Between several other vacations, high summer airline prices and the ridiculous Euro/Dollar exchange rate, I am sadly not heading to Europe this summer. But even though I haven't been able to make it "across the pond," I have been vicariously soaking up some European culture through this year's Euro 2008 soccer championships. Today marks the final between Spain and Germany of what has been another tournament of surprising upsets and nail-biting finishes.

Pish-posh, what's this about "soccer" you say? Actually, I don't know a whole lot about European soccer either. Yes, I know a few of the popular club teams like FC Barcelona and Manchester United, but I'm fairly clueless about the day-to-day standings and players. Why then, should anyone bother watching? Because European soccer is more than just a simple sporting event - it's a defining aspect of European cultural identity. Ask your typical European citizen to tell you about their favorite team or best soccer experience and you're bound to get an enthusiastic answer.

So if you're near a television today, crack open a nice cold Hefeweizen and switch over to ABC around 2:30 EST for the big event. Next summer when you're in Munich you'll be swapping Euro 2008 stories with the locals in no time.

This is an ad campaign that certainly gets ones attention! Particularly, the guy who is riveted. What a juxtaposition of images. Pirano was at the right place at the right time with the right angle in Vienna, Austria.

If you have a shot where you were at the right place at the right angle, send it to us at Gadling's Flickr photo pool. It might be chosen as a Photo of the Day.

I never really fell in love with the Sound of Music. But other people did, and I am sure that those people will be excited to know that the original von Trapp family house is being turned into a hotel.

If you're having trouble remembering the true story that the movie was based off of, there was an aspiring nun (played by Julie Andrews) who did a whole lot of singing and somewhere between "do" and "fa," won the hearts of Baron von Trapp and his seven children.

The von Trapp family lived in the house from 1923 to 1938 when they fled Austria during the Nazi takeover; eventually they made their way to the US where the youngest of the children operates a Vermont lodge. Now Salzburg will get the von Trapp touch, and starting this sumer, visitors to Villa Trapp visitors will be able to sleep in family members' former bedrooms or even choose to exchange vows in the chapel. Located just outside of Salzburg, Austria, the hotel will open sometime in July.

Building a hotel that capitalizes on the fame of a movie really isn't that crazy and sometimes hotels even star in movies themselves. Salzburg tourism officials say that actually 40% of overnight stays are made by fans of the Sound of Music. So if you are one of those fans, now you too -- for only 100 euros a night -- can practice your singing skills right in the von Trapp household.

What comes to mind when you say Austria these days? Whether you like it or not, it is hard to forget that the country has had two high-profile abuse cases in a very short time and they have shared some bizarre details.

When the first one hit the newsstands and the world found out about Natascha Kampusch, an Austrian girl who got abducted and and remained in basement custody of her kidnapper for more than eight years, people thought it was a fluke. Every country has its weirdos.

The recent abuse case, however, in which a 73-year-old man held his daughter hostage for over 24 years (also in a basement) and had seven children with her, made people ask themselves: Is there something very wrong with Austria, the country that gave birth to Hitler?

It is not going to be an easy PR campaign for Austria to win. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said today that he is prepared to defend Austria's image: "We're not going to allow Austria and its entire population to be held hostage by a single, barbarous criminal individual."

Based on Austria's recent history, I wouldn't underestimate the power of a single, barbarous criminal individual. But that's just me.

Tom Barlow over at Wallet Pop and I started talking about salt mines a few days ago. He mentioned a post he wrote about the health benefits of salt mines and places one can go to see them. An impressive one that neither of us have been to, but agreed that we should is the Wieliczka Salt Mine near Krakow in Poland. It's a World Heritage site, and part of it has been carved into a salt cathedral. Our talk reminded me of my own salt mine tour in Germany.

Touring the salt mine in Berchtesgaden was a totally funky, touristy thing to do, but one I have remembered over the years as a high point. Perhaps, it doesn't take much for me to be amused.

