Austrian Ski resort kicks off the new year with Europe’s largest snowman

by Scott Carmichael on

To celebrate the start of the new season, and to promote their newest ski resort, the Galtür region in Austria built Europe’s largest snowman. The 53 foot tall snow sculpture is called Emil, and stands at the bottom of their new kiddie slopes. The Ski resort used to be a collection of various challenging slopes, but for 2009, designers divided things into 6 different zones and renamed the area “Silvapark“

Three of these six zones are “kid friendly” and offer beginning skiers a chance to get used to sliding around on their ski’s. The junior slopes even feature traffic lights, as a way to teach kids how to be considerate of other skiers.

Of course, a 53 foot snowman is nothing compared to the 122′ Olympia SnowWoman made in Bethel, Maine in 2008.

Europe struggles to stub out smoking

by Jeremy Kressmann on

All across Europe, increasingly health-conscious governments have been banning smoking in public places like hospitals, train stations, bars and restaurants. Austria, one of the few remaining countries in Western Europe to not yet institute a ban, will be tightening their anti-smoking rules beginning in 2009.

The halcyon days of carefree European smoking look to be a thing of the past, right? Apparently not. As the Wall Street Journal reports today, European businesses and citizens are fighting back against the bans, lobbying desperately to hold on to their precious fire sticks.

Instead of creating across-the-board smoking bans as originally hoped, countries like France, Italy and Germany have allowed a variety of exceptions to the new rules. Federal lawsuits in Germany have allowed many restaurants to stay cig-friendly, while in Italy the Health Ministry reports there are nearly as many smokers now as when the country-wide bans went into place in 2005. It’s hard to blame them when the Italian model of sanctity himself, Pope Benedict XVI, has been known to light up on occasion.

So what’s really going on here? Is it that smoking is truly an inextricable component of European identity, as iconic as that Parisian cafe and a cup of coffee? Or is this something more political, a fight for personal rights in the face of governments that want to penalize us for our indulgences? Whatever the outcome, expect European rules surrounding public smoking to be clouded in a choking haze of indecision for the foreseeable future.

Sound of Music family’s Vermont lodge and ski resort still going strong

by Jamie Rhein on

Certainly any kid who imagined him or herself a singer pictured what it would be like to be dressed in a play-suit made of curtains leaping about Salzburg, Austria with the von Trapp children as they sang “doe a deer.” I certainly did.

When the von Trapps escaped from Nazi-ruled Austria during World War II, they eventually landed in Stowe, Vermont as the Trapp Family Singers who made money by performing and opening a ski resort lodge. After the movie “The Sound of Music” came out in 1965, the real family and their ski resort and lodge gained even more notoriety.

I read in this New York Times article that Sam von Trapp, the grandson of Maria and the captain, immortalized by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, is the newest von Trapp to take over the business. He’s happy to do it since, from what I understand, no one asks him who he was in the movie. A generation of distance from tinseltown fame helps.

Recognizing that “The Sound of Music “connection is one that brings business, Sam is running commercials advertising the Trapp Family Lodge on tonight’s showing of the movie on ABC. He also plans to bring back holiday singalongs like the good old days.

The one song I can sing reasonably on key is “Edelweiss.” If you’re ever at the singalong, see if that’s on the list of options. If you want to sing the song along with the movie von Trapp’s, click here.

“The Daring Book For Girls” angers Aborigines

by Abha Malpani on

An Australian version of “The Daring Book For Girls” has guidelines on how to play a didgeridoo. This has angered some Aborigines because the didgeridoo is considered a male ceremonial instrument, not to be played by women as it could possibly cause infertility, among other terrible things.

I would have pointed fingers at this Australian faux pas, especially since the book is published by Australians, in Australia! But I can’t because I lived in Australia for 3 years, I have been to Darwin — around where the Aborigines are situated, I have tried to play the didgeridoo, and I even own one; but I had no idea that if a girl plays the instrument she is believed to suffer bad consequences. Never was it even brought up in any conversation about the instrument with native Australians. That’s quite sad and rather inexcusable.

The Aboriginal leaders have demanded the withdrawal of the book. Although Harper Collins have apologized for not being aware of this belief, they have refused to withdraw the book on grounds that there is a “divergence of views” amongst Aborigines. In other words, all of them are not offended.

Despite efforts at educating yourself about different cultures and trying to absorb and accept what you learn, it’s amazing how you can still miss crucially important details.

No Europe trip this summer? Check out today’s Euro 2008 final.

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Between several other vacations, high summer airline prices and the ridiculous Euro/Dollar exchange rate, I am sadly not heading to Europe this summer. But even though I haven’t been able to make it “across the pond,” I have been vicariously soaking up some European culture through this year’s Euro 2008 soccer championships. Today marks the final between Spain and Germany of what has been another tournament of surprising upsets and nail-biting finishes.

Pish-posh, what’s this about “soccer” you say? Actually, I don’t know a whole lot about European soccer either. Yes, I know a few of the popular club teams like FC Barcelona and Manchester United, but I’m fairly clueless about the day-to-day standings and players. Why then, should anyone bother watching? Because European soccer is more than just a simple sporting event – it’s a defining aspect of European cultural identity. Ask your typical European citizen to tell you about their favorite team or best soccer experience and you’re bound to get an enthusiastic answer.

So if you’re near a television today, crack open a nice cold Hefeweizen and switch over to ABC around 2:30 EST for the big event. Next summer when you’re in Munich you’ll be swapping Euro 2008 stories with the locals in no time.