Duto the Travel Advisors are offering a 'White Christmas' holiday to Germany and Austria, charging the same prices for single travellers and couples. That's a pleasant change as single travellers always get penalised and land up paying extra for their accommodation.
With Duto you will visit the traditional Christmas markets of Germany and Austria and enjoy the heartwarming Christmas atmosphere. The stalls offer a variety of Christmas decorations and gifts, most of them hand-made and traditional or folkloric.
Many stalls offer traditional eats and drinks. Spend the evenings with a glass of warm and aromatic glühwein in one hand and a home-made delicacy in the other, while listening to Christmas carols performed by German and Austrian musicians.
The White Christmas tour departs on December 15 2001, arriving in Frankfurt, from where you will immediately depart for romantic Heidelberg.
The medieval village of Rothenburg is the next stop and then it's on to the ancient walled town of Nürnberg, home of the oldest Christmas market in Europe.
Also on the itinerary are visits to Oberammergau, Munich and Salzburg, with its tiny church where the most famous Christmas song, Silent Night, was performed for the very first time. The last couple of days around Christmas are spent near Innsbruck in the lovely Tyrolean Alpine mountain village of Fulpmes in the Stubai valley.
Here the group stays in traditional pensions. Included is a day visit to Innsbruck, a special Christmas Eve dinner and a romantic sleigh ride. A most unusual experience is a visit to the Christmas procession in the nearby village of Igls, where the inhabitants, in traditional dress, flock to the town square to sing Christmas carols with the visitors.
The midnight Christmas service in the quaint little rococo church in Fulpmes is another unforgettable experience. A number of activities can be undertaken from the town. The fit and adventurous can go skiing on one of the most popular slopes in Austria, Schlich 2000, or you can sightsee and just walk around.
The long, pleasant evenings are spent in taverns beside log fires.
* The group returns to Johannesburg on December 29 2001 and the price of this tour for couples or singles is R11 500.
If you don't want to spend Christmas alone, give Duto a ring on (012) 460-8382, fax (012) 460-1843 or e-mail: [email protected]