PhotoBlog - nostalgia

Feb

2013

12:07pm, EST

Skiing on nostalgia: Germans dust off antique ski gear for race

Ina Fassbender / Reuters

A man jumps during the 'Nostalgic Ski Race' in the town of Neuastenberg, Germany.

Ina Fassbender / Reuters

Vintage skis and sticks.

Ina Fassbender / Reuters

Reuters photographer Ina Fassbender describes the scene at the 'Nostalgic Ski Race' in the German town of Neuastenberg:

I saw the first competitor arriving, a man dressed in an old-fashioned manner, with wooden skis and bamboo sticks in his hands. He wore some kind of fur on his back, looking like a poacher. He was joined by women with long black skirts, a boy with an old leather satchel, teenage girls in Bavarian leather trousers, young and old, men and women, about 40 competitors altogether.

The short and not too steep racing track was like a small island, surrounded by the modern ski community. Everybody was wondering where all these strange people came from. It was a jubilee race, marking 300 years since the foundation of the small city of Neuastenberg. Most of the competitors knew each other. The youngest participant was a 7-year-old girl and the eldest was about 65 years old.

Editor's note: Pictures taken on Feb. 17, 2013 and made available to NBC News today.

Ina Fassbender / Reuters

A man checks his son's skis before the race.

Ina Fassbender / Reuters

The 'Nostalgic Ski Race' is held every two years with about 40 participants and is organized by the ski club of Neuastenberg, a town which was founded in 1713.

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Oct

2012

2:04pm, EDT

We're gonna golf like it's 1935! The World Hickory Open tees off in Scotland

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Golfers dressed in 1930s period costume play on Monifeith Links course during the 8th World Hickory Open on Oct. 8, in Monifeith, Scotland.

David Moir / Reuters

A competitor taking part in the World Hickory Open golf championship carries his bag during the first round on Oct. 8.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

A competitor taking part in the World Hickory Open golf championship during the first round on Oct. 8.

By Matt Nighswander, NBC News

These may look like scenes from an upcoming Merchant-Ivory movie, but they are, in a fact, from a tournament in Scotland that limits competitors to clubs made before, or made to replicate those manufactured before, 1935. Named for the traditional hickory-shafted club, the World Hickory Open is in its eighth year and also requires players to dress in the styles of an earlier era. It all looks very authentic--except for the high-fives, of course.

Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images

Players celebrating

David Moir / Reuters

David Moir / Reuters

A competitor tees off at the fifth hole.

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End of the road: Russia says goodbye to its beloved Lada

Reuters reports — Russia is ending its long love affair with a car that was once prized by the nation but has come to symbolize the decline of its automobile industry and, for some, the country itself.

The decision by state car maker AvtoVAZ to halt production of the last models in the Lada Classic series this year after four decades is more than just the end of the road for an automobile.

Although the outmoded box-like series of family cars is ridiculed abroad, many Russians consider it a last link with an era when they believed the Soviet Union could win the Cold War, and see its demise as a sign of Russia's diminished status. Continue reading.