The travel calendar is crowded with major events this year. Will you be celebrating Mozart's 150th birthday in Salzburg or watching the World Cup in Germany? Gerry Mullins on the hot tickets for 2006
SALZBURG FOR MOZART’S 150th BIRTHDAY
Approximately 500 events will mark the 150th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in his native city of Salzburg in 2006. Mozart’s enormous output includes symphonic, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music, so it is little wonder that his Austrian home town is marking the anniversary with 55 world premieres, 36 operas, 260 concerts, 55 Masses, 99 projects from the area of performing/fine arts, 10 congresses and 120 projects for children and young adults.
Visitors will also be able to visit Mozart’s Geburtshaus (birthplace) and Wohnhaus (former residence). The latter contains musical instruments, sheet music, letters and other memorabilia, and also houses the Mozart Sound and Film Museum. A combined ticket for both houses costs €10 per adult.
Salzburg’s other great contributors to world music, the von Trapp family, immortalised in The Sound of Music film, are celebrated in tours of the sites that were used in the film. The tour costs €30 per adult. Visit www.guideforeurope.com for more information on booking tours and hotels.
Salzburg is also an ideal base for a ski holiday. Aer Lingus’s Dublin/Salzburg service costs around €55 for a one-way journey booked three weeks in advance (www.aerlingus.com). For further information on the Mozart 150 celebrations, visit www.mozart2006.net.
ITALY FOR THE WINTER OLYMPICS (FEBRUARY 16TH-19TH)
The Italian city of Turin (Torino, in Italian) hosts the 2006 Winter Olympics, an event that will see more than 2,500 athletes from 80 countries compete in 15 events that range from the gentle art of figure skating, to snowboarding, and onwards to the near-suicidal luge, bobsleigh and alpine skiing events. Ireland is sending at least three athletes, while another four are awaiting confirmation. Up to 12,000 supporters are expected on the mountains at any one time, and judging from the craic last time in Salt Lake City, it should be an intriguing event.
Be aware that from February 8th-27th, there will be traffic restrictions in the mountain roads west of Turin. The closure of ski slopes for the Olympics may cause congestion in other Italian resorts such as Livigno and Bergamo, or nearby French resorts such as Val Thorens and Val d’Isère.
Turin itself is an ideal place to spend a couple of days. It was the capital of Italy until 1945, and retains a faded elegance. It is home to the Juventus soccer team, the Fiat car company, and (in case you hadn’t guessed) the Shroud of Turin.
Getting there: Fly with Alitalia (www.alitalia.ie) or Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus.ie) from Dublin to Milan, or from Shannon to Milan with Ryanair (www.ryanair.ie), and get a train to the main station in Turin, Porta Nuova. The train costs around ¤15 and takes less than two hours. Another option is to fly with Ryanair from Stansted to Turin. It will not be possible to bring private cars near the competition venues, so use shuttle buses from Turin, regular public transport or the Dorsale (free mountain bus service). There are opportunities to get involved in the event, and possibly work there. Find out more on https://jobopportunities.torino2006.it. For accommodation and other information on the Winter Olympics check out www.torino2006.org.
GERMANY FOR THE WORLD CUP (JUNE 9TH- JULY 9TH)
What a pity Ireland didn’t qualify for the soccer World Cup. This year’s will, I believe, be the best ever. Unlike the last World Cup, which straddled Japan and Korea, and a previous one that straddled the American continent, Germany is compact enough to allow fans to travel around and watch games in several cities. The country’s excellent rail system not only makes this easier, it will also allow fans to book accommodation in surrounding areas and commute into a city to watch games. Book trains tickets online at www.deutschebahn.de.
There are seven air routes between Ireland and Germany, six of which are to cities that are hosting matches: Berlin (Aer Lingus), Cologne (Germanwings), Frankfurt (Ryanair, Lufthansa, Aer Lingus), Hamburg (Hapag Lloyd Express), Munich (Aer Lingus) and Stuttgart (Lufthansa, Hapag Lloyd Express).
Cologne/Dortmund: Because the cities are less than an hour apart, this area will have the most football per week during the competition. Great nightlife and architecture too. Berlin: It's a great city for nightlife and history, and offers a chance to see Brazil play on June 13th. However, it will be more expensive than other cities. Stuttgart: A beautiful city, with 500 wineries in the surrounding hills. One of Germany's warmest cities, with easy access to the Black Forest areas, and even short trips to France and Switzerland. Those same countries meet in Stuttgart on June 13th. Difficult to know who to cheer for; they knocked us out.
Tickets range in price from €35-€600. Apply on www.fifa-worldcup.com before January 15th.
IRELAND FOR THE RYDER CUP (SEPTEMBER 22ND-24TH)
For Irish golf fans, this year’s Ryder Cup, to be held in the K Club, Straffan, Co Kildare, will be an unmissable event. A crowd of 40,000 people is expected to attend on each of the three days of the event, as teams from Europe and the United States compete for this most prestigious of competitions.
If you have no interest in golf, live in Leinster and are dreading the massive traffic congestion that will swell from Straffan back to the M50, it could be a good time to consider a house swap with a golf fan in some other part of the world. You could sign up with HomeLink International (01-8462598/www.homelink.ie) and see what's on offer. It costs €125 to gain access to its 15,000 members worldwide. For further information on the Ryder Cup, see www.rydercup2006.ie. or contact Ryder Cup Travel Services, 01-2310090.