Latest news with #Linz
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Warrington rower brings home medals from Great Britain debut
WARRINGTON Rowing Club's Maisie Brittles marked her first appearance at international level with two medals. The 17-year-old from Great Sankey was part of the Great Britain team that competed at the Coupe de la Jeunesse – a prestigious junior regatta – in Austria having been selected for the women's junior double sculls alongside Amy Clarke. Saturday's racing was played out in torrential rain in Linz, with Brittles and Clarke taking bronze behind the Czech Republic and Italy. However, Sunday presented better conditions and more speed for the GB boat to push the Czech crew all the way but just missing out on gold, instead taking an excellent silver. 'I still can't quite believe that we won silver today – I'm very pleased,' Brittles said after Sunday's race. 'Thank you doesn't do justice to the hard work of my coach at Warrington but I'll always be grateful for our teamwork and his commitment to me throughout my junior years. 'I have one more season as a junior-age rower!'
Times
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Could a river cruise really make the ultimate girls' holiday?
The Grottenbahn — aka the 'Dragon Express' grotto railway — in Linz, seemed the type of old-school analogue fun you only really encounter in certain corners of the world these days. Inside an old fort tower at the top of the 1,768-ft Pöstlingberg mountain to the west of the Austrian city, the train's front was shaped like a huge dragon's head with wings. There was nothing 'express' about it though. Three slow laps of a circular track built into a man-made cave in Edwardian times, it chuffed out dry ice and tooted into the tunnel. Meanwhile, to the sides, a dozen tiny dioramas depicted frankly nightmarish scenes of grotesque dwarfs, giant grasshoppers and weird mushrooms inspired by Grimms' fairytales. The surreal attraction is really designed for the under-10s. Which is why two middle-aged women laughing hysterically on board — conspicuously not accompanied by any children — really stuck out like a sore Tom Thumb on a Monday in March. My pal Mill and I have been friends since we studied music together at university and lived in a flatshare for several years in our twenties — an experience neither of us could have predicted would come in handy for sharing a cabin on a river cruise ship a quarter of a century later. We'd been intending to take a trip for years, having seen each other grow across the decades via two marriages (me) and two sons (Mill). A seven-night Danube Waltz route through central Europe on the 190-passenger Viking Egil was spot-on, taking in places we'd studied during our degree: Bruckner's Linz, Schönberg's Vienna, Liszt's Budapest. A cultural holiday through four countries sliding from genteel city to city but with enough home comforts to satisfy two always-on-the-brink-of-burnout fortysomethings. The toy railway set the tone early doors. Neither of us will regret skipping Linz's fancy Ars Electronica Center in favour of howling until even our calves hurt on a novelty train. Our cruise had started two days before in the Bavarian city of Passau — the first of six on the river route — reached by flying to Munich and transferring 90 minutes by road. Even though the city was nicknamed the Venice of Bavaria, my expectations for it weren't high compared with those for other big hitters on the route, including Krems an der Donau, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. The day was grey and misty, with sombre bells pealing on Sunday morning from the city's 53 churches, as we stepped out in our group of 15 or so, for the first of the daily walking tours included in the fare. Our guide Ugar Yolci — who studied law at the University of Passau and was well versed in the city's Napoleonic and gothic history — ricocheted us around the key sights with a sense of humour. We learnt about the colour coding of shop fronts from a time when few could read: pharmacies are green, bakeries pink and breweries yellow. We wandered down a narrow lane, Höllgasse, just off the Danube to see visible tide marks on the medieval buildings from floods that subsumed the city in 2013. After the floods, many moved out of the city to the countryside. 'The city centre is very affordable. You can get a flat for £780 a month and there's a young and ambitious population here,' Yolci explained. 