McCartney Times

I’m in the Austrian ski resort of Obertauern, close to the city of Salzburg, made famous by the movie classic The Sound of Music.But at this alpine retreat it’s not Julie Andrews and the Von Trapp family who are celebrated by the locals – it’s The Beatles.Sculptures, paintings and photos paying homage to the Fab Four can be found everywhere.It’s because John, Paul, George and Ringo filmed the movie Help! at this resort in 1965. Obertauern celebrated the anniversary two years ago and the party hasn’t stopped yet.Giant statues of the band can be found on the slopes and, during our whistle-stop tour of the 100km of piste on offer in the SalzburgerLand ski area, we wasted little time posing for a picture.Of course, no ski trip would be complete without a quick pit stop for liquid refreshment in mid-morning.

On our first day, we paid a visit to the plush Das Seekarhaus hotel to do just that.Much like the rest of the resort, the upmarket establishment honours its famous guests from Merseyside in the mid-1960s, with a dedicated “Beatles Bar” full of signed photographs, skis worn by the band and a jukebox.

They even have a special cocktail list of Beatles-themed drinks!

If you’re lucky you might bump into the swish hotel’s owner. Gerhard Krings is his name, and along with building an impressive chain of hotels and bars in Obertauern, he’s also got the claim to fame of having been George Harrison’s stunt double for the Help! shoot.

While the rest of the world were caught up in Beatlemania, Krings says no-one in the isolated Austrian outpost knew who they were.

Our 71-year-old resort guide Friedl, who has been teaching skiing for more than half a century, said the sme while showing us all the Austrian mountains have to offer.

That included tackling the monstrous Gamsleiten 2 piste, a devilish black run which features downhill gradients of up to 45 degrees and huge moguls.

Source: Obertauern: Beatles-inspired Austrian ski resort is a Magical Mystery Tour | Daily Star