travelspheres.net

Love it or dread it, Christmas is inevitable. No sooner have the stores taken down their Halloween displays than they’re replacing them with huge icicles, gold stars and beaming Santas. The pressure’s on to fight late night shoppers, order turkeys and vast pork pies, and work out how to be in three different places on Christmas Day. There’s no escape.

Or maybe there is, if you dare to try something different and break from the normal, society imposed, traditions…

It’s not necessary to forget about Christmas altogether, unless of course you want to; rather, it’s a case of having a different type of Christmas, one which takes a bit more imagination and planning, but one which you will forever remember.

How about, for example, a city break? Not only are they reasonably priced, but you get to have a break whilst still being back at home for the majority of the festive season. Prague, with its rich history and opulent beauty, is a firm favourite and the wonderful Christmas markets are open throughout the festive season, including Christmas Day itself. In Vienna, the Christkindlmarkt in the City Hall Square is famous the world over for its elaborately decorated trees, dozens of wooden huts selling gifts and food and, of course, welcome glasses of hot Gluhwein.

Venice is another great European city that will make your Christmas totally unforgettable. Gone are the crowds of summer tourists (the population is actually halved in the winter months), and so you can take in the unique Venetian culture and charms, with a little festive spirit sprinkled on top, at your own leisurely pace. If you’re looking for a particularly romantic trip, then it’s absolutely ideal.

If it’s that traditional White Christmas you’re dreaming of, then the ski resorts of Switzerland, France and Austria are great places to head for. Sunshine on crisp snow, pine-covered mountains and crackling log fires all make for that perfect Christmas card scene. And, away from the slopes, a glass or two of hot punch always goes down well as the snow softly falls.

Then there is the ultimate Christmas experience – a visit to Lapland. What could be more perfect than spending your Christmas at the place that Mr. Christmas calls home. What could be better than watching, from within your snug log cabin, the snow fall outside as Reindeers run across the scenic landscape. For those of you with children, this can turn out to be the most memorable and magical trip of your lives.

There really is something for everyone in the range of Christmas hotel breaks available. Ask yourself, is another Christmas spent half asleep on the sofa, watching the same old Christmas specials on TV, something that you really want this year? Go on… dare to do something different.

This Christmas, why not have a festive adventure away from home? Our Christmas hotel breaks guide offers a number of ideas for a wonderful Christmas spent at one of the worlds most festive destinations. Cheap Hotel Chains price compare all latest cheap hotel deals across the world.

Tens of thousands of passengers have been stranded or delayed due to Eurostar train breakdowns over the recent wintery weekend. Six train break downs have resulted in 55,000 travellers having their journeys disrupted.

It has been reported that although the snow shields used to protect train electrics for 15 years had been effective in the past, the unusually acute weather conditions in Northern France had caused severe problems. Eurostar have identified the flaw that has caused their trains to fail and they are taking steps to fix the issue.

As many as 2000 passengers found themselves trapped in the Channel Tunnel on broken down trains. Some passengers have been trapped in their trains in the channel tunnel for as long as 16 hours. Many have reported a lack of information and no food and no water on the stranded trains. Some passengers even abandoned their trains and walked through the dark, cold tunnel which runs for 24 miles beneath the channel.

Although Eurostar have issued apologies and promised to pay refunds and compensation to travelers affected by the debacle many passengers are very unhappy with the way the situation has been managed. There have been reports of some passengers suffering panic attacks and some experiencing claustrophobia in the confined tunnel. Passengers have reported that there was no food, water and most importantly no up to date information from the train operator.

On Saturday as many as 31,000 ticket holders were forced to change their travel plans and on Sunday all services were cancelled resulting in a further 27,000 people being stranded.

The continuing bad weather has caused flights to be cancelled from many British airports. Wether forecasters have warned that even more snow is on its way and this will mean further travel disruption as people embark on their Christmas holidays. The Scottish Police have advised travelers to stay at home unless their journey is absolutely essential.

***********************************

When flying from Scottish airport save money by booking your Glasgow airport parking, Edinburgh airport parking or Aberdeen airport parking in advance.