Around the World for Christmas: A Reminiscent Festive Treat
For the ones stuck home alone Kevin-style, myself included, here a little festive Around-the-World-Trip in pictures, which might trigger a few travel memories of your own or offer some inspiration for future trips — here’s to a travel-licious 2021!
So, how to go about it given the current situation? Shall we travel westwards, back in time? If we don’t diddle daddle too much along the way, we might return before we even started, Boris won’t know a thing. What do you think, worth a try? Good stuff, I knew I could count on you. So, ho ho ho, off we go…
First up, United Kingdom! To get into a festive mood and clench that mulled wine thirst, let’s check out Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London first, come along:
Winter Wonderland, here we come!
Two rounds of mulled wine, please!? Oh wait, wrong tent... not really keen on a festive beer...
...ah, that's better -- one hot beverage to go please...
...and over to Oxford Circus to have a little stroll...
...along the illuminated streets of London...
...and maybe do some last-minute shopping on Oxford Street?
Or rather a quick browse at Covent Garden...
...before some Nutcrackering at the Royal Opera?! Just a little peak though, guys -- we got places to be!
On we go to the United States, to do some city-hopping, cause why not?! Here it goes >>> NYC >>> Chicago >>> Houston ….jet-setting much?! Don’t fall behind:
No luck with presents in London? Let's see what New York has to offer!
Macy's might just have what you need?
Don't browse for too long though...
...Rockefeller Centre is calling...
...requesting you to throw some shapes on its oh so popular ice rink!
This one reminds of something -- have you seen The Rockettes at Radio City yet? You haven't? Well, ...
...shall we? Looks like Elmo is already waiting for us anyway?!
Oh my, it's getting dark already! Time flies...
...when you're having fun in New York City...
...cheering on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden...
...playing Frosty and Santa?! Only in America, but time to move on...
...Chicago next, for a little refuel stop!
Some festive treats...
...and a boot to go please!
Drink up and don't get lost in the crowd, we have another plane to catch for a quick layover in...
...Houston, Texas, yehaaa! A place where they know how to decorate -- just a little layover this time but if you ever come back, check out the Houstonian and its lovely reception area, it can't get more cosy than that!
How to follow that American Christmas spirit? Well, it might not get more cosy than that in terms of decor but how about some warmer temperatures? The Texan layover was slightly strategic to get you acclimatised from Windy City weather to slightly warmer degrees. Shall we go up even further? Your wish is my command, temperatures up, direction down — let’s have a look how the other side of the world celebrates! Surf’s up in festive Straya:
Welcome to Sydney! Ooops, sorry guys, let me adjust my camera settings to down under...
...that's better! Merry Christmas...
...in sunny Australia! Before we show off that winter bod...
...how about a little festive workout?
Thanks guys for the jolly warm-up!
Time to test the waters...
...and do a little Santa surf, as you do!
Working up an appetite while tackling the festive ocean?
How about a Christmas barbie on the beach?
Christmas Prawns and Kangaroo Burgers, cause why not!?
A last longing look at the water -- there will be another opportunity for a quick dip later...
...time to head back to the airport for now!
Quick change of scenery but no worries, we shall stay in warmer temperatures. But after all of this beach babe exhaustion, how about getting the entertainment brought to us during a festive safari in South Africa? Does that tickle your fancy? Well, come along then:
Hellooo Cape Town!
How about a little stroll along the marina?
And yes, we have some time to pop into Victoria Wharf for a little shopping spree...
...but please don't diddle daddle, even though they are quite moreish -- South Africans love their popcorn apparently! But let's not get distracted from what we are here for...
Wild life, here we come!
And wahey, seems like we spotted something already... in addition to the beautiful sunset.
Some Christmas elephants anybody? What a lovely 'memory' -- apparently that's what a group of elephants is called due to their strong family ties, intelligence, and reputedly long memories, neat ey?
Are how about a festive tower? A tower of giraffes that is. How many can you spot as they are great at hiding behind trees?
Some more than others ...hi there!
After all this exploring lovely South Africa offers, how about some more food before hitting our last stop of the journey?
Dig in, guys! ...No? A bit too wild for your taste you say?
How about a less rambunctious picnic in the wine country Stellenbosch, sounds good?
Perfect! Here something I prepared earlier...
...mince pies and all. Enjoy your meal before we'll take off again!
Okay, okay, some of you are clearly paying attention -- go on then, have that quick dip I promised earlier. Take in the view of this side of the world, before we'll head back to good ole Europe!
Fully watered and fed as well as kissed by the sun, it’s time to return to the other side of the equator and finish in the country that truly knows how to do Christmas. And what better way to finish the tour than a mulled wine crawl in Germany, ja? Hoch die Tassen?! Cheers, my dears, let the boozy stroll begin:
Arrival city and first waterhole: Berlin...
...where they already turned on the lights for us...
