TRAVEL

Home & Away with Robert WalsheLiving

North America and main-land Europe hold the key to promoting tourist numbers for the New Year. tourism Ireland hopes to increase visitor numbers by 5pc to 7.6 million in 2013, which will contribute €3.7bn to the economy. And chief executive Niall Gibbons said the num-bers of people coming from countries less-badly hit by the recession in-cluding France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland was on the increase, with record numbers expected in 2013 A 20pc increase in airline capacity from the US would also help drive numbers. tourism Minister Leo Varadkar added that positive tourist numbers would help boost employ-ment and that some €6-7m would be provided to help promote the “Gathering.”

Weekend Hotspotwww.schloss-elmau.de/english

Schloss Elmau is a castle hotel between the towns of Garmisch and Mitten-wald 100 km from Munich perched perfectly at an elevation of 1060 meters. I visited for three days and the bright sunshine and al-pine snow was the prefect tonic for my weekend of sheer bliss & relaxation.

here, you can ski in sum-mer, sunbathe in winter, ride horses, swim in lakes, rivers and infinity pools, ride great slopes on a mountain-bike, or scale them by hand as you try rock-climbing. Schloss Elmau was founded by the philosopher Johannes Müller whose family runs the establishment.

he had become quite well known for his novel teachings on Christian philosophy, and in 1902 a friend bought him a castle near Schweinfurt called Schloss Mainberg to serve as a community for nurtur-ing spiritual and physical

health. Johannes Muller’s philosophy appears to lie somewhere between Christianity and Zen. his grandson Dietmar Müller-Elmau, together with his cousin have now re-de-fined its purpose into “The Schloss Elmau Experience”, giving the Schloss freedom to express itself as a mod-ern interpretation of classi-cal architecture.

the result is a true life-style experience for spa aficionados, those who appreciate the delights of gourmet cuisine and lov-ers of architecture, culture and nature. Schloss Elmau is designed for longer vis-its – indeed my stay of two days was far too short.

there are 130 rooms in-cluding five family suites with two bedrooms and the rooms in general are family friendly; some even come with sofa beds and kitchenettes.

All the luxuriously de-signed rooms & suites revolve around space and privacy while the bathrooms are lined with ancient stone, bedroom floors made of polished oak or teak and walls cov-ered with pure silk.

the room was equipped with a Loewe flatscreen television, a Bose radio with iPod dock, and a mini-bar that offered juice and snacks at no charge. I was lucky enough to get one of the fower suites, which meant that I had majestic views to the south, west, and east. Everything in the room was about the view. Aside from the many ter-races, there are clusters of private loungers, lavender-covered terraces and pic-nic spots.

Inside, clever layouts mean you can always find somewhere to make a noise or be alone. Unlimited In-ternet access is included and I settled into my com-fortable desk and chair at

the library to enjoy my new ipad! Since 1916, Schloss Elmau has been a cultural melting pot for great art-ists and authors with two concert halls, five Steinway pianos, several rehearsal rooms, two libraries with English, Jewish and Ger-man literature as well as a vast bookstore.

the calendar this year alone includes more than 170 concerts with sev-eral festivals, for classical music, chamber music, jazz, world music & litera-ture.

Four unique spa areas are at your fingertips, includ-ing a 16,100 sq. ft. family spa so your kids can enjoy treatments, too. Swim in indoor, outdoor, pools, or just watch the steam come off the warm water while sunbathing in the relaxa-tion room.

Uniquely Schloss Elmau is the only 5* resort to offer separate spas for adults as well as families.

I found my way to the” hammam” the largest west of Istanbul to experience the “orient Express “a treatment especially suited for new comers to oriental bath culture.

Following a warm-up phase in the steam room, each ritual begins with a basic treatment consisting of a full-body exfoliation

and soapy rubdown along with a soothing hair wash. Afterwards, depending on the ritual you choose, you are given either a short or a thorough massage with soapy lather or with oil completed with traditional hamam-style refreshment: Kolonya, aromatic turkish lemon water.

to relax afterwards I ended up at the Badehaus Spa enjoying the open-air rooftop pool & restaurant entranced by spectacu-lar views of the Bavarian Alps.

