Plans for Salzburg Sound of Music hotel hit sour note | ABS-CBN News Online Beta

The photo, featuring Maria von Trapp, 94, the second eldest daughter, center above, with her brother Johannes von Trapp and their sister-in-law Erika von Trapp, at the opening, belongs to a NY Times post stating that they opened June 29, 2008….

VIENNA – The former home of the Trapp family, made famous by the 1965 film “The Sound of Music,” will not re-open as a hotel after all following opposition from residents and politicians, the owners said.

The villa in Aigen, near Salzburg, failed to receive final approval Wednesday from the city after neighbours complained it would bring hordes of tourists to their peaceful suburb.

“It seems like the Villa Trapp, the original Sound of Music family home, is not getting a permission to open as a hotel, although all legal conditions have been complied with,” the owners, Marianne Dorfer and Christopher Unterkofler, said in a statement received by AFP.

“Local politicians… are obstructing the permission,” they added.

Local councillor Traudi Lackner told the daily Kurier: “The owners wanted to open not only a hotel, but also to use it for events: the house would have become a magnet for day tourists.”

Some 300,000 fans of “The Sound of Music” visit Salzburg every year, taking part in special themed tours, and local residents feared the small villa would soon become a tourist spot as well.

The Villa Trapp, which was inaugurated in July, needed formal approval as it is located on protected land.

Dorfer and Unterkofler said they planned to appeal the decision.

They said all previous city assessment reports had been positive and that politicians had supported their project until residents pressured them to turn it down.

“All the politicians we contacted were positive and motivated us, saying how important this project was for Salzburg tourism,” they said in their statement.

“There is no objective or legal reason to block a 14-room hotel in Aigen,” they added.

The villa was the home of Captain Georg von Trapp, his seven children and their governess Maria, later known as the Trapp Family Singers, from 1923 to 1938.

as of 12/05/2008 1:20 AM

Plans for Salzburg Sound of Music hotel hit sour note | ABS-CBN News Online Beta

Update

I found a later article that claimed the original Von Trapp residence is available as a B&B at a blog Visit Salzburg, a guide to Salzburg written by locals.

Last edited by GJE on December 3, 2011 at 11:01 am

Treehouse Restaurant: A Romantic Hideaway Close To Nature – Born Rich


Living in a luxury treehouse certainly brings out the child in you again. Now, the New Zealand Yellow Pages are building a restaurant that is 10 meters up on a redwood tree. A dinner at this tree-restaurant will be a totally fascinating experience.

Treehouse Restaurant: A Romantic Hideaway Close To Nature – Born Rich

Truffle Sells at Auction for $200,000 – Luxist

Although many of us are tightening our budgets and spending less this year, some people out there are continuing to indulge themselves. One example: at an international auction that took place this past Saturday an Italian white truffle sold for $200,000. The tuber weighed just over 2 lbs and was bought by casino mogul Stanley Ho from Hong Kong, who must really love truffles because he bought another enormous white truffle last year at a similar auction for $330,000.

Climate change is largely to blame for the rising price of truffles, since they grow naturally in forests (and aren’t commercially cultivated) they’ve been particularly susceptible to Italy’s recent mix of drought and torrential rains.

Truffle Sells at Auction for $200,000 – Luxist

Dutch Design (35): Fort Knox by Sietze Kalkwijk (2008)

Without fluids man is doomed to die. Why not treat our basic necessity with the respect it deserves? Fort Knox is a luxurious wine rack reserved for a single bottle, a gilded cage for the most precious bubbly.

A unique design, as each object is numbered by hand. The hammered-in digits adorn the golden halter like a beautiful scar, playfully flirting with the logo’s engraved letters. Its simple structure, bearing resemblance to the basic wooden archetype, is just a trick to fool the over-stimulated mind.

Fort Knox doesn’t need to scream for attention with ornamental curls and provocative patterns; its decadence and weight show off just by being there – or by an attempt to lift the five hefty kilos for that matter. Beauty is ensconced in the perfect finish, precise inscription and frugal make-up. It’s the peach at each banquet, the pièce de resistance at every table, the icing on the metaphorical cake. Eat as much cake you like, since gold will never lose its value.

Fort Knox (2008) | Sietze Kalkwijk

Guerrilla Wakeboarding in Venice

Who sez the Wiener (inhabitants of Vienna) are not “hip” is wrong. Today Vienna Online reported about a Dutch pro surfer, Duncan Zuur, surfing the San Marco Square in Venice. Year after year he had traveled to Venice with his team to do this. Yesterday with high water on the San Marco square of + 1.35m he succeeded. Just in time before the police was in place to stop it. Why should they stop it?

Here is the Youtube footage:

Another video take by the BBC here: Surfing in Venice

Blogger Michelle rightfully points out that this Venice shop owner keeps his shopwindow models in tune with the flooding:


Venice Shop Window

Added:
The beautiful Boston Globe big pictures photoblog has more excellent photos of Venice under Water.