One of the advantages of running small group tours to Europe, is that we get to visit a variety of different places.  Sometimes we do it with our small group tours, sometimes we visit these small cities when doing research for a tour. In today's blog post The Traveling Professor tells you about his favorite small cities in Europe, one each in France, Italy, and Norway and two in Austria.

We've spent the last two Christmas seasons in Bavaria and Austria.  We've enjoyed it very much with all of the traditions and special customs.  In today's blog post, I will try to describe how the holiday season is celebrated in these different countries, according to our experiences in our small group tours to the Bavarian and Austrian Christmas tours that we have done in the past.  My overall comment about how Christmas is celebrated in this part of the world is that it is less commercial than what we do in the United States.  Of course there are malls and gift giving, but in Bavaria and Austria it seems to be more of a social event. See my blog post for more details.

Last year, The Traveling Professor ran the inaugural Christmas Markets of Austria and Bavaria tour.  Our journey was like going back in time, to the Christmas you remember as a child. Local markets with hand-made crafts, hot mulled wine, horses clip-clopping on the cobblestone, trumpeters in the evening, carolers,  and lots of good cheer.  This year we go back with a slightly modified itinerary.  See my blog post on what its like to visit Austria and Bavaria for at Christmas time.

When planning a small group tour, a considerable amount of research needs to be put into the trip before we can bring travelers to a destination.  So this week Linda and I will be on the road putting together plans for several different trips.  We'll be visiting Germany, Austria and Italy.  For the details of our itinerary, read today's blog post.