Monday 4 January 2016

XMAS TRIP # 1

Well we're back from our Christmas/New Year jaunt away from York.
Did we miss much?
Well, apparently we missed this.



When we got back last night all the flood waters had gone. That was lucky.

It reminded me of two Christmases ago when we left Toronto where we had been living, for Aberdeen for Christmas and New Year.
When we were away Toronto experienced this:



The worst 'Polar Vortex' storm for a century.

We were comparatively warm - in bloody freezing north of Scotland!

We booked  a flight to Vienna on Christmas Day but, having had experience of UK train services and their almost planned disruptions, we traveled down to Manchester on Christmas Eve.



Now Manchester might be famous for Coronation Street and a couple of  soccer teams but really isn't that flash. I've been there before a couple of times and can understand how dramas like Shameless can be created.

We stayed at an airport hotel to be on the safe side as far as travel on Christmas day goes (Oh, I just remembered why we traveled from York to Manchester on Christmas Eve - the bloody trains don't run on Christmas Day! - at least they're are being honest and saying " Er, we can't promise that we'll get you to yer destination today so better that we cancel it altogether, OK love?".

So. Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day breakfast was had in the cheery atmosphere of an airport hotel.



Oh well, we've had worse. I remember spending all day Christmas day at Wellington hospital in intensive care with my mother. The Old Girl and I had our Christmas dinner at midnight in our motel room by the hospital - take-a-way Chinese. That was a sad and fraught time - good friends were also there with their son who had fallen off a roof and was also in I.C.


 We were off to Vienna (via Cologne) flying on German Wings.


This one thankfully and not the one below where some nutter of a co-pilot decided to commit suicide in the company of a plane load of passengers recently.



We arrive safely and soundly and easily found our way to our hotel in Vienna. This was a quirky one of a chain of German , Swiss and Austrian hotels that have a ski-chalet feel about them.



 They cater to 'vibrant' young people. We of course were the oldest there but who gives a fuck - we had fun.

More later.



2 comments:

Richard (of RBB) said...

Good story so far, but watch the swearing.

Robert and the Catholics said...

You certainly have a knack for avoiding disasters.