Egypt4u

SEEKING A WHITE CHRISTMAS Part 2

It looked as if my account of our short Christmas break was going to be rather long so I have broken it into two parts.

Wednesday 26 December, boxing day to us.
Our rooms were on the first floor. A higher level would have perhaps given better views but every room has a balcony and this is a view from ours.

Everything was back to work today, buses, cable cars, cafes; probably to meet the needs of tourists. The boys at reception seemed bemused that in the UK we have all the major football teams playing matches on 'boxing day'. They don't have the 26th as a day for sport.

It promised to be a lovely sunny day so in the morning we hired a taxi to take us to the medieval town of 'Hall' just to the north of Innsbruck. Nice little town but only one cafe open so off the tourist trail. But again we had very good Kaffee und Kucken before our taxi took us back to Igls.

The old town of Hall, the vapour trail cross above the church intrigued me, the ski jump tower from the 1976 Winter Olympics through the trees.


In the afternoon we made a return trip up the mountain. I am facinated by the engineering of cable cars and the fact that at each end they come off the cable to allow passengers to get off and on. And Mrs G agreed for me to include a picture of both of us at the summit.


Finally, just one picture of a plate of food; Beef Wellington on boxing day evening, not a brussels sprout in sight and a nice Tyrolean band playing in the lounge.


Next day we left the hotel at 9am for an uneventful journey home with everything running on time (but that is the Austrian/German way. )

The Beef Wellington looks good. A sensible portion too not too big and not too small.

A harp and accordian duo is unusual but why not? I like accordian music, it usually lifts my spirits.

You and Mrs Grandad definitely look lovely and warm & cozy in your cold weather gear. Quite the hat Grandad! I thought those were only common here

Cable cars are fascinating. Have been on a couple and the views and vistas they give are phenomenal. I always appreciate how clean, clear and crisp the air is once you're actually up top the mountains.

I truly hope you were not bemoaning you didn't get a brussel sprout (vile nasty fake mini cabbage those things are) however your meal looks super delicious.

Good to know your holidays went off without a hitch. I was a bit concerned when the closed Gatwick due to somebody flying drones nearby that it might affect your leaving country but sounds like all went well with no downside.

HaHaHa LLL. I bought the deerstalker with the flappy ears especially for the trip. A very warm piece of headgear
The drone problems at Gatwick did not bother us at all. Flights were back on schedule and we got away right on time.
The food was very good with five courses for dinner each evening but that included a palette cleansing sorbet of various flavours.
Wine was expensive. The recommended wines on Christmas evening were 49 euro a bottle. We stuck to our old favourite, Pino Grigio at 29 euros (about £27).
I pay £5.20 a bottle in the supermarket but, what the hell, we were on Christmas holiday

On the whole Grandad your holiday looked fab and I enjoyed seeing your photos....Thank you for sharing

I'll say again " Somewhere warmer next time "

It was all very seasonal Kiya and not very cold. Exactly what we went for......BUT ......my wife has said "two weeks in the Caribbean next year", don't know how she thinks we could afford that???? Dream on girl ;-)

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Yes I agree with Mrs G this time

@Grandad - from where you're at how far or how long do yo have to fly to get to warm winter temperatures?

For me and I'm referencing I am AT the Airport - if I fly out of Seattle WA it is 4 and a bit hours for me to get to either Hawaii or Mexico. Probably 5 hours if I flew from Vancouver BC. Takes me that long to get to a tropical climate which I don't find too terribly bad length-wise to get to.

The longest part of my travel time is getting from the house to the airport.

@Lovelyladylux
The Canary Isles are popular for winter sun, around 4 hours from London. Not hot but in the low twenties. We don't like the Canaries. Other than the UAE, 7 hours, north Africa is becoming popular again. That is about 4 hours. Dominican Republic is popular bit that is long haul.

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If I want to go anywhere in the Caribbean I'd typically have to fly to Texas, transfer flights and then go for another few hours making a trip to anywhere in that area a full day of flight travel for me too.

Dominican Republic is a popular spot however I've not gone there as friends have said that while the actual resort(s) is safe for tourists it isn't really too terribly safe to go wander about outside whichever resort you're in. Same with Jamaica.

I've thought about heading to Cuba before it becomes too open although I think that window is already passed. Have been to quite a few of the Islands (St Maartens is VERY expensive) but mostly now I'm heading to Mexico as it is an easy place to get to.