'But what I love about living in Passau is how safe it is. Last summer I left my bike unlocked for days outside the train station and nobody stole it. It was old, I was hoping somebody would.' On board Egil we easily got into a groove. We were up for breakfast at 7ish — part buffet with some à la carte options — and off the boat for a morning walking tour. Back for most lunches then afternoons exploring, or reading and lazing on the yacht-style Aquavit terrace at the stern. Our smart cabin on deck three also had a lounge area, big sliding doors facing the balcony and enough drawers and hangers for the incalculable volumes of Zara frocks we'd brought with us. The bathroom's underfloor heating was a welcome upgrade on our student days. • Discover our full guide to cruise holidays In the airy restaurant, with communal tables of between six and eight, we could sit where and with whom we liked. The other passengers were mostly couples and mostly Americans, with a few Brits and Canadians in the mix and dinners made for lively conversation between Republicans and Democrats. We rotated around retired folk who worked in finance in Chicago, farmers from Wyoming and a multigen family from Illinois. Meals like burgers and grilled salmon were always on the menu but, each evening, different local specialities peppered the selection according to the destination. There were marillenknodel (apricot dumplings) in Austria and halusky (savoury dumplings) in Slovakia. It all appeared like a really good neighbourhood bistro with regionally sourced ingredients and delicate presentations. Evening entertainment was high quality too. At Linz a professional violin and piano duo from the Anton Bruckner Private University performed a set of Mozart and Elgar classics, while in Bratislava, local opera singers and musicians belted out Puccini to Bizet arias. I barely felt the ship moving — at under ten years old it should be a smooth ride — but that's important when you're on a river that can twist and meander, especially through the Wachau valley. The most beautiful stretch was before Krems an der Donau, with sights like the baby-blue tower of Dürnstein Abbey unspooling on a perfectly sunny morning. At Krems our first stop was Göttweig Abbey, a ten-minute coach ride south, dating from the 18th century after a fire destroyed the medieval original. We toured the magnificent baroque building with its frescoes designed to trick the eye. As this is a working monastery, we were graciously ushered from the ornate chapel at midday for prayers, leaving plenty of time to buy wines produced by the monks in the gift shop. • More great Danube cruises Which got us in the mood for that afternoon's excursion to the winemaker Mörwald's (from £90pp). Erhard Mörwald and the winery's dirndl-donning guide Trinka Stumpfer were as sparky as their wines on board our ship: Mörwald and his family supply 100,000 bottles a year to Viking. They took eight of us on a tour around the vaulted brick cellars that Erhard built by hand. Billed as a wine tasting, it felt more like an all-dayer thanks to stealth pourings of grüner veltliner and schnapps. I left with yet another bottle of the region's zweigelt in my rucksack. One of the misunderstandings levelled at cruises is that you can't get under the skin of a place in a day, but I've never found that to be true. While I've lost count of how many times I've visited Vienna on city breaks, I'd never cruised to the Austrian capital and this trip was an opportunity to see a part of town that was new to me, accompanied by a local expert. After docking at Handelskai, in the 20th district, we joined a private ebiking tour with Lucia Zakova, who guided us out beyond the city's boundaries and into the countryside of Lower Austria (£147pp). 'It's too early in the season to go to Donauinsel on the new Danube,' explains Zakova, about what is one of the city's nudist river beaches, 'so we'll take a different route.' We chugged out to Klosterneuburg, a monastery on the edge of the Vienna Woods, for a glorious three-hour round trip with the winsome moss-green Danube always to our side. The brand new bikes, more powerful on Vienna's hills than my car, made it easy. A two-night stop in Budapest marked the end of the trip. This was the appeal of Viking's west-to-east Danube route, as it finished in a city new to us both. One benefit of staying on a river ship was not having to choose between hilly Buda or flatter Pest because Egil docked slap between the two, underneath the Szechenyi chain bridge. On the first morning we joined the group tour, for a whizz around the city via coach to the gold-frescoed joy of Matthias Church. Then Mill and I made our own musical pilgrimage, walking from the dock through the city centre, past the synagogue, to the Franz Liszt Memorial Museum, dedicated to the 19th-century composer famed for his solo piano works. The tiny, two-room museum is in Liszt's old flat where he lived in the 1880s, on the first floor of Budapest's former academy of music. Despite being a committed Roman Catholic, Franz was an absolute hound who never married, instead having two long-term romances. His daughter Cosima went on to marry Richard