Admiring the beautifully decorated windows of 5th Avenue, ice skating in Central Park and seeing the most iconic Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center – just a couple of things I’ve always wanted to do. But I tell you what, Christmas in New York is not that special. Why? Well, because coming here this time of the year means crowds, crowds, crowds (and by crowds I mean crowds larger than in India or Bangladesh).

Just trying to fulfill one of my dreams was pure horror. Getting to the Rockefeller Center was one of the most uncomfortable situations I ever got myself into. If you’re claustrophobic, stay away! If you don’t go to festivals because of the crowds, stay away! And if you actually want to enjoy yourself, rather that being squashed, bumped into or pushed in all directions, stay away! I was pretty upset that it was like this. I mean sure, I knew that there’d be people, but this is madness (I’m exaggerating, I swear)! Still, I kept my spirits up and gave Christmassy New York another chance. So I continued with my exploration and made my way up to 5th Avenue. Yet again, this meant more crowds and a hell of a lot of kitsch. Nah, unfortunately didn’t enjoy this either…

It took 30 minutes and a whole lot of patience to get this photograph of the famous Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Center.

I decided to skip my fantasy and explored the way I usually do: away from the beaten path. Chinatown and Soho were my next stops and here I felt right at home.

Chinatown is its own destination: Great for bargain shopping, food, history, and the chance to soak in Chinese immigrant culture. It’s really a fantastic neighbourhood though maybe a bit confusion for first time visitors. If you’ve been to China or Hong Kong, you’ll know how to navigate though.

When strolling through New York’s Chinatown, you’ll sometimes wonder whether you’re really in the United States or after all in China.

The basketball courts just off of Grand Street in Chinatown are the perfect spots for people-viewing.

Exploring Chinatown was definitely a highlight during my short New York City trip.

Just like home: fresh fish is sold right off the streets in Chinatown.

Close to Chinatown (with Little Italy in between) lies Soho. The lower Manhattan hood, which refers to “South of Houston” is well known for its hip art galleries and trendy shops. Soho also is home to great New York restaurants for any budget. I enjoyed this part the most and therefore spent most of my time strolling through the streets of Lower Manhatten.

Soho is home to a vibrant artistic community, which makes this my favourite place in New York City.

In the other direction of Chinatown lies Manhatten Bridge and further south Brooklyn Bridge. Two iconic landmarks of the city along the East River. It was freezing cold, because the wind is quite strong here, but the views all made up for it!

Walking from one end of Manhatten Bridge to Brooklyn Bridge gives you an amazing view of both of them.

Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States and an iconic landmark of New York City.

So I was happy with what I got to see in Chinatown, Soho and Two Bridges neighbourhood, but still wanted more of the “must-visit touristy New York City”. Clearly, Time Square was on that list. It’s always been pretty impressive from what I’ve seen in movies or photographs, but in real life, not so much. After all, it’s just a lot of bright, flashy billboards with advertisements…

Times Square is one of the most visited tourist destinations in the world and is sometimes referred to as “The Crossroads of the World”. If you forget about the road blocks, armed police officers and the 330.000 people crossing every day, I could start to like this spot after all.

Times Square has risen to fame through movies and the media, which unfortunately made me expect more than what I got.

Well, my “Christmas in New York city-trip”, turned out to be more of “trying-to-stay-away-from-Christmas-in-New York-trip”. Which doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I honestly loved NYC! It just seems like a lot of the must-see sights are well overrated, especially during the holiday season. But this gives room for lesser known parts, which is great for city explores like myself. I’m leaving today, but New York, New York, I still want to be a part of you.

Within 24 hours, Vienna and its surrounding was covered in 50cm of white powder. A true paradise for snow lovers and a pain in the butt for everyone else. For me, this only meant one thing: it was time for some hardcore cross-country-skiing!

So I packed my gear and was on my wait out to the Vienna Woods, where you’ll find lots of cross-country skiing slopes. Through to the temperature change the area was totally in fog and the ice crystals on the vegetation brought a real surreal look. It was almost a spooky atmosphere while skiing through the Vienna Woods because such weather phenomenon only occurs very seldom; the whole forest was covered with ice crystals. Everything was frozen, but still very fragile. The right temperature produced ice crystals on all the vegetation and it really looked like a winter wonderland…

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Cross-Country-Skiing in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Ice Crystals in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

Me shooting among Giants in the Vienna Woods, Austria.

