Round-the-World Pictures

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5, 4 August 1906, Page 54

Round-the-World Pictures

five Eastern European Alps in Winter.

•» ar UCH has been said and much has been written concerning I I the winter season in the EastV B ern Alps, which, to a great extent lie in Austrian territory. There is no doubt that winter sports can be indulged in in many districts to perfection. To mention only a few. there are the capitals of Tyrol, and Salzburg, there is the beautiful Semmering near A ienna, there are the various places on the Arlberg Railway from Bregenz down to Insbruck, of which St. Anton deserves special mention as one of the best ski ing centres, there is Kitzbuehel, which has already won some renown as a winter resort, there is the Austrian Davos, Gossensass. Further scuta we find Brixen, we find Bozen-Gries, and that pearl of Austrian watering-places. Meran. Everything in Austria moves slowly, and if the kindly, easy-going people of the various Alpine provinces of Austria had anything of the enterprise of their neighbours over the Engadine border, such places as we have mentioned above would long ago have become the most popular winter resorts of Europe. It is. indeed, astonishing that these places have not gained a fame and importance as winter resorts, to which they are justly entitled. An Anglo Indian of the Indian Medical Service, writing from Insbruck to the "Times of India, says: "These Insbruck streets are some 2000 feet above the sea level. Like the whole visible world before me, they are under snow. Here you have an almost tropical sunshine blended with the serene cold of northern skies —the winter months, in fact enjoy all the advantages of a low temperature without the dis-

advantages which a cold wind would entail. and which is so conspicuous by its absence in the Eastern Alps. It is well known that the body can support a very low temperature in the absence of wind, and, accordingly, owing to the dry cold of these regions, the influence on the system is immense. The air is pure, the sunshine glorious, and the frost dry, invigorating, and exhilarating in the last degree. Far better to go into the

mountains and work off congestions in an environment that never disgusts, but that ever exhilarates, because it tones up from the first hour, muscle, liver, nerve, and brain.” We are convinced that the best method of treatment for persons who are in need of having their constitutions built up as a mere preventive measure is that which combines the requirements of the cure with amusement and distraction and all the necessary climatic conditions. All these requirements may justly be said to be provided for in the Eastern Alps during the winter months. One of the pleasant features of the districts under consideration is that almost in every place the visitor will find

excellent hotels at moderate prices and sports clubs, which look after the skating rinks and toboggan courses, etc. Sleighing parties are frequently arranged and the proprietor of the various hotels do their utmost to make the stay of the visitors pleasant and comfortable.