wait... it's christmas??

Merry Christmas!! I'm not going to lie, it doesn't feel like Christmas here - not necessarily the weather, but I mean the "feel" of it, you know? In the states you probably can't walk around in town without hearing the sound of carols playing in the stores, cashiers saying "Merry Christmas", or even the fake painted on snow and santa hats galore... here, there's nothing. No wreaths, no hats, no "Merry Christmas" - nothing. Weird, huh? Even when we go to a store and say "Merry Christmas" after we've paid and are on our way, the cashier replies with "Cheers"... as opposed to "same to you!" "Merry Christmas!" or even the politically correct "Happy Holidays"... nadda. But if you think about it, all the Christmas carols and all the western world images associated with Christmas don't really fit here... dashing through the snow? No. baby it's cold outside? No. snow and mistletoe? Nope... so it's definitely a different vibe here, but we're soaking it up.

We decided long ago that we would join our British friend Dominic for Christmas... he has been working in Franz Josef at a hostel for the past couple weeks and will be here through April. Franz Josef is known for its huge glacier just up the valley... so in order to have a white Christmas, we hit the ice and did a full day hike.



It was so neat being on the glacier - so white yet this glowing blue. Don't get me wrong, a good part of it was super dirty, but for the most part it was just gorgeous. We got to get our campons on - those spiky things that attach to your boot so you go anywhere on the ice -and let me tell you, those make you feel powerful when you walk! You can step on just about anything and not slide... plus you have to stomp to make them work so it makes you even more like a powerful giant overcoming this massive piece of ice...

So we had a white Christmas afterall... and we hope that wherever you are - cold or hot - that your Christmas is wonderful. Have YOURSELF a merry little christmas... xoxo