Wagner. • The best river cruises for solo travellers Liszt's collection of grand pianos, housed in a small space, is impressive and includes a fine walnut 'composing desk' — a table with a nifty pull-out three octave piano tucked inside — built for him by his friend Ludwig Bösendorfer, a sort of 19th-century Elon Musk. Even if romantic piano works aren't your bag, the elegant original bookcases from Liszt's time and Thonet chairs are worth a detour (£8; Our final morning, a Saturday, brought torrential rain. From the window of our cabin we could see the tempting Gellert Thermal Baths and we made a run for it, drenched before we've even got in the 36C pool. Inside, the baths were more beautiful than myriad Instagram posts could ever render, with church-like vaulted ceilings, stained glass and original colourful tiles as we flitted about from pools to saunas and steam rooms. We'd both booked Aroma massages as a treat. It was the opposite of relaxing. We spent about 20 minutes being slapped about by a Hungarian woman in a room that looks like a dental surgery but it did push out lingering knots (massage £23, entrance £23; • Best Rhine river cruises While this trip served up lots of intellectually serious moments (classical music performances, Jewish history and quirky museums) it also brought what we both needed so badly: a lot of impromptu laughs at some of central Europe's most joyously unexpected experiences. Laura Jackson was a guest of Viking, which has seven nights' full board from £1,695pp on a Danube Waltz itinerary, including flights, departing on November 22, 2026 (
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Daily Mail
The cheapest underrated city in Europe revealed - with flights under £17
A team of travel experts have revealed the cheapest and most underrated city to visit in Europe and Brits can get there for under £17. And it's Linz, a city in northern Austria, which is Europe's best cheap hidden gem, according to a study that looked at average Google searches across the UK in the last 12 months to find out where the continent's most underrated destinations are. Austria's third-largest city, Linz sits on the banks of the Danube River and has an attractive old town. Linz Castle is one of the city's top attractions, located at the heart of its historic centre. Tourists will find a museum inside where they can learn more about the region's culture. A visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: 'A beautiful museum with an impressive location in Linz Castle. The exhibitions are diverse, exciting and very well curated - from nature to technology and art.' Don't miss the Mariendom church in the Old Town, which is Austria's largest church. The striking building was finished in 1924 and can accommodate 20,000 people. Visitors can also climb to the top of the spire to enjoy panoramic views of Linz from above. Kids will love Linz's Grottenbahn, a dragon-themed train adventure that takes tourists through a miniature world. One visitor described it as a 'magical fairytale world for young and old' while another said it was very 'cute'. When it comes to eating out, there's one sweet dish that's a must-try. The city's Linzer Torte is a pastry with a lattice crust, almond filling and redcurrant jam. The experts at Holidu, the company who conducted the research, found one-way flights for under £17 and with low Google searches for the destination, tourists aren't likely to have to fight off crowds while they're there. A Holidu spokesperson says: 'This ancient city, named the European Capital of Culture in 2009, is particularly known for its history and culture.' But Linz is also a fantastic base from which to explore the rest of Austria. Holidu recommends visiting Hallstatt, famed as the location of the castle that inspired Disney's Frozen, and Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace, both of which are less than two hours away from Linz. After Linz, the next best underrated destination in in Europe, according to the study, is Poitiers in France. Brits can fly to Poitiers for just £15. Holidu describes the city's old town as a 'must-visit' due to its 'rich history' and 'Romanesque architecture'. Holidu found one-way flights for under £17 and with low Google searches for the destination, tourists aren't likely to have to fight off crowds while they're there And if you're not looking to travel far this summer, the third underrated destination on the list could be the perfect spot for you. Kerry in Ireland can be reached for under £15 and is bound to 'impress with its stunning and dramatic landscapes', says Holidu. At the other end of the scale Dublin, Paris and Barcelona are the most-searched for destinations by British tourists. Alicante, Tenerife, Malaga and Malta are also popular choices with Brits looking for a summer break.
