And now about the weather. Talking about it is considered a killer for any conversation, even small talk. But because this isn’t small talk: let’s talk about the weather, given the occasion. It is of particular importance for people for whom vacation is a certain priority in life and cannot be overestimated. Many people choose their vacation spot so that they will almost certainly have sun every day and 30 degrees every day. The fact that it is sometimes 38 degrees and life outside of air-conditioned rooms or swimming pools is almost unbearable seems to bother them less than a cloudy sky.
Which brings us to the weather of the past few weeks. People are used to a lot of things in times of climate crisis, especially that the weather services regularly announce that last month was the warmest since records began. What rarely happens is that a month, let’s call it April, is both the warmest and the coldest. At least that’s what April almost feels like. While in the first half the temperatures were already approaching 30 degrees and people were jumping wildly into lakes that were still cold (although they do that all year round now), the last two weeks have been more of the same would wish for February. Snowfall down to the valleys, where temperatures were zero or even slightly below zero in the morning, and meters of the finest fresh snow on the mountains! It is currently said to be 5.6 meters on the Stubai Glacier, more than it has seen all winter. But even at relatively low altitudes in the Allgäu or Austria there is 30 or 40 centimeters of snow.
What does that mean for us holidaymakers who are already thinking about the Pentecost holidays, which are no longer far away? Let’s be ready for anything! The SUV and camping boom of the past few years has been helpful to us. The cars are so big that we can prepare for any weather eventuality. The surfboard and mountain bike fit in as well as the ski equipment and the toboggan. It may be that it is getting a little warmer and more spring-like now, but we shouldn’t rely on that. What if it’s 25 degrees on Lake Garda in the first week of your vacation, but half a meter of snow falls on Monte Stivo in the second? You would be very annoyed if you didn’t have the ski touring equipment with you to carve through the powder with a view over the lake.
The trend is clearly towards hybrid holidays, and Tui is already putting together the first package packages that combine beach holidays with ski holidays, whether in July or February. It’s also more varied than just lying in the sun for two weeks! Our thanks go to: the weather.