A passion for the art of cuisine is more than appar-ent in Schloss Elmau’s six restaurants. here I experi-enced “La Salle” with live cooking and a tremendous international breakfast

buffet. the” Luce d’oro “gourmet offering on the second night was incred-ible combining a refined food art matched with specialty wines from the talented chief sommelière Marie-helen Krebs.Schloss Elmau and its surrounding areas are home to some of the best summer and win-ter sports in the Alps.

there are Ski Schools for cross-country and down-hill alpine Skiing, plus daily Ski Safaris to some of the best pistes available on the nearby Innsbruck and Seefeld slopes, just over the border in Austria. Schloss Elmau is a five star superior member of Lead-ing hotels of the World and

one of the most discerning and imaginative lifestyle resorts anywhere and I will be back.

www.schloss-elmau.de/english

Aer Lingus operate daily flights from Dublin to Munich. Fares start from €55.99. For more informa-tion, please visit www.aer-lingus.com

Robert Walshe is a travel broadcaster with Q Radio Network and Travel Editor for River Media newspaper titles across the island of Ire-land. www.robertwalshe.com

Pet’s Corner... with Kathleen Murray

Home and Away ExtraIt is one of the negative side-affects of

long-haul travel, but suffering from jet lag could soon become a distant memory for weary travellers. Australian sleep research-ers have developed a set of hi-tech “sun-glasses”, described as the world’s first “time control” spectacles, which can imi-tate sunlight patterns.

the teams, from Flinders University, in Adelaide, say the glasses emit a soft green glow that helps a traveler adapt to chang-ing sleep patterns and time zones in “small steps”. It targets a part of the brain that regulates the human body-clock, by send-

ing signals to the rest of the body that help it slowly realise it is in a different area of the world. It has been suggested the de-vice, dubbed the “re-timer”, is currently the only wearable body clock adjustment system commercially available.

Scientists say the device can help ward off the negative affects of long-haul travel and bring new relief to insomnia sufferers, shift workers and even teenagers.

Airlines are said to be seeking a “silver bullet” for the tiredness and confusion that often follow a long-haul flight and are in dis-cussions to buy the device.

n Schloss Elmau Exterior.

n Schloss Elmau Hamam.

Guard DogsthIS is a subject that is very dear to my heart as I have seen so many good dogs being destroyed through no fault of their own. When people think about guard dogs they tend to think about German Shep-herds, rottweilers, etc.

this is because these dogs have been widely used and abused as protection dogs due to their size… not their tem-perament. these particular breeds are herding dogs. they were bred for cattle and sheep herding.

they are still used as herding dogs in their native countries where there are large compe-

titions just like our “one man and his Dog” competitions. We have ruined the good name of these dogs by using them in the wrong way and putting them in the wrong hands. A guard dog is a dog that alerts you to some-thing that needs your attention.

the job of the dog is to bark and then you should investi-gate the problem before telling the dog to stop. If the problem is an intruder then you and the dog should do something about it but the dog should wait for your signal or invitation, not eat somebody because you can’t control it.

If you are not there then the

dog will act as it sees fit, if it-self, or your property is under threat. Any dog can be a guard dog. Any dog can alert you to a problem but, because people are more scared of the bigger breeds, people tend to use them more, yet often can’t control the dog at all.

Dogs (any size) that are not under the control of their own-ers or handlers can do a lot of damage. Dogs that are allowed to bark at and chase everyone that comes to the door are dan-gerous dogs, not guard dogs.

they are dangerous because they have not be trained, condi-tioned, and socialised properly.

Dogs that bark at everyone and anyone without guidance or control will bite at some stage. Dogs don’t just “turn” on someone. they have been head-ing in that direction for some time. You just need to know the signs.

Guard dogs, guide dogs, sheep-dogs, gun dogs etc all need guid-ance.

It’s all team work so don’t expect a dog to know how to guard properly if you haven’t taught it to properly. Guarding is as much about coming back when called as it is about going forward to protect. Please don’t destroy a good dogs life.