We donned mining outfits (over their clothes), put cloth mining hats on our head and gathered with the other English speakers at various points along the way to listen to recorded messages about the history of the mine and how it works. The guides spoke in German. Part of the tour involved sitting, one of us in front of the other, astride two wooden chutes which we slid down to get to a lower section. One of the reasons for the mining outfits was to protect our clothing from the salt. Plus, it was a chance to play dress up and add some ambiance to the experience.

Good job, Kaca_Leach! It is St. Wolfgang, Austria. Something tells me it was not just a wild guess from you.

St. Wolfgang is a cute little town about an hour from Salzburg. It is a good base for ski trips in the northern Austrian Alps. Dachstein is close. Plus, the stands in the center of town sell possibly the best gluhwein (hot wine) I have ever had. Because of the lake, the Wolfgangsee, it is a good destination in the summer, as well.

What is going on the roads of Central Europe this week, exactly? On Friday, I blogged about the Czech 100+ car pileup on the country's major highway.

Today, AP reports that 50 to 100 vehicles slammed into each other earlier today in snowfall on an autobahn in western Austria. The accident happened on the westbound A1 autobahn between the towns of Seewalchen and St. Georgen.

Some victims are apparently still trapped in their vehicles because rescue efforts were hampered by snowfall. One person is reported dead, according to Reuters.

When going spring-skiing, watch out for spring-snowstorms. (Optimism aside, it is best to keep those winter tires on through April.)

If you're curious as to what countries have the most conducive environments for tourism, you might want to check out the second annual World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008. Basically it's a report full of a lot of economic figures used to measure how good tourism industries are in countries around the world. This year's report put a special emphasis on economic development and environmental sustainability. Here are the top ten:

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Australia
5. Spain
6. United Kingdom
7. United States
8. Sweden
9. Canada
10. France

I've been to 7 out of the top 10, meaning that the tourism boards are probably doing their job -- or I'm just visiting popular destinations. Surprisingly, popular backpacker destinations like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Nepal are at the bottom of the list. For the complete PDF of rankings go here.

With previous posts on tourism for debauchery, nudism and speed-dating, looks like I keep an eye out for naughty opportunities on the road. Truth is, with the increasing number of such "official" options, they are hard to miss. The opening of what is being called the "world's first singles resort" in Austria, therefore, comes as no surprise.

Called Aviva Singles Resort and Spa, word is that if you have any sort of formal or informal attachment, you are not welcome. How do they check that? I'm guessing they take your word for it. Anyway, if you lie, it's unlikely they care unless your "attachment" hunts you down and creates a scene in this new free-love hotel.

The website is only in German but long live Babelfish, which allowed me to figure out that the hotel has two selling points: 1) it is for those who want to escape from everything familiar and be alone, 2) it's for those who are single and want to meet other singles. The resort offers the usual community facilities (gym, sports, bars, spa, restaurants), but the concept encourages mingling.Other than that, they have a singles club (details of which I couldn't decipher) and a singles shuttle that drives guests coming from Vienna and Munich so the "mingling" can begin en route. The resort is located in St. Stephan am Walde.

The website could be that of any 4-star hotel. It looks very sophisticated and other than the photo gallery that pictures hot men and women interacting, it doesn't really elude to a wild time; but perhaps the lure is in the subtlety of it all.

And, while we're on the subject, here's a list of Best Hotels for Singles as evaluated by Hotel Chatter.

If you are on the brink of divorce, you might want to pass by the world's first Divorce Fair that's happening in Vienna today and tomorrow. The Fair will later carry on in Austrian cities Linz and Graz.

50% of all marriages in Austria end up in divorce, 65% in Vienna. This Fair is aimed at providing consultation to separated partners on how to overcome the situation with the least possible suffering.

The event seems to be organized quite thoughtfully as days for women and men are separate so as to avoid any sort of possible awkwardness.

Lawyers, mediators, life-crisis consultants, private detectives and DNA laboratories will be participating, and yes therapeutic holiday offers will also be available. Anything to market a holiday huh! I'd really like to know what they include.

Lectures on coping as a single parent, and the effect of divorce on children will also be held and information will be available in German, English, French, Turkish, Croatian and Serbian.

Isn't that the nicest reasons to have an event!?

[via BBC]