Oh look, it’s another issue of Wish You Were Here!, a monthly collection of unique, unusual and beautiful travel-related discoveries, some with a winter theme in mind, that I’ve found on my virtual armchair travels. Grab a coffee and scroll. Enjoy! 
1 HotTug jacuzzi boat in Switzerland. For your next European holiday, consider a trip to Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland region for a go in the HotTug, ‘a floating hotpot’ so-called on the website. It operates all year round, is filled with 38-degree water, and you can take snacks and drinks too. Book your session here.
2 Winners of the annual Takini Hot Springs hair-freezing competition 2020 in Canada. “To freeze your hair, dip your head in the hot springs completely, allow the cold air to slowly freeze your hair, once it’s frozen, ring the bell and our staff will take your photo.” Found here.
3 Chalets of Switzerland, a beautiful photo project by German photographer, Patrick Lambertz, has stopped me in my tracks. Found on Present and Correct.
4 Leonardo Da Vinci staircase at Chateau de Chambord, France. It dates back to 1516, and he designed it during the final three years of his life which he spent in the Loire Valley. Found on Archaeo Histories.
5 Winter is for cosy pubs, especially if they can be reached by a secret underground passage. Welcome to Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham, England, one of several pubs in England claiming to be the oldest – said to date back to 1189. As well as through the front door, you can also access it via an eerie 300-step underground passageway known as ‘Mortimer’s Hole’ which winds down from Nottingham Castle. Apparently Nottingham was once described as a “Place of Caves” and indeed, an ancient network of sandstone caves lie under Nottingham city, the oldest dating back to the 4th century. Found on BBC Travel.
6 Beautiful paintings of New York in the snow, by American impressionist painter, Guy Carleton Wiggins. I’d not heard of him until the other day, or that any of the Impressionist painters were American. He did many paintings of New York City’s snowy streets, landmarks and towering skyscrapers during winter. Found here.
7 Couple drinking tea outside a cafe in London, 1967 by Tony Ray-Jones (c) Royal Photographic Society/ National Media Museum. Found via here. 
8 This mountaineering refuge perched on Mont Blanc. It sleeps 12 mountaineers and is equipped with bunk beds, kitchen facilities, dining area, storage racks and a room with a view! Book your stay if you dare here.
9 Ice bubbles on the surface of Lake Nukabira in Hokkaido, Japan. Found on Spoon and Tomago.
10 London Explored, by Peter Dazeley. My favourite London photographer has a new lustworthy coffee-table book out which takes us snooping around 60 of the capital’s most secret, surprising and unusual places. Buy from Amazon or Bookshop.
11 Hotel Brosundet in Norway has the cosiest lobby. Found on Pinterest.
12 What it’s like to live in the northernmost town in the world. Read more here.
