A Sneak Preview of a Christmas Get-Away in Europe

Last year I was invited to Munich, Innsbruck and Zurich to write a travel article about the festive Christmas markets. The 4500 word article, my longest yet, is partially online at GoNomad.com with the remaining half to be posted soon. Should you be fortunate enough to pick a place to visit this season, make it Germany, Austria or Switzerland. All three are amazing destinations. Here are a few sneak paragraphs from the adventure.

Aimless Strolling through Story Town
Tucked inside the Inn valley, shouldered by snow-capped mountains and colorful baroque churches, sits the charming Capital city of Innsbruck, Austria. The medieval Old Town section, with its pastel-painted, wedding cake-like buildings and labyrinth of alleyways invites aimless strolling for hours.

Like other European towns, Innsbruck in December is awash with busy Christmas Markets that have operated for centuries as festive meeting places for selling homemade crafts and ornaments.

Seeing Innsbruck from Beyond the Clouds
The twice Olympic-city of Innsbruck draws visitors from all over Europe, many come to ski the fluffy white stuff, others come to watch brave souls launch themselves from the 50 meter Bergisel Ski Jump.

Downhill Skiing in the Mutterer Alm Area
The last time Innsbruck hosted the Olympics was in 1964 and 1976. Collectively, there are nine groomed resorts to ski off-piste. I draw straws for the beautiful Axamer-Lizum, one of the mountains used in the Olympics.

It’s early December and there are still parapets of rock and bald spots visible where snow has yet to built a base. I skirt around the bare stuff as best as I can but I’m curious to explore every trail regardless of ability.

December Shopping in Zürich, Switzerland
By noon, we arrive in the notoriously wealthy city of Zürich Switzerland, where Euros are still welcome but locals prefer the legal tender, Swiss francs.

...On Spiegelgasse is the Cabaret Voltaire, the world famous “Dada House” where an anti-war art movement emerged during WWI (1914-18) to challenge the traditional beliefs of a pro-war society. I take a special interest in reading up on exhibitions of absurdist art that deliberately scandalized and shocked the public, creating an uproar among authorities.

Picturesque Old Town of Rapperswil
Rapperswil, the Riviera of upper Lake Zürich, is often referred to as the ‘City of Roses’ in the summer but in December the gardens turn to frost and a biting harbor wind violently shakes wooden shutters and windowpanes.

Maximum Pampering
This hotel ranks as a "Leading Hotel in the World” and Donna and I liken the spa treatments to being in an art installation by Georgia O’Keefe: rich technicolors of simple organic beauty.

Against a wall-to-wall window, overlooking a mantle of snow-covered tree branches, drifts a cloud of steam from the surface of the charcoal-colored infinity pool through to the heated pebble loungers. That’s where Donna is dozing and I’m about to unwrap my bathrobe for the soak of a lifetime in the outside whirlpool.