Wander in silence through ten rooms decked for Christmas past then tell all over mulled wine and mince pies.

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All guests partake in mulled wine, an evening meal of cheese fondue, a hot whirlpool bath in the snow and sometimes a nighttime snowshoe trip.

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Fortify yourself with some gluwein (mulled wine) from the hotel restaurant at the top of the pass before careening into the moonlit night along the 6.5km-long sled run back down to the village.

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The rest landed on tables at home, at clubs laid with linen and then with platters upon platters of food, everything bite-size, the easier to sip tea or coffee, eggnog or mulled wine with.

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Other statistics included one stall alone selling five tons of cheese, 6, 500 glasses of mulled wine being dispensed, 7, 000 bratwurst sausages eaten and more than 1, 000 musicians and singers helping to provide entertainment.

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Modern lifts, primed ski slopes from "Sesame Street" to "Death Wish", solitary cross-country trails through untouched nature, cosy mountain huts, steaming mulled wine, hearty dinners by a crackling fire - all are hallmarks of a German skiing holiday.

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However, if your brain has not been addled by the mulled wine of this festive season then you will also enjoy the gentle humour of sharp word play along with the mocking of convoluted costume drama dialogue and the associated plot coincidences.

BBC: By Wilfred Arasaratnam