Vienna at Christmas time is so wonderful. We lived there for 2 years, and I miss it so much this time of year.

Anonymous wrote:Even if you aren't religious, you may want to check out the church services. The British do some really spectacular Xmas choral music.

This was what I was going to suggest. We went to a candlelight Christmas concert at Westmister Abbey and it was magical.

Anonymous wrote:I just remember it being cold, dark, and rainy

+1 - 7 years in London. Spring is lovely. Christmas is definitely not my favorite time of year in London although I can see how the Cotswolds would be charming.

Pp here - I will confirm that London is not as cold as Vienna!

Just returned from a week in London. It was nice - there are lights and decorations up already in the aforementioned shopping streets and also around Covent garden but my word! we got off the tube at Bond Street 5pm on a Sunday and it was wall to wall madness. This was in mid November! Can't even imagine the next weeks. It was a real shocker to us coming from Austria, where we live, where all the stores are closed on Sunday.

Which leads me to my suggestion for an atmospheric Christmas you might also consider Austria (Vienna and/or Salzburg) for a Christmas trip. Like Germany, there are plenty of lovely Christmas markets and also lots of indoor activities - the palaces, museums, coffee houses, concerts and operas. In Vienna alone there are maybe 8-10 different markets and they are very atmospheric at day and night. They city is also mounting its Christmas lights which are also very beautiful. Salzburg is also a lovely town with its own Christmas market.

Even if you aren't religious, you may want to check out the church services. The British do some really spectacular Xmas choral music.

I spent one Xmas in London and it was wonderful. We bought some Christmas crackers and loved pulling then in the apartment we rented.

We had to plan our activities very carefully on the 25th and 26th, as many attractions were closed for one or both (the tube, too, as I recall.) There were still things to do, though. As I recall, a double-decker bus tour followed by dinner at an Iraqi restaurant on the 25th, and a special exhibit at the British Museum on the 26th (when it was otherwise closed.)

Do go. It's a fabulous city.

December 21 is 9 hours and 26 minutes from sunrise to sunset here, 7 hours and 49 minutes in London. The sun sets nearly an hour earlier there, 3:53pm versus 4:50pm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, keep in mind it will be VERY dark. It gets dark very, very early around that time of year, like around 2 pm if I am remembering correctly. And it does not get light out in the morning until about 10 a.m. Despite the warming effects of the Jet Stream, it really is that much more north of where we are in the US, comparatively.

Umm, it is not actually in the arctic circle! It gets dark at 4 in winter.

Yes, night-time dark by 4. But I mean it can start GETTING darkish (esp when combined with cloudy overcast weather, etc.) as early as 2 right, when the days are at their very very shortest.

No.

Anonymous wrote:The cold is a very damp cold, too. Not dry like it is here. You feel it in your bones.

It is usually less cold than here in december: London average low in december is 39, vs. 33 here. I have never felt as bone-chillingly cold in london as in DC. Plus, you have pubs there with roaring fires and nice beer to warm up in...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, keep in mind it will be VERY dark. It gets dark very, very early around that time of year, like around 2 pm if I am remembering correctly. And it does not get light out in the morning until about 10 a.m. Despite the warming effects of the Jet Stream, it really is that much more north of where we are in the US, comparatively.

Umm, it is not actually in the arctic circle! It gets dark at 4 in winter.

For Christmas Day 2012:

Dec 25, 2012 Sunrise: 8:05 AM Sunset: 3:56 PM

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, keep in mind it will be VERY dark. It gets dark very, very early around that time of year, like around 2 pm if I am remembering correctly. And it does not get light out in the morning until about 10 a.m. Despite the warming effects of the Jet Stream, it really is that much more north of where we are in the US, comparatively.

Umm, it is not actually in the arctic circle! It gets dark at 4 in winter.

Yes, night-time dark by 4. But I mean it can start GETTING darkish (esp when combined with cloudy overcast weather, etc.) as early as 2 right, when the days are at their very very shortest.

Anonymous wrote:Yes, keep in mind it will be VERY dark. It gets dark very, very early around that time of year, like around 2 pm if I am remembering correctly. And it does not get light out in the morning until about 10 a.m. Despite the warming effects of the Jet Stream, it really is that much more north of where we are in the US, comparatively.

Umm, it is not actually in the arctic circle! It gets dark at 4 in winter.

We did London at New Year's in 2010. It was awesome- we stayed at the Kensington Hotel which was beautifully decorated and pretty central to all we wanted to do. Really enjoyed Hyde Park's Christmas Village and did a NYE cruise on the Thames that docked by the London Eye to see the fireworks at midnight. Besides my wedding, BEST NYE ever!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, keep in mind it will be VERY dark. It gets dark very, very early around that time of year, like around 2 pm if I am remembering correctly. And it does not get light out in the morning until about 10 a.m. Despite the warming effects of the Jet Stream, it really is that much more north of where we are in the US, comparatively.

I was there last year and recall it getting dark closer to 4ish vs 2.

Ok, I could have been wrong about that.