22 - 28 February 2010

German speakers pronounce the W as a V, and a V as an F, but give them an English word beginning with V and they pronounce it W. Needless to say, we have very much enjoyed vatching the Vinter Olympics from Wancouver especially since we were able to celebrate Austrian and English achievements, and local biathlete Simon Eder, for whom Simon translates a daily blog, won a silver medal.

15 - 21 February 2010

Yoghurt, aubergine, marmoset and whiskey. Translated into, respectively, Icelandic, Chinese, French, and Spanish are all words used to get a smile before taking a photo. We say cheese, the Austrians say spaghetti and the Germans say ant shit - what is that about?!

8 - 14 February 2010

Valentine really put himself out, secretly marrying couples for love and for God, against the orders of Claudius II who thought that single men made better soldiers. He was beaten with clubs and beheaded for his efforts, (although did receive a sainthood so I guess there is a positive side), and despite all this, the anniversary of his execution went unremarked in our household. Chocolate, orchids and tulips were instead gratefully received by Justine from Martina, boss at the Waldhaus restaurant, which slightly sweetened the bitterness of having to serve spooning couples all night.

1 - 7 February 2010

Caspar came a respectable 19 out of 68 in a local ski jumping competition this week. Chances are he is one of very few English junior ski jumpers. Justine tried to find out more and discovered that there is a British ski jump team, but one should be careful not to confuse them with the Czech fishing team of the same name, as this message cut and pasted from their guestbook shows!

"It´s impossible:-D , I am from czech republic and me and my friends had team (fishing team) with it same name ( British Masters Team - BMT ):-D. I don´t belive my eyes:-D. I wish you good luck. BMT 4ever!!!"