means double the pleasure. I know the state has much more to offer than this ironing activity.


4. Scotland: Street Level Emergency Ironing
Apparently in Edinburgh there are circumstances under which emergency ironing is necessary. But luckily this popular pastime has quite a following in these parts, including this fellow who’s one call in case you need him to run down the street after your dress clothes, iron in tow. Just try and block out the corny chase scene music track.


5. Austria: Rappel-Ironing
I made an exception for this Austrian guy who didn’t have a video camera – the video collage he got his friends to help him make shows just how much time they’ve got on their hands. Extra points for the matching spandex outfit and brightly-painted house off which he rappels. I’m assuming he likes to chat with neighbors passing by while he irons shirts, but I can’t imagine he wears suits much at all.


6. England: Sky Dive Ironing Championship Training
You can sky dive in England, and you can iron, but you can also to both at the same time. In fact, there are leagues dedicated entirely to the sport and regularly compete on points of style and creativity in extreme sky dive surf ironing, or whatever the league calls themselves. Watch as the teams prep for the big dives, there are a lot of clothes ready to hit the board. On your next trip to the UK look out for local Extreme Ironing competitions, they actually exist and can be attended!


7. Egypt: Ironing Underwater in the Famous Blue Hole
It isn’t at all the first thing I’d think of when talking up Egyptian travel, but the famous Blue Hole, an incredible geographic asset in the middle the desert, has more possibilities than meets the eye. To this gal it was extreme ironing, and she succeeding in reaching her goal of being the first and only diver to iron at the bottom of this aquamarine-blue body of water.

8. England: Extreme Ironing Skydive
You think these two are just jumping out of a plane with snowboards attached to their feet, but before too long you see they’ve got other plans, to use the bottom of the board at the ironing surface for their own form of extreme ironing. I’m sure if you get in a few jumps on your next extreme sports adventure to England, that the instructor might let you try out some of these moves if the spirit moves you.

9. New Zealand: Extreme Ironing on a Mountaintop
I can picture these Kiwi guys arguing all the way up the mountain about who would carry the ironing board, but however they managed to drag it up there, it is one incredible place to iron. The view of snowy crags and a sea of rocky peaks makes for a nice ambiance, I’m just not sure it would be my first choice of activity after mountaineering to the top of this exquisite New Zealand Peak, but hey, that’s just me.

10. USA: Extreme Ironing on a Bike
I’m not sure how this guy justified assembling this very complex rigging in order to conquer his ironing while rolling through New York’s Central Prospect Park. I can only assume from his hilarious video that his thought many others would be interested in his design in order to replicate his fanciful strapping of a gasoline generator to a mountain bike and an ironing board. At least one of these extreme ironers actually ended up with a wrinkle-free shirt!

You have to eat sausage in Vienna. You have to.

by Annie Scott on


I don’t know your life, but I do know you need to eat sausage in Vienna. If you are a vegetarian, I get that, and there are options for you at some of the finer purveyors, so you are included in this. Weiner schnitzel is delicious and all, but it actually originated in Milan. You should probable have a Sacher Torte at some point, but none of this negates the fact that you absolutely must eat some sausage — or wurst, as they call it — in Vienna. You have to.

Overview

Sausage in Vienna is the customary fast food. It’s what people eat on the go or when it’s a nice day for hanging around outside at one of the stands. The Viennese go for sausages after the opera, on their lunch breaks, before clubbing, after clubbing, and basically anytime they feel a little peckish. It’s delicious. It’s protein. It’s sausage, all day, readily available, whenever you want it.

Sausages in Vienna are generally served sliced up and with mini forks. You will be asked whether you’d prefer a roll or bread with your sausage, and from what I understand, the correct response is “bread” (makes you sound like you know what you’re doing). Also, you will uniformly be given mustard, even if you’ve ordered currywurst (sausage doused in curry powder). If you’d prefer a different sauce, you can certainly ask, but you’ll probably look silly. The appropriate beverage to consume with your wurst is a beer — and yes, it is perfectly acceptable to drink beer in the street in Vienna. Nobody does it much, at least not further than a few yards from a sausage stand, but it is, in fact, legal. I found this to be a killer cheap thrill:

Not all sausage is made equal. There are three particularly well-known sausage slingers in Vienna. Two are stands, and one is a micro-restaurant with some crazy, inventive flavors and art from local university students. We’ll cover that one first.Kiosk

Kiosk is the city’s best-known indoor sausage stand (for lack of a better term). The cozy corner shop has a Lower East Side, NYC vibe, from the layout to the music to the staff. The blackboard serves as the menu, and you can order sausage, wine, beer and bread, and a few other options are available in case you go with lame friends. There is a vegetarian sausage option here, but the true star of the menu is the “Bosna.” Kiosk is notoriously tight-lipped about how they make their sausages, and which kinds are made of what, but you know what? We don’t really want to know how sausage is made, do we? No. In addition to their well-beloved Bosna, their currywurst is also extraordinary, and probably the best sausage I’ve ever had anywhere.

Kiosk also, as I mentioned, displays art work by local art students. In the gallery, you’ll see a photo of the current display of portraits. Each one is available for just 100 euros, in case you’re interested in investing in promising young artists, or would like a piece of local art for a souvenir.

The One By the Albertina

The Albertina is a historical museum/event space which we’re not going to talk about; we’re going to talk about the legendary sausage stand outside of it. Also known as “the one behind the State Opera,” this stand offers all the standard sausage fare, and the patronage is half the fun. You’ll see everyone from slumming students to opera-goers in full evening gowns at this stand, drinking beer and eating sausage with mini forks. You can try sausages of the same names at stands all over Vienna, but this one just packs a little extra magic.

