Gadling

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 would we do without The Economist and its great sidebars? This one shows just how much certain countries smoke. According to ERC, a market research company, the heaviest smokers come from Greece, with an average of 3,000 cigarettes per person in 2007. At 20 cigarettes per pack, that makes 150 packs in a year; a lot of puffing.

Despite recent smoking bans in many places, European countries still manage to hold 18 of the top 20 spots. The most surprising statistic? That France smokes less than the U.S. Whatever happened to the stereotypical image of the French, dressed in all black, a serious look on their face and a Gauloises glued to their fingers? It could have something to do with the price of cigarettes; a pack runs about 5 euros in France, equaling just a little under $8.

Click here to see how these results changed from 2006.

Whenever I hear about rich individuals owning whole islands, I always wonder how one actually goes about buying such a piece of property. Do you just walk into your real estate agent and say, "you know, I'm really in the mood for an island, do you have any available?" Seems like an odd question.

If you are in the market for your very own island -- and who wouldn't want one? -- the island of Hanö, off the Blekinge coast in the southeast of Sweden, is currently for sale. The idyllic island includes 6 kilometers of beach front and even a 19th century lighthouse. Although Hanö is protected under Natura 2000, an EU ecological network which protects the island and limits planning to the fishing village, whoever ends up buying the island will still obtain hunting rights to the many deer that wander it.

The island is being sold by the Swedish real estate firm Svensk Fastighetsförmedlingen, who is going so far as putting an ad for the island on national television station TV4. So how much does the island of Hanö actually cost? The real estate agency has not made a comment on the asking price, instead it will all depend on incoming bids, which need to be made by June 20th.

Even if you're not in the market for an island, Blekinge is still a beautiful part of southern Sweden that definitely merits a visit. Last summer I spent some time island hopping in the region that has a similar, but much more rural and laid-back, feel as Stockholm's archipelago. If your summer plans include a visit to Sweden, consider heading south for some traditional Swedish relaxing.

As I was browsing through the Gadling pool, the thumbnail of this photo caught my eye. From a smaller perspective it looked like a posed shot of tourists, happy to take a picture resembling the Beatles. But when I clicked on the photo and got to see the larger version, I was happy to see that it was in fact an adorable chain of Japanese children crossing the street. The woman in the back waves enthusiastically at the camera, and even the little child in pink attempts to do the same. One word: cute. With this photo, hikikomorix managed to capture the delight of a very simple everyday activity.

If you want to have your own photo featured on Photo of the Day, upload it to the Gadling Flickr pool.

Fitting in with the local culture is often the most difficult of tasks when traveling. But if you're a young adult headed to Europe this summer, acting like a European might only entail living up to frat party standards. According to a study published in BMC Public Health, young adults in Europe deliberately booze it up to increase their chances of scoring.

According to the BBC, the study was done with 1,341 people from 9 different cities across Europe. A third of the men, and 23 % of the women -- who were all between the ages of 16 and 35 -- said they drank to improve their chances of having sex. The researchers concluded that the fun-loving youngsters were "strategically" binge drinking or taking drugs to improve their sex lives.

All jokes aside, drinking and sexing is a health concern; especially since the rate of unprotected sex goes up. However, now that we know what the European strategy is, it looks like we no longer need a "How to Score a European Fling" post.

In a country so proud of its culinary heritage, it's hard to imagine any foreign versions of local specialties ever being sold. I'm talking about France, the country where the capital city organizes the Baguette Grand Prix, just to determine which boulangerie makes the best one (it even makes the French national news). Surprisingly enough, even in a place with such high bread expectations, somehow British baguettes managed to make their way onto the trains of the French railway.

The Guardian reports that Fosters of Barnsley, a Yorkshire bakery, has started exporting truck loads of baguettes across the Channel to be sold on trains. The move has made baker John Foster deemed the "most hated man in France," according to French media.

With a well-known background of Franco-Anglo tension regarding food, the fact that British baguettes are being sold to French railway passengers is rather humorous. Maybe Sarkozy will see it as an attack on his country's culinary heritage, or maybe the French will just start exporting fish and chips.

Last week China opened the world's longest sea bridge in order to cut travel time between two ports, Ningbo and Shanghai. But on a bridge that is 22.4 miles long, it's hard to not slow down to enjoy the impressive scenery; you are crossing over a large body of water after all. Since its opening on May 1, Chinese police have fined over 300 drivers for driving too slow across the bridge or even illegally parking in the emergency lines while taking some scenic photos.

"I just wanted to drive a bit slowly and enjoy the sea breeze. Is that wrong?" an unnamed driver complained.

You would think that with such a bridge -- and at $1.7 billion, such a budget -- would invest in some sightseeing platforms. Not to worry, those are coming... in two years. For now, if you want any interesting scenic shots, better bring some extra yuan to pay your fine.

Read the title of this post again. Now say "what???" As odd as it sounds, Shailendra Roy of eastern India isn't kidding around.

Earlier this week Roy impressed crowds by pulling a train engine and three coaches. The Darjeeling toy train, which weighs about 35 tons, was attached to Roy's ponytail by a metal chain. After pulling the train 10 meters, Roy proudly announced, "I am planning to dangle myself from a helicopter."

How do you maintain such a ponytail? By rubbing it with mustard oil and doing lots of training, like pulling heavy logs and other objects. And apparently the flying thing isn't totally new; last year Roy tied his ponytail from a rope and flew through the air from one building to another in front of television cameras.

Although we here at Gadling do not recommend you try Roy's new way of travel at home, the concept is intriguing. And by intriguing I obviously mean slightly crazy.

I love the juxtaposition of traditional and modern in this photo; something that is ever present all around Europe. Danner00 manages to capture that romanticized European feeling with the perfectly parked motos on the old cobblestone street. Taken in Menorca, Spain, the photo has a very calm and quiet feel, but you can almost sense the impending whiz of a moto coming past you, most likely with a snappily dressed European on their way back to work after a home cooked lunch.

***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can't post it here.***

I am sure that travelers who experienced the recent Heathrow Airport terminal 5 mess probably had a lot of negative comments to make about it. When flights are canceled and baggage is lost, it's hard to stay positive. So we complain, and then complain again when our complaints aren't heard.

When you are a top executive for an airline however, your negative comments regarding an airport are hard to go unnoticed. Such is the case of Don Langford, head of customer services Europe for American Airlines, who recently labeled Heathrow as "the worst of all airports" that American flies to in Europe. That's right folks, Heathrow is officially "a bit of a dump."

Langford's comments come just weeks after American moved most of its London flights from Gatwick to Heathrow. Gauging from Langford's remarks that Heathrow "is not just bursting at the seams. I think the seams have burst," consolidating American's flights to Europe's busiest airport may not have been the best of decisions.

Heathrow operator BAA responded to Langford's comments that "We are investing £4 billion over the next five years..... you've got to realize that if you are going to invest that kind of money it takes time to put things right." Let's hope things get put right real quick.

What strange things have been found on planes?

Click the image to read the bizarre story...