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A village near Salzburg in Austria is installing CCTV cameras to try to stop visitors from taking rude advantage of its name.

The problem is, you see – and there’s no way to put this politely – the place is called Fucking and it’s been plagued for years by people filming themselves in sexually explicit poses by the village sign.

“I’m sure they all think they’re the first to do it, but believe me they’re not,” said one exasperated resident of the tiny hamlet (population 104). “We’ve grown very tired of it and we’re doing something about it.”

It’s hoped the CCTV cameras will make people think twice about their actions and just pose for an innocent tourist snapshot instead.

The village’s name is believed to come from a sixth century noble called Lord Focko, with ‘ing’ being old German for ‘family of’.

In 2004, residents voted against changing the name, despite the rising costs of replacing the Fucking signs every time souvenir-hunting tourists stole them.

by Andy Moreton

Check Luxique’s varied selection of luxury hotels in Vienna, boutique hotels in Salzburg and other regions of Austria.

There are plenty of annoying features of air travel: the long lines for check-in and security, the lost or delayed luggage, the cost of airport coffee …

The Joy of Air Travel

What about fellow passengers? Yes, they can be pretty grim too, according to a new survey.

Tripadvisor asked its clients to identify the most irritating air travellers and nearly 60 per cent said ‘oblivious parents.’ Noisy and uncontrolled children and those who spend the entire flight kicking the back of the seat in front scored most highly in the survey of shame.

Michele Perry, Tripadvisor’s Vice-President of Global Communications, commented: “The people travelling with kids and the people travelling without them tend to be equally vocal about how annoying the other group is.”

There were any number of other irritants, though, including:
• People who recline their seat during the meal service
• Travellers who talk non-stop when you’ve signalled that, like Greta Garbo, you want to be alone
• Passengers with offensive body odour
• People who are rude to airline staff

Eighty-three per cent of those questioned said they thought air travellers had become ruder over the past ten years. They said the golden rule was ‘do unto other passengers as you’d have them do unto you.’

“We’re all in this together,” said Perry. “By minding our manners and adhering to basic travel etiquette – much of which is really just common sense – we can make holiday travel a little easier for everyone.”

On this subject, Singapore Airlines is always being praised for its in-flight service and I’ve just heard an example. On a flight from Singapore to London, my friend’s seat wouldn’t go back to upright, much to his annoyance (and that of the man behind). It couldn’t be fixed during the journey, but the flight attendant went a long way to soothing the situation with a winning smile and a $100 voucher for both passengers.

by Andy Moreton