44
votes
Where is a celebration-free, little-to-no Christmas skiing destination during the holiday season?
Japan?
Pretty cheap to fly to from anywhere in the world.
Fairly standard western country prices once you get there (certainly less than the Alps!)
Very good ski facilities and ski-worthy weather.
...
- 4,870
24
votes
Accepted
What does this symbol on a door mean? (福)
This is the Chinese character for "Good Fortune" 福. January 28 was the Chinese (Lunar) New Year.
- 1,008
19
votes
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'Assumption of Mary'(/'Mariä Himmelfahrt') public holiday in Munich, what is closed or open?
Mariä Himmelfahrt is a local holiday in Saarland and in the predominantly catholic communities in Bavaria (1.704 out of 2.056 communities). The further south you are in Bavaria (such as in Munich), ...
- 30.3k
15
votes
London on Christmas Day
Just to give you an idea of how empty London is on Christmas morning:
One Christmas morning, decades ago, about 10am, I quietly lay down for a couple of minutes in the middle of the junction between ...
- 1,613
13
votes
Small Diwali gifts, from an overseas visitor in India during the festive period?
Diwali gift suggestions from the Society for the Confluence of Festival of India (SCFI)
Sweets
No festive season is said to be complete without relishing your taste buds with delicious gulab ...
- 35.6k
13
votes
How can I watch the main London new year fireworks display after ordinary tickets have sold out?
My normal suggestion for the New Year's Eve fireworks is to book a river facing room at the Tower Hotel and watch the show from a higher vantage point with an unobstructed view. It's preferred because ...
- 85.5k
13
votes
Where is a celebration-free, little-to-no Christmas skiing destination during the holiday season?
Pakistan.
It has one of the most beautiful and scenic skiing slopes in the world. Malam Jabba and Naltar to name a couple.
There are no Christmas based festivities either.
Your flight might be ...
- 33k
11
votes
Accepted
Eating at Tsukiji Outer Market from 31 December to 3 January (Public Holiday)
During the new year holiday season in Japan (Jan 1 to Jan 3 for 2020) most shops and restaurants close. The smaller the establishment, the more likely it is to be closed. December 31 is usually a ...
- 633
10
votes
Small Diwali gifts, from an overseas visitor in India during the festive period?
Best Diwali gift ideas for employees:
1 First and most appropriate gift for the festive season is a dry fruits gift box for Diwali. So you can choose from wide varieties of Diwali gift packs.
2 Say ...
- 11.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Paris at Easter
I visited Paris for the second time during easter last year, it was generally slightly more crowded than the first time I went (November 2016) but this could have been down to other reasons such as ...
- 9,695
10
votes
Accepted
Is 31st of December a public holiday in Japan?
No, it's is not a public holiday. The only legal public holiday for New Year is January 1st, or 2nd if the 1st is a Sunday. However, like Christmas Eve in the West, it's a very quiet day and many ...
- 99.2k
9
votes
Accepted
New Year's Eve in Berlin and Luggage Storage
Brandenburg Gate will be horribly crowded, but so will be all clubs. If you come from Schönefeld Airport (I assume that is what you meant, IATA code is actually SXF) it might make more sense to store ...
- 981
9
votes
Accepted
Car on ferry between Gozo and Malta during the Christmas period
We did not have any issues getting on board. We arrived to take a ferry to Gozo on 28th around 10:00 and had to wait around 1.5 hours. On the way back on 31st we had to wait around 1 hour.
However, ...
- 1,073
9
votes
Accepted
Parking in Washington DC
It was long conventional wisdom to avoid driving and to take the Metro everywhere; unfortunately, the Metro has been very unreliable, particularly on weekends, and as a local resident I can no longer ...
- 43.1k
9
votes
'Assumption of Mary'(/'Mariä Himmelfahrt') public holiday in Munich, what is closed or open?
I don't know Munich personally but here's a broad strokes answer which should apply to large German cities (you should expect significantly fewer options in smaller cities, towns or villages).
Almost ...
- 12.4k
8
votes
What goes on in Amsterdam during New Year's Eve?
Amsterdam, in fact all cities, most towns and many villages in the Netherlands, are having fireworks going all day and night, officially only till 3 AM but it is not unknown to hear them going from 27-...
- 62.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Visiting Azerbaijan during Nowruz / Novruz: what's different?
In Azerbaijan, how do businesses' hours of operation change over Nowruz?
As a local, I can tell that in Azerbaijan, businesses' hours of operation don't change over Nowruz. Although Nowruz is an ...
- 2,215
8
votes
Where is a celebration-free, little-to-no Christmas skiing destination during the holiday season?
In general, you cannot find such thing.
Christmas is a massive holidays around the world, often with holidays from schools, so you have many tourists that go around the world in such period, so ...
- 9,840
7
votes
Accepted
Do trains in Europe run on Christmas day?
In Germany and probably also Austria, most trains stop running sometime early to late evening on both the 24th and the 31st of December. Service will not be resumed until Christmas Day or New Year’s ...
- 16.1k
7
votes
Visiting Azerbaijan during Nowruz / Novruz: what's different?
I was in Sheki and Baku, Azerbaijan, for two days over Nowruz this year.
In both cities, it seemed pretty much every business I saw was open for at least its normal hours, and public transit seemed ...
- 6,140
6
votes
Baking or cake supply store in Prague not closed at Christmas
No, there is no area in Prague famous for cooking supplies, as most of that stuff is made abroad anyway. If you need to buy some around Christmas, visit any large hypermarket (e.g. the Tesco near ...
- 81.7k
6
votes
How can I watch the main London new year fireworks display after ordinary tickets have sold out?
Here is a 2012 map of the area for the fireworks display. Not much has changed in 4 years so this should still apply. The orange areas is for ticket holders.
My best bet would be the area north of ...
- 8,119
6
votes
Accepted
How does public transit system work in Israel on the New Year (31 Dec - 1 Jan)?
You're correct, Israeli trains and buses don't run on Shabbat. But you're not stuck, and Travels of Adam (not that one) tells how to manage.
HOW TO TRAVEL DURING SHABBAT IN ISRAEL
It’s ...
- 35.6k
6
votes
London on Christmas Day
London is a very large place, so it really depends which area you are talking about. Typically the centre and banking areas will be deserted as the residents head to their holiday homes in the suburbs....
- 1,162
6
votes
Accepted
Are restaurants open during the Epiphany in Austria?
Well, since nobody answered, here's my own update - all restaurants (and a lot of shops actually) are working at Jan'6 just like at any Saturday, so come and enjoy :)
- 1,181
6
votes
Eating at Tsukiji Outer Market from 31 December to 3 January (Public Holiday)
I have not been out and about on holiday period, but I would assume most shops in Japan are outright closed on those days, Tsukiji or not. Most of the locals are out on holiday to spend time with ...
- 236
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