Desert rose meets Edelweiss

The average tourist comes to the Austrian province of Salzburg for one of two reasons: Mozart or mountains. In recent times, however, there's been an ever-expanding number of vacationers who are allured neither by music and culture nor by hiking and skiing, but--unbelievable as it is--by rain. With their notorious bad-weather summers, the mountain valleys of Salzburg have become a popular destination for wealthy visitors from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, who are seeking refuge from the broiling desert sun in the midst of rain-soaked lederhosen and edelweiss. Funnily enough, these Arabian tourists have picked my home town of Zell am See as their number-one vacation resort. Here's an eyewitness account of a comical clash of cultures. 

Tolerant, clog-wearing bicyclists

Have you ever heard the saying “God created the world but the Dutch created the Netherlands”? Take one look at all the dykes, pumping stations and cities below sea level and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The water is everywhere and we have been battling and taming the North Sea for centuries. The Netherlands resembles a huge bath tub waiting to be filled with water; twenty-six percent of the country lies less than one meter above sea level and twenty-four percent lies below sea level. We could actually equalize this difference and even out the country at sea level by simply breaking the dikes. Even the highest mountain in the Netherlands would then be easily reachable on a pool float.

But there is more to this country than water: It’s flat, and green, and there are windmills, tulips, lots of bicycles and happy cows. And lots of Dutch people.