The One by the Bermuda Triangle

Did you know there’s a Bermuda Triangle in Vienna? There is; it’s what they call their confusing little district of clubs just off the city center in the northern part of the Ring. While it’s not a “cool” area, it’s always full of clubbers and drunken teens wandering around and getting lost (thus the name). There’s an especially good sausage stand right in front of it to serve said houligans, and you don’t have to walk through any complicated streets to get there from the main drag; it’s on the southern part of the area. By day or night, you’ll find some of Vienna’s tastiest offerings here, and if you map out your day correctly, it fits perfectly into a shopping or sightseeing schedule.

Check out the gallery below for more pics of these sausage destinations and, of course, more sausage.

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My visit to Vienna was sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

Vienna’s secret noontime ritual

by Annie Scott on


Every day at noon, folks in-the-know gather in front of the Anchor Clock (above) in Vienna, Austria.

There is no exciting maritime story behind this clock’s name; Der Anker just happened to be the insurance company to which it is attached. Back in the early 1900s, Derk Anker had bought themselves two buildings which were right next door to each other and wanted a meaningful way to connect them. What could be more meaningful than an animated clock? (Don’t answer that.)

That’s right, it’s animated. This clock was built by Franz Matsch between 1911 and 1917 and it features 12 full minutes of extremely slow entertainment. The character you see in front of the clock face is one of many historical figures, and they rotate all day long, very slowly, each at his or her own appointed hour. At noon, they all cycle through once while classical, Viennese-composed music plays for twelve minutes. From what I hear, even the music is the same as it was over a hundred years ago.

Here’s a two-minute snippet of the rotation:
You get the idea. It’s not exactly like watching paint dry, but it’s closer to that than, say, watching Die Hard.

It might have been a lot more exciting a hundred years ago, but it’s still fun to gather with the crowd and watch the Anchor Clock.

My visit to Vienna was sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

Must-see in Vienna: Spittelberg and the MuseumsQuartier

by Annie Scott on


If you’re looking for something to do in Vienna that’s off-the-beaten-path, I would suggest a visit to the historic Spittelberg area in the 7th district. Some define the entire 7th district as Spittelberg, but purists will tell you that it is actually just a collection of about six little cobbled streets, each more charming than the last. It’s just a quick skip-and-a-jump from the MuseumsQuartier, which I’ll tell you about, as well.

Spittelberg

Spittelberg was built from the 1700s to the early 1800s in an area belonging to a hospital. Over the years, the area became more and more run down, and by the 1960s, it had devolved into a red light district complete with drugs and prostitutes. The government made a move to tear it down, but suddenly, support for the area sprang up from groups all over Vienna. It was decided that Spittelberg should be restored and preserved. Now, it’s home to interesting boutiques and restaurants, art galleries and even a playground. Like with much of Vienna, Spittelberg is a mix of old and new.

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MuseumsQuartier

The MuseumsQuartier, or Museum Quarter, is a well-designed grouping of several museums outside the Baroque structure where Emperor Charles VI kept his horses. The standalone museums were begun in the 1990s and opened in 2001 to bring a younger, more diverse crowd to Vienna’s art scene. In the summer, the courtyard of the MuseumsQuartier is filled with benches for relaxing — and every year, the public votes on what color those benches will be. DJs or bands play, and people sit outside the Istanbul-infuenced Milo cafe with coffees and drinks, whether they’re visiting the museums or just enjoying the ambience. This is not a tourist trap; this is where you will find the actual cool Viennese people.

The museums of the MuseumsQuartier include the Leopold Museum, which is famous for its Schieles, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, among others. It is definitely worth a visit.

My visit to Vienna was sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

The Alstadt Hotel – unassuming luxury

by Annie Scott on


The Alstadt Hotel is a charming Vienna residence where one feels instantly at home.

Located in historic Spittelberg (Vienna’s 7th district), the accommodations are a strange blend of home and hotel, in that they share a stairway, an elevator and several hallways with actual Vienna apartments. You can see from the photo at right that at first glance, you might not even notice that it’s a hotel, as the reception level and lobby are on the 2nd floor. How often does one walk through their fancy hotel and see people carrying their groceries? I found this juxtaposition welcoming and fun.

When I stayed at The Alstadt last month, I was lucky enough to be put in one of the Matteo Thun rooms. The Alstadt has 8 rooms and one suite created by this Italian design superstar. Mine, “The Leonie,” was decked in blacks, grays, silvers and rich red. Check out the gallery to see the Victorian wallpaper, see-through black tile bathroom and the image of a naked woman on the ceiling above the bed (surprisingly tasteful!).

%Gallery-88597%Breakfast at the Alstadt is a cozy, friendly affair. Guests all gather in the common spaces downstairs to partake in the buffet and free-flowing coffee, orange juice and champagne. The food was a quirky blend of savory and sweet, most of it very light, and eggs could be made to order. One thing I especially liked about the breakfast was that it encouraged guests to make use of the comfortable and welcoming lobby space on the reception level, which can be used all day as a sitting room — and might otherwise not be utilized properly, because you don’t have to pass it to get to your room. The reception level also includes a smoking room with a free internet-enabled computer, so travelers without laptops don’t have to completely disconnect.

If you’re looking for a cool place to stay in Vienna with a little luxury and a lot of character, I would highly recommend The Alstadt. They offer packages for art lovers and honeymooners, and rates start at 119 euros (approximately $161.51) per night.

My visit to Vienna was sponsored by the Vienna Tourist Board and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.