First off - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Also - my activity category may say skiing, that actually means I put skiis on for about 15 mins, and then walked five metres, and removed them, it was a horrible experience. but more later.

So arrived in Vienna, about a week before xmas. Prety much worked most of the time, looking after the boys in teh frezzing cold. and the house there - massive, and big, and old. ok so it was beautiful, but freezing. Then the parent, and the boys left for Kitzbuhl on the 21, leaving me in the freezing house bymyself. on the 23rd i met up with Ann (my auntie) and her partner ANdrew, in Vienna. Very odd coincidence that we were both going to be Vienna at the same time. So spent a week with them seeing Vienna. Went to a Music Museum there, Scholl Schonbrunn (scholl being palace), which is the summer palace of the royalty. ALso went to the numerous christmas markets, beautiful in a chessy way, although I do recooment the Schonbrunn markets, they are the best ones. Went to that Ferris Wheel (cant remeber the name), but you know the one in Third Man, with Orson Welles, begins with an R if that helps. Anyway, its this historical ferris wheel, i beleive the first (maybe), was destroyed numerous times including WW2. ALso had many traditional Wiener Meals, usaully consisting of sausages, and once the most incredible ApfelStrudel (yeah you can prob guess that one). I have to admit that my German has improved, and i can now count to 19, and say tahnkyou, hello, goodbye, and a few foods. However I did get stuck a few times. trying to talk to a non-english speaking bus driver, and i atcually payed twice to catch the bus, but we figured it out, and on the way back i didnt have to pay.

So in Vienna till teh 28th, when I caught the train to Kitzbuhl. At one stage I fell asleep, and when i woke up it was snowing and the trees were all white... that was my first snow experience and it was beautiful. I believe I had a stupid look on my face, and the the people in my cabin thought i was a bit of a moron. So Kitzbuhl, the above picture is pretty much excatly what it looks like. It is taken in Tirol which is the same county (i think that is what they call them) as Kitzbuhl. It was a really beautiful town, their house was actually in Jochberg (prounounced with the German J, which is like a Y). As i said i attempted and failed skiing, but I did make a snow angel and had numerous snow fights, but unfortunately no snow man, as for some reason the snow was dodge and wouldnt stick together like it should have. Spent New Years working, not too bad, watched Footloose (ah wonderful film). At midnight I went out onto their balcony, which looks out over the valley, and it was beautiful. Of course it was snowing, and everyone had firweorks, and those lanterns that float up into the air, as well all the church bells were going off, it was wonderful. So returned to London on the 14th.

Off to my Aunt Helens this weekend, Rome the next weekend and then Kitzbuhl again for a week, so stay tuned.