Two Sides of Paradise
VOCABULARY
Whilst most people are preparing to go on a well-earned summer holiday, I have just returned to beautiful Salzburg after spending five weeks away. We spent the first 17 days of our holiday on Mallorca, a perfect destination if you enjoy swimming, sunbathing and hiking, as I do. It is so convenient to fly from my favourite Salzburg Airport, leaving the pouring rain behind you, and within one and a half hours – tail-wind permitting – you arrive in Palma de Mallorca and are greeted by 28 degrees. Heaven!
It is at this point that I always realise that I have packed far too many clothes, just in case the weather changes. It never does. Yes, flying to your chosen destination couldn't be easier. We stayed in three different hotels on the island, one more beautiful than the other. Mallorca offers something for everyone (the Spanish Tourist Board isn't paying me for saying this). There are beautiful, white sandy beaches with a crystal clear, turquoise sea to swim in to your heart’s content. Then there are the wonderful trails, where you can hike for hours, with breath-taking views around every corner. Hiking is especially beautiful, although more strenuous, in the northern Tramontana mountains.
Many exquisite restaurants can be found on the island, ranging from the small, friendly tapas bars to the extortionately priced Michelin restaurant. However, towards the end of our holiday, which ended up costing an arm and a leg, I persuaded my husband to take me to the "other" Mallorca: Magaluf. This town is for the British tourist what Ballermann is for the Germans and Austrians; a place for the young, and heavily-tattooed not so young, to drink as much as possible; morning, noon and night.
When we arrived in this notorious British holiday resort, I could not believe my eyes. We stuck out like a sore thumb as everyone else seemed to be drunk, even though it was only four o'clock in the afternoon. A man was lying face-down on the pavement with a half-naked comatose woman at his side. A group of men were leering at her, leaning against each other to keep their balance. Another pile of drunken men were lying in a pyramid, one on top of another, oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of the road and the traffic could not drive past them. Then, of course, there were the obligtory hen and stag parties. The young brides or grooms-to-be, were staggering aimlessly through the streets trying desperately to keep the drinks, that they had been consuming since 10am, in their stomachs. Many were unsuccessful.
The problem seems to be that most hotels offer all inclusive, which includes cheap wine, beer and spirits all day long. For just €5 one can share a disgusting, green or red cocktail, which is served in a sort of "goldfish bowl". We, boringly, went into one of the more decent pubs where, even though I was longing for a cappuccino, I decided that I should at least take a shandy. I asked the landlord why the locals of Magaluf put up with this sort of behaviour. He explained to me that the Brits spend a fortune there. But surely the damage that they are doing to the town and to the reputation of Mallorca now outweighs any financial gain, not to mention the deaths of many youngsters, who have either drowned while intoxicated or fallen from their hotel balcony.
I was pleased to hear that the authorities have now decided to crack down on such anti-social behaviour, and Magaluf has an additional 36 policemen who will fine people for urinating in the streets, nudity or performing sexual acts in public and violence. They will also try to limit the amount of people on each pub crawl. well-earned – wohlverdient hiking – wandern convenient – komfortabel pouring rain – strömender Regen tail-wind – Rückenwind to one’s heart’s content – nach Herzenslust trails – Wanderwege breath-taking – atemberaubend strenuous – anstrengend extortionate – halsabschneiderisch to end up – letztlich dorthin kommen it costs an arm and a leg – es bringt mich an den Bettelstab notorious – berüchtigt to stick out like a sore thumb – auffallen wie ein bunter Hund pavement – Gehsteig to leer – anzüglich grinsen pile – Haufen to be oblivious of sth. – etw. nicht wahrnehmen hen party – Polterabend der Braut stag party – Polterabend des Bräutigams to stagger aimlessly – ziellos torkeln stomach – Magen to share – teilen disgusting – ekelhaft boring – langweilig decent – ordentlich shandy – Radler to put up with sth. – etw. tolerieren behaviour – Benehmen to outweigh – schwerer wiegen financial gain – finanzieller Ertrag to drown – ertrinken intoxicated – betrunken, unter Drogen to crack down – hart durchgreifen to fine – mit einer Geldstrafe belegen pub crawl – Wirtshaustour