3 mins read

Sound of Music museum opens where the von Trapp story met Hollywood

SALZBURG, Austria | An Austrian museum is alive with “The Sound of Music,” a first-ever venue devoted to the classic 1965 singalong movie starring Julie Andrews. The Sound of Music Salzburg museum, situated in an Austrian city famed for music and perhaps best known as the home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, opened Sunday. The attendees […]

3 mins read

Austrian yodelers take their voices underground, turning a parking garage into the Alps

GRAZ, Austria | No mountains to practice on? No problem. Yodeling fans in Austria have moved their practice sessions to an underground parking garage, since it produces echoes like those they can get in the landscapes of the Alps. “It’s not too dissimilar to the high mountains,” said yodeling teacher Anna Maria Gutschi as she […]

6 mins read

German vote shows rise of far right in Europe, but it hasn’t been a steady march

BRUSSELS | The stunning victory of the Alternative for Germany in a state election has renewed fears of an ascendant far right in Europe, as voters repeatedly vent discontent and mainstream leaders grapple with myriad crises, from affordability to Russian aggression and scraps with China and the United States over trade. But while anti-immigrant, pro-Russian […]

6 mins read

Europe heat wave puts all major Italian cities on red alert as Austria sets heat record

ROME | Italy placed all of its major cities under the highest heat alert Thursday as a blistering heat wave gripped Europe, setting a national temperature record in Austria, fueling wildfires in France and disrupting energy and transport systems across the continent. The extreme weather has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in […]

4 mins read

Austria’s 16th-century bell foundry adds modern technology to keep the casting process alive

INNSBRUCK, Austria | Wearing protective gear to shield from the extreme heat of molten bronze, workers at one of the last bell foundries in Europe are casting bells weighing several tons. One after another, the artisans carefully pour the molten metal into specially shaped molds held together with steel bands to create 12 bells for […]