The best ski resorts in the Alps

There are few places on Earth that offer better skiing than the Alps. The mountains, which stretch across France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and beyond, offer a mix of culture, history, atmosphere, and amazing slopes covered in some of the best powder on the planet. It should come as no surprise that there are a number of world class ski resorts in the Alps, and British newspaper The Guardian has made their selection of the very best lodges to be found there.

This list of ten great resorts are not listed in any kind of order. Instead, they each come with a qualifier, such as “Best for romance” or “Best for families”. In the case of those two examples, The Guardian suggests Wedelhutte in Austria as a romantic getaway for you and your significant other, and Hamilton Lodge in Switzerland as a fun destination for the entire family.

The more adventurous travelers will want to head to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise Hut, located outside of Zermatt, Switzerland. This destination is lauded as the “Best for hardcore skiers”, and Zermatt is legendary for its challenging runs. Others may want to go to Roc de La Peche, in Pralognan, France, named the “Most remote” of the lodges in the Alps.

Other categories include “Best for foodies”, “Best views”, and even “Best-kept secret”, so no matter what you want out of your skiing, there is a location on the list that will cater to your needs. With the New Year now upon us, expect some great deals on airfares to Europe. Don’t forget to pack your warm clothes, and prepare for some fun on the slopes.

Amazing timelapse movies of the Alps

The Alps are one of the most beautiful and iconic mountain ranges on the planet. Stretching across the continent from France to Austria, and sweeping through Italy, Switzerland, and Germany in the process. The Alps gave rise to a culture of mountaineering that would eventually spread across the globe and spur the exploration of mountains in every corner of the planet, led by a host of European mountaineers who cut their teeth on peaks like Mount Blanc and The Eiger.

The very essence of those mountains has been captured very well in a series of timelapse videos by photographer Michael Rissi who shot them in the Swiss Alps this past summer and fall. The images are stunning and will inspire you to want to go there yourself, and the music by Beethoven, is a perfect accompaniment. Enjoy!

[via Boing Boing]

Timelapse movie: The Alps — part I from Michael Rissi on Vimeo.

Sale on German train tickets starts Dec. 7

Starting on Monday, December 7, German Railway train tickets will go on sale — and it’s quite the guter Kauf (bargain). They’re only 66 Euros for two one-way tickets, on local or regional trains anywhere in Germany and Austria.

The tickets will be sold at the German discount supermarket Lidl. The tickets must be for travel on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, between January 4 and March 31, 2010. Children under 14 years-old can travel free.

A standard one-way train from Berlin to Munich costs 113 Euros, and Cologne to Vienna is 146 Euros, so this is a sale with big savings.

[Thanks, GoGermany.about.com]

Gadlinks for Wednesday 12.2.2009

I hope you’re all having a good start to the final month of the decade! It’s time to look ahead — not back. So let’s look to the future by taking a peak on the world’s newest destinations, shall we?

  • How cool would it be to take a green break to start the new decade? Here are five clean holidays for those eco-friendly travelers out there. [via Green Traveller]
  • Eastern Europe must be on my mind right now. Here’s my first selection on backpacking through Austria and Slovenia. [via Peter Greenberg]
  • For my second selection, a Serbian film crew is right now traveling around to all the Belgrade towns in the U.S., creating a documentary tentatively called “Finding Belgrade” that contrasts these American cities from their namesake. [via NPR]
  • …and my third selection? There are so many cool things I’ve heard about Ukraine. This neat article about Odessa makes me want to get there pronto. [via SoSauce]
  • Would you rather be a hermit crab or a savvy backpacker? If the latter appeals to you, then try your hand at these tips to better backpacking. [via Vagabondish]

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

More Gadlinks here.

Austrian village installs cameras to nab prankster sex tourists

The poor villagers of Fucking are fed up. They have finally found a technical solution to prevent thieves from stealing their village signs, but now they are confronted with an entirely different problem.

Couples are making the trek to Fucking, just so they can have sex in front of the sign, and record it. Other pranksters are mooning the sign, or exposing themselves, while their friends record it. Of course, some of these video clips make their way online, which probably doesn’t promote the kind of tourism the village is looking for.

The village solution involved placing video cameras above the signs, in the hope that it will make would-be sex tourists think twice about their plans.

I’m sure this is a never ending battle for the village, and before you know it, they’ll be back in the news when people have sex, then steal both the sign and the security camera

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