The wonderful landscape in Tuscany, Italy.

As we stayed in Scandicci, which is about 8 km out into the hills, we always took the bus to the city center. This was convenient and we didn’t have to worry about parking spots & tickets.

Once you’re in the center, the best way is to simply start walking. You can walk along the Arno river where you’ll end up at Ponte Vecchio bridge. It’s one of the great landmarks of Florence and the oldest segmental arch bridge in the world.
The Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiori is also a landmark which shouldn’t be missed; it’s the largest Christian Cathedral in the world, with a dome that rises 107 meters into the sky. There are also (of course) many museums in Florence; Uffizi is probably the most famous one. I’d really suggest pre-booking for most of the museums because there are queues constantly.

Ponte Vecchio bridge in Florence, Italy.

Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy.

There’s always an exhibition going on in Florence, Italy.

Sights in Florence are abundant, one would need weeks to see them all. But beside of all the antique sights there are various markets, flea-markets and craft-markets that will keep you very busy strolling through Florence. Not to forget all the little food stores with all the Italian delicatessen, some of them with an adjoining restaurant. Just wander the small alleys and you will find your favorite Florence spot for sure.

A typical, local food shop in Florence, Italy.

What Ulli and I didn’t think of was the extremely (!) cold weather. If you go skiing or snowboarding, snow & cold winds don’t bother you that much but if you want to stroll around a city, -15° Celsius is not the right temperature for that. It didn’t take us very long until we decided that we’d skip Schloss Neuschwanstein.

I’ve never been to Munich during winter and I’ll keep that in mind for my next visit; the entire city (except the Altstadt centre – where we spent most of the time anyway) was empty, grey and unpretty. But I guess the city of Munich was not the only victim of winter-ugliness, so that’s the positive aspect.

Anyway, here are some impressions of our day trip to Munich:

So since winter hit us after all, I really felt like going snowboarding & skiing again. So last weekend we were off to our cottage in Göstling. Why Göstling and not one of these fancy areas like Kitzbühl or Schladming?

1.) I can’t stand all these wannabe society people.
2.) I would never pay up to 100 € for a single day of skiing or snowboarding.
3.) I like a manageable skiing area.
4.) Hochkar is only 1 1/2 hours away from Vienna, so this is perfect for the weekend.
5.) The locals in Göstling are super friendly and they don’t give a damn how much money you have!

Anyway, enough said … here are some impressions (GoPro videos are coming up soon):

Our “little” cottage in Göstling.

“Los banditos” on the slopes in Göstling.

No one was crazy enough to go skiing with -20° … except us of course.

Glorious weather conditions up on the mountain.

One day snowboarding, one day skiing.

Since I know that many of you are still waiting for a real winter, I wanted to post a couple of winter wonderland photos of the landscape around Vienna. Enjoy and daydream. I’m sure we’ll have a tough January & February…

The Vienna Woods can turn into a real winter wonderland.

Hard rime can only be seen very rarely around Vienna. It’s a white ice that forms when the water droplets in fog freeze to the outer surfaces of objects. It is often seen on trees atop mountains and ridges in winter, when low-hanging clouds cause freezing fog.

The peaks and mountain passes of the Eastern Alps are lower compared to the Western Alps, while the range itself is broader and less arched.

The Erlaufsee is only about 1 1/2 hours away from Vienna and therefore popular for day-trippers.

I love the atmosphere in the Vienna Woods that comes with snow.

Eisenerz is a market place and old mining town in the Austrian state of Styria.

Winter landscape in the Alps in Lower Austria.

Frosty times during winter in the Vienna Woods around the capital city.

“All.I.Can” is a stunning exploratory essay that compares the challenges of big mountain skiing to the challenges of global climate change. Shot on 6 continents over 2 years, the world’s best skiers deliver inspirational performances while ground-breaking cinematography expands our vision of the natural world. Journey through Morocco’s majestic desert peaks, Greenland’s icy fjords, Chile’s volcanic craters, Alaskan spine walls, and more.

This segment was directed by Dave Mossop & JP Auclair, and well … it’s pretty damn awesome!