Does Anyone Know How to Fly This Thing?
I normally try and stick to things I know well in my writing here, because I think that makes it a bit more relevant and interesting. However, this one was too good to pass up:
www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8056739
In short, the co-pilot went crazy, and had to be restrained, leaving the flight without a co-pilot. Luckily, it turns out that one of the flight attendants was qualified enough to help out, but not before:
The pilot then asked flight attendants to find out if any passenger was a qualified pilot.
I can just imagine what it must be like to have the flight attendants come on the loudspeaker and ask if anyone on board, perchance, knows how to fly the plane.
Unclear on the Concept: Törgellen
"Törgellen" is a south-Tirolean (Alto Adige in Italian) "festivity" related to the newly pressed wine, or "Vino Novello" in Italian.
it.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B6rggelen or, in German, de.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%B6rggelen
Summing up in English: the modern tradition is an excuse to have a big meal with friends and sample some of the vino novello.
Our experience in Innsbruck has been that not everyone is clear on the concept. We went to one last year, and while we had a great time with our friends there, and ate well, I was pretty much the only person to order wine! That's sort of like having a Thanksgiving dinner, and everyone eating pork chops.
Alitalia - Back from the Grave
Like the monster from a cheap horror movie, Alitalia reared its ugly head on Haloween. The threat this time is that the negotiations to implement what everyone signed up for in principle broke down, and over the past couple of weeks, the battle has been joined once again. Most of the main unions are more or less going along with the plan, but as before, the pilots and flight attendants aren't, and have already started causing disruptions, with Rome's Fiumicino airport apparently being quite a mess at the moment. Furthermore, there are apparently divisions within the ranks of the pilots - some don't want to strike, some do. The only certainty is that chaos will prevail.
In further Alitalia news, the European Union officially cleared the deal, although they did stipulate that the company has to pay back the 300 million Euro loan.
Berlusconi, Corriere della Sera Embarass Themselves
Berlusconi today really outdid himself. First, he said he would be available to "give Obama advice"... yeah right! But what really caught people's attention was this phrase, commenting on Obama, saying that he's
bello, giovane e abbronzato
In other words, he's "good looking, young, and has a nice sun tan". I think no further comment is necessary.
This one from the Corriere della Sera, a widely respected, centrist newspaper, is actually worse, but as far as I can tell, attributable to being a bit clueless about colloquial American English, rather than actually malicious. Translated, it says "wow, nice cabin, Uncle Tom".
Italy Likes Obama
As most of the news reports say, the rest of the world is pretty happy about Obama being the president elect. A lot of people here asked about the election and my thoughts about it. I don't want to get into the details, but I did want to describe the experience abroad: people are really optimistic. This is the essence of the "myth" of America: anyone, no matter what color they are, or in what circumstances they are born, can go on to be president, get rich, or in general do whatever they want. After 8 years of a guy who got where he is because of his dad, and who basically told the rest of the world to f*** off, people are thrilled to have a smart, capable guy as president elect.
Austrian Gumball Machines
There are things that jump out at you about any place, that are obvious to even the most oblivious of tourists. Other things are subtler and take a while to notice, and while perhaps not of great import, can tell you a little about a place.
One of the 'little things' we've noticed here in Innsbruck and its environs is that there are gumball machines scattered throughout the town. Not inside stores or in malls, but placed outside, exposed to the sun and snow.
It seems like an odd thing to me, and after seeing the faded, bleached gum inside, I don't know who exactly buys them. On the other hand, I think it's nice that they can exist, undisturbed. In the US, sooner or later, some creep would probably tamper with one in some way, possibly leading to someone's sickness or injury, and they would all be removed for liability reasons. In certain parts of Italy, people would probably simply drive off with them, gumballs, coins and all.
Here in Innsbruck, they sit there unmolested, dispensing, for whatever reason, gumballs to anyone who should happen by and decide that yes, indeed, they want a gumball that very moment, whatever time of day or night it may be.
To tell the truth, I got curious and tried one once. It was a sorry looking piece of candy, faded to the point of looking weatherbeaten, from sitting in the sun, and unsurprisingly, it wasn't all that great.
