[HPforGrownups] Re: Vampire Info--rather long

[Robert Carnegie]

No: HPFGUIDX 20310

06/06/01 08:33:36, catherine at cator-manor.demon.co.uk wrote:

>--- In HPforGrownups at y..., koinonia02 at y... wrote:
>> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Kelley" <SKTHOMPSON_1 at m...> wrote:
>> Where is Durmstrang?  Could it be somewhere around Romania, Poland, 
>> Bulgaria? Seems to be very close to areas that are filled with 
>> vampire folklore.
>> 
>> Krum's father spoke in Bulgarian.
>
>I've wondered about this too, and am not sure.  I initially assumed 
>that it was somewhere in Eastern Europe,  but when they have started 
>talking about mountains and glaciers, I thought that perhaps it could 
>be somewhere in Scandinavia.

Perhaps Switzerland?  "Sturm und drang" is German, hence I presume Durmstrang - I'm not sure whether something like it might also work in 
Dutch - and German is spoken in Switzerland.  Mountains, check.  Glaciers, check.  Sturm und drang, probably.  And you know I keep going 
on about Grindelwald being a skiing resort in Switzerland.

Since I'm set up now to read and post offline (was using the Web site, for _hours_) I can't quickly go and look at the excellent list of how names 
are translated for other languages.  In the unlikely event that the Portkey and the Lexicon _don't_ have it, it's the page that mentions both 
Gryffindor and Gryffondor - English and French.  Serdaigle (French Ravenclaw) I didn't figure out yet.

But Zurich is more famous for its gnomes... :-)

>> Then we are told how awkward Krum looks while walking.  Not to 
>> mention his swimming in that freezing lake in January.  Normal 
>> people can't swim in water like that.
>
>I'm not sure about this.  It wasn't much later (February) when all 
>the champions had to enter the lake.

_That's_ Scandinavian, along with saunas and beating with bundles of twigs.  There are probably Quidditch jokes about Beaters' broomsticks...  
On the other hand, there are loonies all over the world who practise outdoor bathing in the middle of winter.  Something called the Polar Bears 
Club.  (Do I hear "Animagus"?)

Robert Carnegie
Meretricious!