Blogs from Gubbio, Umbria, Italy, Europe

Geo: 43.3535, 12.5795We started the day in Ravenna, with a hearty breakfast of bacon (not like ours!) and eggs, and croissants etc. Tom asked how they cook the boiled eggs in Italy - in Australia, his come without shells....think I'm spoiling those kids! Steven and Matt were feeling a bit off, so breakfasted lightly...then out of the hotel and off to see the sights.We had it planned like a military operation - 5 UNESCO World Heritage sites to see, 2.5 hours to achieve it. And it was perfect! We started at the Basicila Di S Vitale - built in the 6th century, this was the octagonal church upon which Emperor Constantine based his cathedral at Aachen. The mosaics in the apse were incredible - including the portraits of Justinian and Theodora and their court. It was ... read more

Wednesday, 6 June 2012 Gail has been going to school the last three days, and has found herself in an Italian language class of people who are mainly opera singers polishing their Italian pronunciation. It is absolutely sublime walking around the narrow cobblestone streets near the school filled with their powerful operatic voices. Yesterday, as part of the “cultural exchange” curriculum, an outing to the town of Gubbio was arranged. Steve went along too. The bus trip took just on an hour each way through beautiful country side – steep mountains, rolling hills, narrow roads, Autostrada (freeways) and very old towns. Gubbio is a medieval ancient town that dates back to pre-Roman times. That’s 2,500 years ago! There’s quite a bit of information at this web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/w... read more

Yesterday, we went up the hill and the pilots set their gliders up. However, cloudbase was very low, and we were not sure whether it would soon start to rain. So setting a task would have been unsafe, and the day was cancelled. Most pilots flew anyway, and some of them were happy to play - which included flying closely over launch at high speed. I will post some videos. The shock of the day was when we saw a parachute deployment above a paddock just outside Sigillo. It later turned out that the pilot had attempted a wingover, and when after speeding up he pushed the bar out, one of his wires broke, which caused the glider to completely break. He threw his chute and landed on the ground without being injured. The glider is ... read more

What is wrong with the weather? On Saturday morning, it was raining, so the day was cancelled at the team leader briefing. Heather, Nils and I went to Gubbio, which is about half an hour from here. It is a very nice city, situated along a mountain ridge, originating from the age of the Romans. Apart from the fact that it is wonderful to walk between the old and well-maintained houses, enjoy the beautiful view and have a coffee somewhere, there is a lot of history to discover. We went to a museum in which they showed, amongst other exhibits, 2,000 years old tablet with Umbrian inscriptions. I did not even know that there was an Umbrian language. Apparently it is a mixture between Etruscan and Latin, and it is written from right to left. Pretty ... read more

During the last two days, the weather forecast was not good, so both days were called during the team leader briefings that take place at 9 o’clock every morning. But in spite of that, we are far from being bored. There are quite a few issues that have to be discussed between organisation, officials, and pilots. In my opinion, it becomes obvious in many aspects that hanggliding is still a very young sport. It started in the 1970s, so we are just on the way of getting best practice examples in many areas. One example is how to ensure safety during competitions. I remember that three years ago when sprog measurement was introduced, big discussions came up whether or not this makes sense. The sprogs are metal parts on both sides of the wings that help ... read more