Go ice skating in Austria

If you want to "understand what outdoor skating is really about", forget the cramped ice rinks that spring up in British cities over Christmas, and head instead for Austria's Weissensee, says Chris Madigan in the Guardian. Although this glacial lake amidst the mountains and evergreen forests of Carinthia is quintessentially Austrian, the skating festival which it hosts every January is actually a recent import from Holland. A decade ago, global warming finally forced the Dutch to give up on their traditional Elfstedentocht, a 200km iceskating tour of the country's canals. So they turned to Weissensee instead. Visitors can join in the mass events – or skate away to lonelier corners of the lake to "soak up the tranquillity". The Alternative Elfstedentocht is held from January 20 to 31. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Klagenfurt. ·