...and warmed up the infamous vino -- first round please!
Prost! Cheers!! Hoch die Tassen! Bottoms up!!
A final look for Christmas presents?
Maybe something unique, a little reminder of the sunny side?
And back on the road to head over to...
...Magdeburg, a city that is famous for some big balls...
...Otto's balls to be precise...although I should probably call them spheres to be fair, less funny but equally interesting...
...as this guy used a pair of large copper hemispheres, with mating (not my word choice) rims to demonstrate the power of atmospheric pressure. How you may ask?
Otto von Guericke sealed the hemisphere rims with grease and pumped the air out creating a vacuum within. He then attached two teams of horses on each side to pull the spheres apart which firmly held together by the air pressure of the surrounding atmosphere. And tadaaa -- that's how the air pump came about.
So next time you blow up a tire, think of Magdeburg, and while you're at it, maybe book your next visit...
...preferably during Christmas to check out the lovely decorations...
...and its food! Mmmmh, its foooood. Melted cheese, bacon and freshly baked bread, what more can you want from life?!
Another mulled wine maybe? One in Wittenberg, another festive and historically important German city...
Martin Luther and his 95 theses might ring a bell? That happened here in 1517, at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, where he nailed a piece of paper to its door containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation. You'll pass by that church on your way to this square which during the summer is transformed into a medieval village to celebrate Luther's wedding, medieval dress, food, drink, the whole shebang, totally worth a visit once we made it over this travel-less hump.
Before we can merrily go around the world again though, how about a merry go round instead?
And another mulled wine of course, what was I thinking?!
In case you missed train travel, I have to warn you, those carriages are no longer as spacious as I remember them to be?! Darn it, pandemic pounds!?!?
Let's have one last snowy drink on that one before returning to our cozy and, most importantly, stretchy PJs back at home... where you can try a little recipe I picked up along the way to keep up those festive spirits.
Have you ever had 'Feuerzangenbowle' before? It's a traditional German alcoholic drink which involves a rum-soaked sugarloaf that is set on fire and drips into mulled wine. The procedure and equipment make up the name as it translates literally as 'fire-tongs punch' -- full recipe and safety warning at the end of the post.
With that little recipe for fun in the bag, I hope we’ll happily head back home as our flight to the UK already awaits us. So, better jump on and return before anybody even noticed we were gone — I won’t tell anyone, if you won’t?!
Seasonal Greetings to and from The Coach House — see you guys in 2021!
Jokes aside, I do hope those picture galleries broke up your day a bit and got you distracted from the year that did not quite go to plan. Or to stay topical, the Christmas that also got somewhat derailed, otherwise our last stop could have been the lovely Coach House pub in Rottingdean where I tend to gather with friends and family for a little night cap or two.
Not so much this year but thanks to modern technology and our hard-working delivery men and women, I felt the love from afar. I might have been home alone but definitely not lonely having had calls from all over the world which made me want to visit them again, even if only in pictures. So, thanks for playing along and let’s stay hopeful that we’ll get to check out some of these places in person again soon.
Seasonal greetings, my fellow travellers! May 2021 be full of hugs and many other wonderful things!
Take care and stay safe,
*Your SoloTravelless*
🌍🏔🏕🎒🙋♀️
Boozy Bonus
Ingredients (for 10 servings): 2 oranges, 2 lemons, 2 bottles of dry red wine, 5 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 pinch of ginger ground, 2 cups of brown rum (54%), 1 sugar cone (250g).
Instructions: 1 Wash oranges and lemons thoroughly, cut into slices or wedges, combine with red wine in a large pot, add cinnamon, cloves and ginger. 2 Heat slowly, make sure it does not boil. Remove pot from heat and place on a heat source (from a fondue set for instance). 3 Place sugar cone onto metal holder (‘Feuerzange’), soak with rum and carefully light it. The sugar will melt and drip into the wine. Little by little, add more rum to the cone using a long-handled ladle. 4 Once the sugar cone and rum have completely burned off, gently stir the concoction and serve while hot.
Safety & Cinematic Note: This recipe requires handling alcohol and open flames, so please be extremely careful, and maybe check out the movie that made it famous first. Named after the drink itself, Die Feuerzangenbowle is a comedy from 1944 featuring Heinz Rühmann (in the picture) creating a character that German Christmas can’t do without. Enjoy guys, the drink as well as the nostalgic movie!
How about Christmas in Houstonanian next year? It looks beyond cosy!
Great choice! Still the most festive hotel I’ve come across so far — see you there! 🙂🥂🎅🎄🎁
Eine schöne und interessante Weihnachtsreise vom Wohnzimmer aus. Danke sehr.
Sehr gern geschehen. My pleasure. Really glad you enjoyed it, Antje! Here’s to 2021 hopefully bringing a few more outdoor adventures our way! 🙂