Both myself and my sons are passionate snowboarders. Unfortunately I have spent most of my life in a country with very little snow. There have been one or two ‘powder days’ in North Wales but if I want to shred some real snow then I would have to travel a long way to the Alps or even further. In the UK a network of dry ski slopes was established. However they are not a good substitute for real snow as the friction is too great, and most are not very forgiving to fall over on.
That is why there is a demand for the indoor ski slopes that have been constructed all over the world. Here in Belgium, there are three in operation, with more over the border in the Netherlands and Northern Germany. To keep these indoor slopes cold, make artificial snow and to light the pistes uses a considerable amount of electricity. I would be very interested to know how much electricity per customer / 10 metres of slope. If anyone has the answer please let me know. I’m sure there is plenty of scope for using the extracted heat in an industrial process or even district heating – although this would probably be of little use in the Summer. How about using it for heating a swimming pool or water park?
Today I visited Snow Valley at Peer, here in Belgium. I couldn’t help noticing that they were proudly displaying a certificate on the wall by the booking desk that explained that all of the power used at Snow Valley is purchased from renewable sources such as wind power. How many more energy intensive recreational facilities use only renewable energy?
A photo essay of the Udal Peninsula on North Uist, Western Isles, Scotland.
While walking the streets of Brussels, I am often aware that I am following in the footsteps of Georges Rémi, better known as Hergé, creator of Tintin. From where I type this article, I can see both of the schools he attended in his youth. He left his mark in the form [...]
It is the overhead snippets of conversation, that tells me that Winter Wonders or Plaisirs d’Hiver in French, is popular with visitors. “I was like…” the repeated “like” in twenty something females’ conversations. The oral version of a Facebook Wall. Or “I am lucky, as I can catch a train [...]
The theme for the photo sharing day on Twitter on Friday 18 November 2011 was Flags. If you look at my Twitter profile you will see that I tend to spend time between three locations. In this piece, I will include photos, including flags from each of these places. Wales [...]
There are a lot of widely held views built on hearsay and misinformation. The deeper I look, the more complicated the story seems to get. One of my aims is to educate myself on travel environmental issues. Then to share my findings on this site and hopefully start a discussion [...]
#FriFotos is the weekly photo sharing day on Twitter. On Friday November 11, the theme is “Fall”, but as is usual, it is open to interpretation. Fall is the term used for Autumn in North America. However, the eleventh of November is Armistice Day and a Public Holiday in much [...]
The abbey of Val-Dieu was founded in 1216 by Cistercian monks. Surviving wars, floods and moral crises, it was temporarily dissolved by the French Revolution. Then in 1844 with the aid of the church and the last surviving monk, it was re-established and flourished again for another 150 years. The [...]
Have you ever stood on a railway station concourse and stared longingly at destinations on the Departures Board that were not printed on your tickets? Have you ever found yourself on the road somewhere and found that the you were travelling along one of the world’s more famous long distance [...]
Street art Last week I visited the Ixelles Museum here in Brussels before their exhibition on Street Art closed and is replaced by a Dubuffet exhibition. Bonom was featured heavily, with insights into how he plans his pieces. The photo above shows a spider on a concrete building by Chapelle [...]
Why is it so many people aspire to fly in First Class, sleep in Five Star hotels (or even Seven Star hotels) and eat in Michelin Three Star restaurants? Don’t they know that it is very poor value for money? That you can sleep just as well in a £29 [...]
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