Italian flair in southern France: Montpellier & Nimes

Who wouldn't want to go to the warm south in these days? But winter also has its advantages, especially since it can also snow in the South of France and the arrival of the cold weather brings a certain calm from the hectic activity of the year. Anyone looking for a spontaneous escape from everyday life for the Christmas holidays will be over the moon in the South of France. Not only the beautiful atmosphere at the Christmas events, which are a little more modest than ours but have no less to offer, but also the diversity of this region is endless: for example, you can go on a safari in the Camargues Nature Park and see wild horses romping around in the sea. Or spend a day in the ancient buildings in Nimes, such as the amphitheatre. Or take a New Year's walk by the sea in Montpellier and have a picnic between the dunes. Yes, the temperature definitely allows that, unless it storms or snows for once.

And in summer it is of course even nicer when you can swim in the most beautiful bays in warm sea temperatures. Occitania is so extensive that it will be described in more detail later. I can only say this much: We were invited to French friends for Christmas and it was the biggest feast we have ever enjoyed. More on this soon in the article about the region around Toulouse.

No matter how the turn of the year is celebrated this year, it is time to say "thank you": thank you for all the gifts that have reached us in 2024 and thank you for all the lessons that we have been able to master. Even if life sometimes feels like an arena and sometimes like quiet snow, we can still celebrate all the steps that take us higher.

Maybe some of you would like to take a trip to the Viktor Frankl Museum in Vienna this Christmas. He is not only a master in the search for meaning, but also reminds us of the terrible extent to which hatred and violence can be expressed by people, while at the same time encouraging us to live our freedom even in the darkest of times. One of our favorite quotes from him:

"We must stand by our fate as we stand by the ground on which we stand - a ground that is the stepping stone to our freedom."