you can look down into the valley from behind another glass of beer. If you are fairly fit. you can walk down the mountains. If you are very fit. you can walk up them. And ifyou are absolutely crazy (and some seem to be). you can walk up a mountain. put on a parachute and fling yourself off ‘a cliff.
Those who put basking in sunshine as a top holiday priority shouldn't bother with Austria. There are plenty ofplaces to lie and bask. but the sun doesn‘t come guaranteed. We had four and a halfdays ofsun and five and a half days ofcloud and rain. (Mind you. that was still four and a halfmore days ofsun than Scotland had at the time). But when the sun does shine in the 'l'irol. it‘s
hot. and you can burn quickly in the rarified atmosphere of the mountains — so you needn't worry about looking a bit peelic-wally when you get back to the office among colleagues who have been to (‘orfu or Marbclla or 'l‘enerife.
If you don’t fancy climbing or basking. you can always take a bits trip somewhere. I’roin Secfeld. you can tour the 'I‘irol itself. ()r you can head north into southern ( iermany (()berammergau is worth seeing. as is Neuschwanstein (‘astle if you're prepared to queue for an hour and a halfto get in). or south into northern Italy (as far south as \"enice if you're willing to put up with twelve hours on a bus). In Sal/burg we experienced the town's unique brand ofstring-rain and saw .\lo/art's
BACK LIST
birth-place (where according to our Berlitz guidebook ‘the little tyke knocked out his first sonatas' ). We photographed the I’ferdeschwennne (probably the biggest and fanciest horse-trough in the world) and bought a tape of "I'he Sound of Music' for only two and a half times what it would have cost us in Britain. Sal/burg doesn't want tourists to forget that the film was set in their town- youcan also buy postcardsof .lulie Andrews in a dirndl. if you liayc
pan. Short of cooking facilities (‘self—catering’ meant two hotplates). by the end of ten days. I could have killed for a slice of toast. Perhaps I should have looked in the Britannia Bar after all.
WI N 33 180 OF g/[fl/Zfl/flkl/fi/gw
any relatives you hate enough to
send one to.
Since we were a self-catering holiday. I won't say much about Austrian food. except that I now know that the ( icrman for (‘aptain Birdseye is Kiip‘n Iglo and that you can't cook a fro/en pizza in a frying
TBAVELLEBS CHECKLIST
available out of London to Vienna for £153 return.
and Strathclyde University). Fares to Vienna are also
torUnder26s otter a return Getting In
Getting There 33:35::ygggge; With a British passport. you Ilngham Holidays do Availabletrom the do" “we” 3"“ directllights to Salzburg on Edinburgh Travel Centre, What You Sh0u|d Saturdays only during June. arisio Square or K
July and August(take note Transalpino officesin now
for next year). Edinburgh (14 North Bridge) I Currency is the Austrian lAn Apex flightwill haveto and Glasgow (130 Bytes Schilling. which is divided do inthe meantime. Eilhet Boad). into 100 Groschen. Banking with British Airways 0! I Eurotrain do one torthe hours are generally Austrian Airlines. a return same price or you can goto Bam-12.30pm and
ticket to Salzburg trom Innsbruck tor £1 14.80 1.30—3pm on weekdays. London will cost £148. return. From Campus Travel with a late closing on
I Student llights arc in Glasgow (Hillhead Street Thursdays (5.30pm).
Exchange offices at airports and stations are. as per
I Transalpinotraintares available.
THE POTTING SHED BRASSERIE & CAFE BAR
usual. open later and
earlier.
I Plugging into that other type of electric currency requiresthe standard continental round two-pin plug. Take a converter.
I Driving in Austria involves a British licence and a Green Insurance Card (from your insurance company) it you are driving yourown car.
I Shops are ohen closed lortwo hours at lunchtime. I Phoning home follows the usual procedure for Europe: dial the international code (00in
Austria). 44 for Britain and then the STD code omitting the tirst 0.
I The Austrian Tourist Board in London can give you comprehensive inlormation. including lists of hotels. They are at 30 St George St. London W1 B OAI (016290461).
I Temperatures around lnnsbrucktorJune. July and August average out at about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. although it can often be much warmer.
I Facts about Austria are: it has nine provinces (of
which the Tyrol- orTirol— is one): it covers 32.000 square miles: it hasa population 017.5 million; the capital city of the Tirol province is Innsbruck: the national language of Austria is German.
I The main Tirol tourist office in Innsbruck will be happy to send you details. Write to: Tiroler Fremdenverkehrswerbung BoznerPlatz 6.
A-6010 Innsbruck
(tel: 5222 20 7 77/59).
\ Homemade sweets I Capuccino/ Espresso /
- 5PEN 7.30 AM UNTIL 10.15 PM - 7 DAYS -
SHEINNICI GNV SHHDNfI'I 'SiiddO) HOzl
' 031 -229 1393 ° 69 BRUNTSFIELD PLACE °
W c
@
l C
‘3.
Tired? Hungry? In need of a break from the Festival fray or stuck for an unusual gift to take home? Why not visit us at Helios Fountain. We are situated at the west end of the Grassmarket, just 5 minutes from
Princes Street.
In the shop, you will find a unique selection of gifts, books and toys, with an extensive range of craft materials, including maybe the largest range of
jewellery beads in Scotland.
The Coffeehouse serves a wide range of vegetarian meals and snacks at reasonable prices with the emphasis on organic produce. You can choose from hot and cold savouries, soups, salads and luscious gateaux, served by friendly staff in pleasing
surroundings.
Opening Hours: From 1 Aug— 3 Sept Mon-Sat 10am—8pm; Sun 11am—5pm We accept Visa, Access, Amex 7 GRASSMARKET, EDINBURGH EH1 2HY, 031 229 7884
W \I‘i/I
.. 4; ‘c 4. *2.
my
y
M... “WA’LQQ
@43Q
64 The List 2 — 15 September 1988