Arthur's Column

Munich Beerfest Again (groan!)

Well its that time of the year again! Just had a few moments to pop up the road for one or two glasses of those famous bavarian beers. This is an incredible festival – even if you dont like beer you should consider going to the beerfest! Apart from anything else they have an awesome funfair (although it does get a bit mucky later in the evening as the patrons become less controlled!). The beers are served in 1 litre glasses only. We somehow managed to sink about 8 of these which probably accounts for the state of my head the next day!

Ski Report 1997

Anton continues to grow at an astounding rate. He is now in that period which they call the terrible twos and I can see why! I am sure I was never that stubborn! I promised in my last column to bring you news of the skiing. Well, of course, summer has been and gone since then so I guess I am a bit late. The photo on the right I hope will compensate – Anton in St Christoph (Arlberg mountains Austria). He is chatting up some 5 year old stranger with a degree of success. We were sitting outside the Christoph Alm which is the finest pub in this small village. St Christoph is one of the towns in the St Anton, Lech, Zurs ski area – a massive area with a lot of very good fun pubs and restaurants. If there is one thing the Austrians do well its provide for the mountain weary! I think St Anton must rank as one of the finest ski areas in the world. Well worth a visit if you are in the area. The area is tucked away in the Western corner of Austria near to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the southern German towns (Munich).

Rome

Ever been to Rome? I went the other day and I have to say it now ranks as one of my favourite European cities. Heaps of fountains and ruins and overall a really nice sort of atmosphere. Sometimes its a little difficult to get away from tourist prices, but it is worth persevering. If you go you should really consider staying in one of the monastaries. The accomodation is really cheap (youth hostel prices), basic but functional and they are located right in the center of town. Some of them have a curfew, but I dont know that they enforce it. We were lucky to be there for a huge rock concert staged in the streets around the Colloseum. Awesome! Hundreds of thousands of people having fun in amongst the old buildings.

Places you must see in rome …

• Trevi Fountains – mellow out with a beer and contemplate your luck, or be more proactive and throw a few coins in to work on your luck. They say that if you dont throw a coin in you will never go to Rome again…
• Spanish Steps – also a fountain but more room and similar sort of atmosphere to Trevi
• Piazza Navonna – a wonderful square with (of course) fountains and restaurants around the perimeter.
• The Vatican and Cistene Chapel – more cultural but you would be crazy to go to Rome and not visit.
• The Colloseum and Roman Forum – gotta go there. The forum is just a huge amount of archealogical diggings and old pillars and things. They really knew how to build in those days!
• The Parthenon – this is an impressive building, although we did not go inside as it was closed. You must check out the reataurants between the Parthenon and Trevi. There are hundreds of nice little restaurants, and if you are careful you can get away from the tourist menus.

Final word on Rome – walk! You can cover the whole distance between the Colloseum and the Vatican on foot and will see a whole lot more than you would in a cab. Also, get out of the hotel and try the local breakfast – small bars with the best coffee in the world and fresh pastries.

Thats all for now…

Cheers!

Arthur