Between Berlusconi and the opposition, there is plenty of silliness to go around in Italian politics, but I don’t like to write about that too much, as it just gets depressing and is covered better elsewhere.  What is occasionally interesting to report are the odd bits of local news that are, at times, particularly crazy…

For those wondering what has become of the "new Alitalia", it can best be described as hurtling down the runway, but not gaining a lot of altitude.  The "sale" has been closed, although there is still a lot of union activity going on that’s quite disruptive – apparently a number of people missed their Christmas…

As if the Veneto didn’t contain enough variety in the towns between Verona and Venice, it also has a stunning set of mountains: the Dolomites, and reaches as far as a short section of border with Austria. The "Queen of the Dolomites" is Cortina d’Ampezzo, an expensive ski town that hosted the 1956 winter olympics…

Many Austrians seemingly know how to ski before they can walk.  In this part of Austria, with all its lofty peaks, skiing is practically the national sport, and it seems that ever other little mountain town has its own ski run.  Unfortunately, I don’t know how to ski, and don’t have the time or money…

The doorbell rang, which was odd – we weren’t expecting anyone, and mail and that type of thing shows up in the morning.  We click on the speakerphone to see if it’s someone outside.  Nothing, so I open the door and look out.  You can imagine my surprise when I saw the individuals in this…

Sometimes, something just strikes you as neat or interesting even if it’s not really anything special in the grand scheme of things.  For some reason, I really enjoyed New Year’s Eve here in Innsbruck.  We were in good company, having gone to our friends’ place for dinner, but I also really enjoyed the fireworks. Innsbruck…

Normally, Innsbruck on a Sunday afternoon is dead.  Once when we were out and about, it was so silent and deserted looking that it looked like aliens had come and taken everyone away. This weekend, however, that is not the case.  The city has been invaded by Italians.  It’s a three day weekend both here…

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: http://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…

"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…

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…