Kitzbuhel luxury hotels ban Russian tourists

Kate Connolly reports in the Guardian of today No room at the plush Austrian inn for Russians and their rubles that 16 out of 20 of Kitzbuehel’s four- and five-star hotels have agreed to limit Russian tourists to 10 % of total.

Sepp Schellhorn, president of the Austrian Hoteliers Association, condemned the Russian quota as “absurd” and “shortsighted”. “This is not in line with the wishes of those who promote Austria or the Austrian economy,” he said.

But the head of Sporthotel Mayr-Reisch, Rupert Mayr-Reisch, said: “We’ve learned from other resorts, like St Moritz. You get a bit of a nationality imbalance when one nation gets the upper hand. It’s more pleasant when there are not too many people from one country in the same hotel.”

However, Mr Schellhorn said that it was ridiculous to speak of a mix of nations: “Think about it: Kitzbuehel has a large number of Germans, but no one has ever thought of trying to limit their numbers.”

For Sale: Principality of Sealand

Principality of Sealand

The news drew my attention, because a lawyer friend of mine once had given a very humoristic presentation about it and because during the Sixties and Seventies the Brits and the Dutch shared a history of free Radio and even free TV stations on board of ships, platforms and other constructions outside territorial waters which officially were dubbed Radio (TV) Pirates. Some of that history is documented on line by one time “pirate” DJ Bob Le-Roi.

The Principality of Sealand is a concrete and steel platform located 7 miles East from the UK shore and North of the Thames Estuary. It was built as a fort, called Roughs Tower, in WW II and derelicted afterwards. In 1967 Paddy Roy Bates, a former English major, settled there with his family. He proclaimed the island his own state and gave himself the title of prince, Prince Roy. When the Royal Navy tried to evict him, Prince Roy saw them off with warning shots fired from the fort. A judge ruled that Sealand lay beyond the three-mile limit of Britain’s territorial waters and was, therefore, outside government control.

The Brits and Dutch even extended their original 3 mile territorial water zone to a 12 mile zone because of the ongoing piracy. After the extension at least the Dutch radio pirates were rolled up by the Dutch Royal Navy.

Sealand cleverly, and thus far probably effectively, countered the extension of the 3 to 12 mile zone by extending its own territorial zone to 12 miles and thus claiming they are still in international waters and the border between them and the UK being half way, 3.5 miles from the UK shore. It is not a nation recognized by the UN, but has its own currency, stamps and passports (including falsifications).

According to World Hum and UK Times Prince Michael, son of Prince Roy, has put the Principality on the market.

Principality of Sealand Arms

It is easy to see that it has some potential: A wedding location, a resort with (virtual) casino and tax free shopping facility, since nowadays tax free shopping is almost impossible within the EU, to name a few….I wished I had some cash laying around.

Hotel Sonne, Offenburg, Germany

Hotel Sonne Offenburg Germany

I am back from the white slopes in Switzerland and time for a tip.

When we drive to Switzerland we frequently make a stopover at Hotel Sonne (the Sun Hotel) in the very center of Offenburg.

Offenburg is next to the Motorway (Autobahn) Frankfurt – Basel, between Baden Baden and Freiburg. It is also easy to reach from Strasbourg in France. They have a courtyard where you can park your car without the necessity to unload all your luggage.

Offenburg is a nice small town and a good basis for exploring the German Schwartz Wald (Black Forrest) or the French Elzas.

Hotel Sonne is first mentioned in 1376. So it is probably more than 630 years old. In any case it is run by the same family already since 1858. In 2008 they will celebrate their 150 years of operating the hotel!

In the two very old townhouses is the “Old Wing”. Next to and behind the courtyard is the “New Wing”. We prefer the Old wing, because of its character, its beautiful wooden stairs and antique furniture and because the bathrooms of most rooms have been redecorated more recently. Room 31 still needs redecorating and we rather avoid, because of the squeaking of the floorboards and the antique bed.

Dad and mum of over 80 of the present owner Gabi are still helping out. I admire the fact that both even can handle their computerized reservation system.

Gabi’s husband Horst operates their excellent restaurant.

Bill Marriott Blog

Bill Marriot Blog

“Never too late to start something new” must be what Bill Marriott, 75 soon and over 50 years of a world renowned hotelier, thought when he started dictating his first post for his personal blog Marriott on the move on January 16, 2007.

Suite with an extraordinary high view: 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat

3100 kulmhotel gornergrat

Yes, I am on the road and slowing down the posting a bit.
Today, I had an excellent lunch in what I believed was an observatory, but turned out to be an extraordinary high hide away above Zermatt in the Swiss Alps at 3100 m above sealevel which is almost two miles high, the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat. This small hotel cum observatory exists already over 100 year and was tastefully renovated during 2005 and the first part of 2006. I got a tour of its rooms and one of its suites with amazing view in the tower of the observatory. I will be adding to this post later.