Otago Daily Times
30-05-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Council rejects mobile sauna's trading permit
A plan to operate a mobile sauna next to Lake Dunstan in Cromwell has hit a bureaucratic brick wall. Businessman and sauna-fanatic John Ryan has failed to get the go-ahead from the Central Otago District Council or Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (Linz) to periodically park his travelling sauna on public land beside the lake. Mr Ryan's sauna is 2.5m by 3m, can fit 15 people and sits atop a trailer pulled by his Land Rover. "One side has a big open window, so you can look out to the lake," Mr Ryan said. Several weeks ago, Mr Ryan had a trial run of the sauna at Alpha Street Reserve, offering free use of it to members of the public. "I parked up near the swimming platform there, so people could have a sauna and have a dip," he said. "Seventeen people turned up and they all loved it." However, Mr Ryan's application to the district council for a mobile trading permit for the venture has been declined. "Their excuse was they want to protect the reserve", he said. He also took his idea to Linz, which administered some of the lakeside land in Cromwell, but staff there "knocked it back". "I don't think they fully understand what it is or how it runs." District council parks and recreation manager Gordon Bailey confirmed the reserve-land status of the spots Mr Ryan wished to park at was the reason his application was declined. The land in question was governed by the council's reserve management plan — which specified what could and could not go on reserves — as well as the Reserve Act 1977, he said. The commercial rather than recreational nature of Mr Ryan's activity meant it "was not consistent" with the plan, nor the Act. Meanwhile, although Linz had no official record of a conversation with Mr Ryan, head of Crown property Sonya Wikitera told the Otago Daily Times her staff received many inquiries about the use of Crown land for commercial businesses and were always available to talk through a person's plans before any official application to Linz was made. "When providing advice or assessing formal applications, Linz considers the potential impact on the Crown land, public use, impact on other businesses already operating in the area, other applications which may have already been made, feedback from other agencies and the public, as well as impacts on existing infrastructure like toilets, rubbish bins and carparking," Ms Wikitera said. Mr Ryan's sauna is wood-clad, has a chimney out the top and is heated by a "Sweaty Meg" — a custom-built wood burner sold through his other business, Roaring Meg Fires. "They're like traditional Finnish wood-fire heaters," he said. On the trial night, Mr Ryan had hand-held lanterns ready outside the sauna for people to take to guide them down to the lake in between stints in the sauna. He reckoned a one-hour session was about right — 15 minutes in the heat, five minutes for a cool dip, then back to the sauna and repeat times two. Mr Ryan is a sauna convert. "They're amazing; good for your health. I've 'sauna-ed' every night for, oh, I don't know how long," he said. "They help fight cardiovascular disease. They're good for sleep. There's so much research been done on saunas now." Mr Ryan's case is not the only one where a mobile sauna has faced consenting challenges. The Marlborough District Council has gone back and forth on its decision to reject a proposal to allow a similar set up on reserve land beside a beach in Picton. Mr Ryan has launched a petition in an attempt to persuade the Central Otago District Council to reconsider his proposal.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Spanish royals join memorial at Nazi concentration camp in Austria
Senior Austrian officials were joined by Spanish royalty on Sunday in commemorating the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp of Mauthausen, where 90,000 people were killed, among them many fighters fleeing Spain's civil war. The Mauthausen concentration camp near the Austrian industrial city of Linz was liberated 80 years ago at the end of World War II, after tens of thousands imprisoned there were killed or died from disease or malnourishment between 1938 and 1945. King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended on the invitation of Austria's head of state, Alexander Van der Bellen, to mark the International Liberation Ceremony. Many of the camp's victims were people who had fought in the Spanish Civil War against the future dictator Franco and then fled to France, only to fall into the hands of the Nazis. Among those in attendance was Eva Clarke, who was born in the camp just days before its liberation and who survived despite the deadly circumstances. Various speakers renewed calls that Austria pull "together for a 'Never Again!'" and said that society often harbours hatred towards others instead of adopting a conciliatory attitude. The Mauthausen concentration camp was opened in 1938, initially for German and Austrian opponents of the regime, as well as people seen as criminals or socially undesirable. After the start of the Second World War, people from more than 40 nations were deported there.
